Unit 26
Lifestyles and Health
d i a r f A u o Are Y ? d l a B g n i of Go Are you afraid of going bald? Hair loss might be the greatest nightmare that can happen to both men and women. Accordingly, across the globe, $3.5 billion is spent on baldness treatments every 5
year. 1.
Interestingly, the attempt to
cope with baldness actually dates back to thousands of years ago. To cure baldness, a 5,000-year-old Egyptian recipe suggested rubbing fats from hippos, crocodiles, snakes and other animals on the scalp, while the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates believed the best cure for 10
baldness was pigeon poop mixed with herbs. During the Roman Empire, Julius Caesar employed a variety of methods to hide his thinning hair. In addition to the laurel wreath that he wore, he first grew his hair long in the back, and then combed it forward over his bald area. 2.
One
company actually invented a “vacuum helmet” which people could wear 15
to “pump their hair out.” Presumptions of what causes hair loss have also varied to a great extent. Aristotle thought it was caused by sex. Later theories included “dryness of the brain,” which was a consequence of air pollution or, funnily, the wrong haircut. 3.
20
104
Barbers and medical journals
leapt into action, announcing that combs should be boiled regularly and
