Normalizing Hair Loss at Paris Fashion Week

 

 

Extravagant Hair on Display in Paris

 

Did you notice the extravagant hairstyles spotlighted in the press during Paris Fashion Week? It begs the question: are we getting closer or furthering away from models and their audience normalizing hair loss?

 

I’ve been seeing quite a few photos of Paris Fashion Week in the press, and I noticed many of the guests wearing out-of-control hairdos and not the sort of styles that you could replicate in your bathroom at home with your own two hands. One looked like a bird's nest! Yes, it’s art on hairstyles. It's certainly possible if you have the long locks to do it. However, it’s highly unlikely that these people have the real hair to create a 60+cm cross between a beehive and a bird’s nest! My first thought was extensions are at play here and my second thought was how extensions - especially for women - had been normalized in the fashion industry. I only know as much about fashion as my 60-year-old neighbour who wears shorts and a t-shirt for most of the year – but I know extensions when I see them! I remember in the early noughties a supermodel was photographed with partial hair loss. The press used this for entertainment in such a tone that viewers would look at the photo and be appalled with what they were seeing. It was reported at the time the supermodel lost hair due to years of using extensions, which can be heavy and can traumatise existing hair follicles but repetitively weave in and out. Think of it like hanging a bulb on a Christmas tree – the bulb weighs the branch down and pulls down on it.

 

Let's Get Real About Hair Loss

 

 

How accepting would it be for models on the catwalk to show their natural hair (if any)? Would this be acceptable to us? I love how models with vitiligo are not covering their skin conditions and going out on the runway without a hint of make-up to cover up or hide their skin pigmentation. Wouldn’t it be ground-breaking if we were to witness models and their spectators support hair loss by showcasing their true hair condition? After all, isn’t fashion about the design of clothes? Sure, fashion can bleed into accessories such as handbags, sunglasses and hair bows but such an action would help hair loss sufferers. It would actually be a move to normalizing thinning hair, alopecia, and all other scalp conditions. And wouldn't that be something?

 

Did you know there are three types of alopecia?

 

Screen Actors Screening Their Appearance With Hair Systems?

 

 

On the topic of media, don’t be fooled by all those actors on TV with perfect hairlines and a full body of hair – some are surely using hair systems. In fact, here are 15 celebrities whose hair has come under public scrutiny and who indeed may be wearing a hair system.