Fantasia Salon / Spa and Wig Specialists

Burly men with shiny, slick domes? Who are they? They are the Brotherhood of Bald People! It’s a group of men in the Twin Cities who celebrate baldness.

It started a couple years ago as a website with forums, blogs and pictures celebrating baldness. The founder from Ham Lake, MN, has transformed it into an online support group and a company offering T-shirts, hats and other products sporting messages such as “Hair is so Overrated” and “If you want to rub it, please ask first.” The brotherhood even hosted a “Take Me Out to the Bald Game” night at the Saints game last week.

No matter who you are, you go thought the same thing when you start losing your hair- you think it’s the end of the world. After venting on the website about the difficulties of losing hair, and the negative perceptions about baldness; the founder quickly realized that children, especially young girls with cancer and illnesses that result in hair loss, should be included in the group. So, while it’s pretty much exclusive to men they embrace women and girls who don’t want to wear hats or wigs during their cancer treatments.

With the inclusion of young girls, came a line of T-shirts with the character Princess Jewel, a crown adorning her bald head. These were delivered to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics in Minnesota. The leaders of the site also donate 10% of the proceeds from merchandise sales to charity.

To date, there are about 680 registered users on the site from all over the world. The founder says, “We like to think of ourselves as the anti-Hair Club for Men. I look at the guys that try the com-over or hang on to the last bit of hair and I just want to give them a hug and say, ‘Hey man, let it go’.

The founder says he wanted to create a place where people all over the world could come to share stories. He says his favorite is comparing Benjamin Franklin, who had the guts to go natural, to George Washington who, also bald, was dodging bullets on the battlefield while straightening his wig.

When founder Mike’s hair started receding in his 20’s, his parents tried to get him to do the “comb over”. When his son Tyris was dealing with the same thing, Mike encouraged him to shave his head. Tyris “went under the razor” at the Saints game!

A represetative at Children’s Hospital said the brotherhood T-shirts help the children with cancer feel accepted. People are concerned when they see a child with no hair, but, it they’re wearing a T-shirt that says “I know I’m bald, but you don’t have too worry.”

The brotherhood donated the T-shirts to Children’s Hospital but wants to find a company that will sponsor the line so the shirts can be given out to children all over the country. While the brotherhood may not have hair, there is one thing they have and that is really big hearts!

Did you know there are people out there that think if you wash your hair too often you can go bald or get dandruff? There is no truth to the rumor, that washing your hair frequently causes baldness or dandruff. Having said that, I must tell you that I wear my hair short and spiky and the dirtier it is, the better! I realize that doesn’t work for everyone.

You might find that you are losing hair while in the shower or when combing your hair but that is perfectly normal.

The hair follicle has a three - phased life: growth, rest, and shedding. Five percent of your hair is in the shedding phase. That means - (ah-hum, refer to previous post) that it is normal to shed “80-100″ hairs per day. If you showered once per week, it may seem like you are losing a lot of hair but that would be hair which is ready to be released - or in the “shedding” mode.

If you are worried about hair loss, you should have it evaluated by a hair loss expert. A dermatologist will be able to diagnose the type of baldness, if you are - in fact, experiencing hair loss. It can be something as simple as a thyroid hormone imbalance, which can be corrected. There are many solutions for women’s hair loss. The worst thing you can do is stress over your situation, as I have talked about before, stress only exacerbates the problem.

Dandruff is not caused by washing your hair daily or frequently. Dandruff, otherwise known as seborrheic dermatitis, happens when your scalp is too try or too oily. Your skin produces natural oils, especially on the scalp, ears and the T-zone of the forehead, nose and chin areas. This oil is produced to lubricate both your skin and hair follicles. Excessive oiliness can cause dandruff to occur. Dandruff is an abnormal amount of flaking from your scalp, which is often accompanied by redness or irritation.

Actually, washing hair daily can improve a dandruff problem. Use a shampoo formulated for dandruff. If your problem is severe, you may need medicated shampoo or physician prescribed creams or pills. It’s also important to consider your diet. As we’ve discussed before, something like dandruff is an outward sign of something missing internally. I’ve written a lot about diet and healthy hair and skin if you would like to read some of the past blogs.

Okay, we’ve determined that it’s safe to wash your hair daily if you desire. But, there are some tips you should follow. Don’t use really hot water as that can lead to a dry, flaky scalp. Don’t vigorously scrub your scalp, hard scrubbing can pull follicles in the rest and growth phase. Hair is sturdy and strong, but it can be damaged, especially when it is wet. While it may not fall out, it can be weakened then subject to breakage.

So, for all of you who like extremely clean hair, knock yourselves out and wash it daily. As for me with my short, spiky do, I’ll wash it weekly whether it needs it or not!!!

As we’ve been discussing, millions of people are suffering from thinning hair and hair loss issues today, both male and female. But, for the female, it is much more traumatic. The reasons for the suffering are many and include stress, vitamin deficiency or damaging hair treatments as well as other things we have discussed at length. There are medications out there to help with this but, remember, there are side effects for every drug. You must to decide which is worse, thinning hair or the side effects from the drugs. For those looking for natural solutions- today we have those as well.

Losing hair is one thing. We all lose hair on a daily basis and it’s not a problem. You should only worry if you lose hair and it’s not naturally being replaced. Some people suffer from a condition when their hair falls out but, after a period of time, the condition corrects and the hair returns. We have discussed this as it relates to birth control and pregnancy. As with anything, impatience sets in and we want faster results. You may want to try Hair Support System to shorten your recovery time which could otherwise be up to six months or more. Hair Support System will provide a natural cure for hair loss for those experiencing temporary loss. Some of the ingredients in Hair Support System are derived from the oils of plants.

Some people experience hair loss due to anxiety or depression. I watched this with my mother. She always had very thick, healthy hair, it truly was her crowning glory. Until my father was diagnosed with cancer. Every time I would see her, I couldn’t help but notice her once beautiful hair was becoming thinner and thinner. Eventually it got to the point where I could actually see her scalp on top. Mom and I never talked much about anything, including this. I’m sure it must have bothered her greatly, considering her history of having great hair. I know how it would affect me. But fortunately, I also know there are many wonderful options out there to help deal with this.

Some people experience hair loss due to vitamin deficiencies in their diet. I believe we will see more and more of this as the diet gets worse and worse. And, unfortunately I believe we will see people dealing with thinning hair and hair loss at younger and younger ages, again because of poor diet or extreme diets. When I was growing up and even when raising children, I was being told by the medical profession that it didn’t matter what you ate. Well, today, we know differently. It matters very much what you eat, particularly when it comes to health in general and the health of our skin and hair.

A natural cure for hair loss for those individuals with poor eating habits would include a better diet with the appropriate nutrients for better health. Most of us do not eat right and should be supplementing to assure we are getting the recommended vitamins and minerals in our diets daily. There are certain foods which provide the nutrients which will help keep the hair healthy. At Fantasia, we have products which are wonderful for strengthening and supporting the hair such as Hair Support System. However, we also know diet is critical and therefore sell Isagenix products. If you don’t want to improve your diet for healths sake, do it for vanities sake, so you can have great hair! (and skin)