Chatting with the (bald) author of a book on - ooh! guess what?
There are a few good men out there, who are willing to speak about hair fall, loss, and even balding. Of course,
David Stern is an exception. He has gone and penned a book called The Balding Handbook: The 5 Stages of Grieving for Your Hair Loss. The book is exactly as its name implies, "I go through all the five stages of grief: denial, anger and rage, bargaining, depression and acceptance, and how it applies to baldness. Excerpts from the interview...
The book is cheeky and irreverent.
"It's a parody of those self-help handbooks. I thought it would be funny to apply the "five stages of grieving" to male pattern baldness. The vast majority of readers have shared the fun and realised its humour. However, I've had a few readers (not many) complain that I'm making fun of something that some people have a hard time dealing with. I think, on some level, the book does help balding people realise that going bald isn't so bad. At least, I hope so." He insists that the book is not great literature.
What are the craziest hair loss myths you've heard?
"The best one I heard was that if you did a lot of hallucinogenic drugs when you were younger, you would lose your hair. Have you seen Paul McCartney lately? The man is in his 70s and has a hell of a head of hair. Also, the stressful job myth is bogus. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush still have great hairlines... although Barack Obama seems to have a few issues!"
Any outrageous hair loss solutions?
"There have been many, but I have a couple of favourites. Dead Sea Mud - rumour has it that if you slather your bald pate with the mud, you'll get your beautiful head of hair back. That's 'hair back', not 'back hair'! A couple of problems with this remedy: first, it's been proven that it doesn't work, and second, haven't they noticed how many bald people there are in the Middle East? Plus, it's pretty ironic that something that has "Dead" in its name will have restorative powers. There's also a ridiculous thought that Emu oil can help with male pattern baldness. Didn't the inventors of this remedy realise that emus are bald?"
Would you ever consider wearing a wig, or opting for a hair transplant?
"I would but I'd have to relocate. If, all of a sudden, I show up to work or family gatherings with a healthy quaff, I would be ridiculed to no end. Do guys that have hair transplants think no one will notice? There should be a bald guy witness protection programme for guys that get transplants and toupees."
The balding Handbook (e-book) can be purchased on Amazon. The paperback is available at eckhartzpress.com.
