In many ways female hair loss is more damaging than hair loss in men. That is not to say men have it easy but hair loss in men is much more common. In both male and female hair loss the sufferers can be severely demoralised. It can cause to serious self esteem problems with sufferers lacking confidence.
This is often because the sufferer perceives that they don't look right and assume that other people treat them differently as a result. Regardless of whether this is the case or not the fact that the sufferer perceives it to be the case is enough for it to cause lasting damage and affect the sufferer's quality of life.
The cultural attitudes toward hair have differed greatly over the years. Different cultures across the globe have very different attitudes toward how to style their hair and it is a significant factor in almost all civilisations. The hair cut has always revealed a lot about the person that has had it done. In ancient Egypt they used to shave the head so that people would have very little hair on their head. This was particularly prevalent amongst young children as a method of making the heat less unbearable.
It is said that children were often left with a single lock of hair growing from one patch on their head. This would result in a pony tail type of hair style. Also known as the 'side lock' this type of hairstyle can be seen in many of the pieces of art that the Egyptians drew. The added benefits of these short hairstyles was that they made sure that the head remained free of lice. In public many people would wear a wig on top of their shortened hair.
Ancient Greek and Roman cultures also had distinctive hairstyles. Men and women had very different hairstyles and the type of hairstyle differed greatly between men and women. Women tied their hair back and dyed their hair suing henna. In some cases they even sprinkled their hair with gold powder and fresh flowers. Men kept their hair short or shaved it.
In ancient Rome people began to use hairdressers and it became a way of differentiate between the classes and rich people visited the hairdressers and were looked after by slaves. Someone that had had their hair cut was therefore far more well off than others and there must have been a certain social status gained for people that had their hair cut.
People across the world deal and style their hair differently. In parts of Africa such as Kenya the Maasai people tie the hair on the front of their head in tiny short braids whilst they let the hair on the back of their head grow long. This was a sign that the Maasai person was a warrior and the people that did not fight cut their hair short or shaved their heads. It is also the case that some people style their hair with types of animal dung and some colour it with dyes that are created from the red earth.
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