The claims made for cosmetic creams, milks and lotions bear little or no relation to their actual effect. When it comes to misleading the public, however, the cosmetic manufacturers pale in comparison with those involved in the business of ‘treating’ hair disorders. It is so lucrative a business that they do not hesitate to risk prosecution. A fine is a drop in the ocean compared with their profits, and if forced to close down they merely open up again under another name. Legally there is nothing to prevent anyone at all from setting up a ‘hair clinic’ or becoming a hair specialist’ or trichologist’. Whatever their title, their methods are similar. A few hairs are taken from the scalp and examined by the practitioner, who wears a white coat; scientific apparatus and coloured lights are usually evident in front of the client. This plays an important part fin setting the scene. A form is then filled out, making it all respectable and lastly, of course, a diagnosis is made, the aim being to Induce the client to embark on a course of ‘treatment’, the results of which are ‘guaranteed’. As a rule these courses involve a series of about 12 ‘treatments’

costing between $300 and $400 (payable in advance) plus various products which are sold to the client to be used at home. The tragedy is that we have allowed the public to remain so misinformed that they accept the claims made by these people. This is also partly due to the fact that the most common scalp problems have no satisfactory medical cure. The sporadic successes achieved by these businesses have two simple explanations: firstly, hair growth is cyclical, and periodically large amounts may be lost, frequently to be replaced again; secondly, spontaneous natural resolution is common for many scalp and hair disorders. Some people will always exploit basic human desires, and the desire to appear attractive to others is especially vulnerable to exploitation. Hair, unfortunately, has lost most of its biological functions and has assumed a significant aesthetic and sexual role. The psychological importance of hair is often not fully appreciated until either lost or occurs in excess.

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