Non-neutralizing home permanent kits depend
for their action on the oxidation that takes place when the waving lotion is
exposed to air as it dries. So far there is no indication that this can cause
any more damage to the hair than would occur if a neutralizer were used, but it
may not produce so long-lasting a wave. Baldness we are sorry to have to report
that there is no cure for ordinary bald- ness-at least, not thus far. Any
miraculous cures you may hear about have nothing to do with ordinary baldness,
only with special types. For example, in a condition called alopecia areata,
the hair suddenly falls out, often unclamps.
The disease, not fully understood, appears
to be connected with tension and other emotional factors. In many cases, the
hair will grow back again after the illness has subsided; and if the sufferer
has been using a "hair restorer," he may sign a testimonial in good
faith crediting it with his new hair growth. Baldness can stem from general
ill-health, scalp infections, emotional problems, and diseases such as typhoid
fever. The ordinary baldness of men, however, is the result of a combination of
being male, one's age, and inheritance and, in medical terms, it is called "male
pattern alopecia." Frankly, we do not have available yet a full
understanding of ordinary baldness.
We know well enough that the tendency to it
runs in certain families; that certain racial groups are more susceptible than
others; that it is often associated with aging, perhaps because the fat layer
between scalp and skull tends to disappear in men with advancing years. We know
that the male sex hormone has something to do with it, as it has with the
growth of body hair. And here we think it important to warn you never to take
or use any preparation containing hormones or any preparation supposed to stop
the action of a body hormone without your physician's advice.