OUR MANE CONCERN

Bald is beautiful? Not if it affects your confidence and quality of life. We spoke to experts to find the root of the problem and how to fix it

- SYED ZULFADHLI

WHILE SCROLLING THROUGH TIKTOK one dull Saturday afternoon, I couldn’t help but notice what great manes of hair all those 20somethings had on their heads. A glance in an old photo album made me realise that I did too at their age, but my mane has sadly diminished over the past few years. Still, I should be grateful that at least there’s enough hair for me to play around with, among peers who are further down the path of hair loss and male pattern baldness. But is this all inevitable though? My dread of looking like Friar Tuck compelled me to search for answers.

Friendly Discussions

My first step was to speak to Winthrop Wong, Wellchem Pharmaceuticals’ director and the co-founder of Miriqa, a local hair and skin supplement brand.

“I’ve met a lot of men both professionally and personally. And I’ve noticed that hair loss is just not something we talk about very often,” he shared. Perhaps it’s because we have other things to focus on like taking care of our family, planning our career development, sports and games and current events. So is it a possibility that the topic on appearances may come across as something shallow?

“Not true. Although we don’t talk about things like hair loss often, it doesn’t mean we don’t talk about them at all. When we do bring the particular subject up, I’ve noticed that we are intrinsically and silently troubled about the subject, especially those with genetic predispositions,” Wong revealed.