On the first
morning of his Worst Toupee in the U.S.A. contest, Dr.
Daniel Kamen's phone is ringing madly with people
wanting to know more on how they can judge candidates in
this politically incorrect competition.
SAM DONALDSON
|
Kamen is
the author of Sam Donaldson's Toupee and other material
off the top of my head, a book he says is inspired by
the well-known ABC news reporter and years of witnessing
bad coverups.
"He's the benchmark of bad toupees," says Kamen. "His
is the sort of thing you would wear only if you lost a
competition."
Describing himself as a natural joker, Kamen stresses
his contest is not meant to offend anyone and should be
looked at with light spirits.
"If someone's offended, then maybe they shouldn't be
wearing it. This really is fun. I'm not going to put
anyone up who doesn't want to be there — except maybe
celebrities."
With a full head of hair himself, Kamen thinks many
men believe a hair piece is the best option after losing
hair to remain attractive, but he thinks men should
embrace their baldness.
"There's worse things in life," he says. "Bald looks
much better than an ill-fitting toupee."
For the millions with receding hairlines, though,
losing what many perceive is a masculine symbol is no
laughing matter.
Caused by factors such as genetics, age and hormonal
changes, many aspects of balding are non-preventable.
Micron Laboratories specialist Paul Pon believes hair
loss brings a very defeating feeling to those who suffer
from it.
"Image is everything, and in that first moment, you
still need to sell yourself."
Gordon Allen, manager of Hair Club for Men in
Calgary, agrees.
"There's a real desire to maintain one's youth, and
balding really ages someone. So, especially if you're in
your 20s, you really stick out," Allen says.
Despite some of its negative connotations, the
hairpiece still plays a valuable role in the industry,
and it's come a long way since its early, synthetic
days.
Today, the hairpiece uses human hair matching colour,
texture and even natural hair line.
"The technology really has come a long way. The
hairpiece now is really instant hair and natural
looking," Allen adds.
Sixty-million people suffer from hair loss every year
and the hair replacement industry is jumping to offer
consumers everything from quick-fixes to extensive
surgical procedures.
At Micron Laboratories, Pon performs natural follicle
rejuvenation therapy. This involves herbal-based topics
and a study of the scalp and follicles to determine the
cause of hair loss.
For those considering surgical options, Pon and Allen
say it is best to go to well-established locations.
"There's a lot of sneaky salesmen out there, so you
do have to be careful. But there are very safe
procedures available," says Allen.
Hair transplants, in which grafts are taken from
donor areas to be transplanted to the bald spots, is the
closest a person can get to having one's own hair
through replacement, says Allen.
As for the bad toupee contest, people can submit
their worst toupee picture to threeboyspress.com, where
the public will vote on a winner.
Canadians are welcome to join, says Kamen.
The contest runs though Nov. 14, 2005.
