Superficial students of Darwinism are constantly making owlish
predictions that ere many generations will have passed bald heads will
be the normal aspect of man. But, as we have just seen in the case of
beards, it is not utility or Natural Selection so much as Sexual,
Æsthetico-Amorous Selection on which the evolution of Personal Beauty
depends. If Natural Selection were at work alone we should, indeed,
ultimately become bald; for as soon as man begins to cover his head with
a cap or hat, he takes away the chief function of the hair on the top of
the head, where it serves as a protection against wind and weather. But
Sexual Selection now steps in and says that the hair must remain,
because without it the head looks decidedly ugly, whatever its shape.
“Eschricht states that in the human fœtus the hair on the face during
the fifth month is longer than that on the head; and this indicates that
our semi-human progenitors were not furnished with long tresses, which
must therefore have been a late acquisition. This is likewise indicated
by the extraordinary difference in the length of the hair in the
different races: in the negro the hair forms a mere curly mat; with us
it is of great length, and with the American natives it not rarely
reaches to the ground. Some species of Semnopithecus have their head
covered with moderately long hair, and this probably serves as an
ornament, and was acquired through sexual selection. The same view may
perhaps be extended to mankind, for we know that long tresses are now
and were formerly much admired, as may be observed in the works of
almost every poet; St. Paul says, ‘If a woman have long hair it is a
glory to her;’ and we have seen that in North America a chief was
elected solely from the length of his hair” (Darwin).
Inasmuch as Sexual Selection or Love is impeded in its action not only
by pecuniary and social considerations, but by the fact that it cannot
be guided by any particular feature alone, its action is slow and
sometimes uncertain. Hence the increase of bald heads. It is therefore
necessary to supplement the beautifying results of Sexual Selection by
means of hygienic precautions, such as avoiding air-tight, warm, high
hats, badly ventilated rooms, intemperate habits, and other causes of
baldness. Hereditary baldness is difficult to arrest in its course; but
even in such cases much may be accomplished by beginning in childhood to
take proper care of the hair. Most persons—especially men—seem to
imagine that combs and brushes are made solely for the purpose of
arranging the hair in some approved fashion; whereas, if properly used,
a brush adds as much to the _sensuous_ beauty of the hair as to its
_formal_ appearance. To remove all the dust from the hair, and give it
gloss and healthy colour, about fifty daily strokes, or more even, are
recommended. Avoid irritating the scalp with fine combs or hard
bristles, and wash it once or twice a week with a weak solution of
ammonia or borax. Hair that is properly brushed is always glossy with
its natural oil, and needs no vulgar ointment, offensive to the smell
and suggestive of uncleanliness. If with these hygienic precautions the
hair refuses to become beautiful, it is time to get medical advice; for
the dull colour and dryness of the hair which lead to baldness are often
due to constitutional disease.
Powdering the hair is fortunately no longer in vogue as it was formerly.
It is a most unæsthetic habit, not only because white or gray hair is
naturally suggestive of old age, grief, and decrepitude, but because the
flour forms with the perspiration and with the oil of the hair a nasty
compound. William Pitt “estimated, in 1795, that the amount of flour
annually consumed for this purpose in the United Kingdom represented the
enormous and incredible value of six million dollars.”
It is estimated that the average number of hairs on the head is 120,000.
This allows one to look with considerable indifference on the loss of a
few hundred, all the more as in ordinary cases, even after illness,
every hair lost is replaced by another. But when the papilla at the base
of the hair cavity is destroyed, then baldness is inevitable. It follows
from this that the only certain way of removing hair permanently from
places where it is not desired is to destroy this papilla. “Plucking
hair out by the root” does not destroy it. “If they are pulled out with
the tweezers there is a still greater stimulus given,” says Dr. Bulkley
(_The Skin in Health and Disease_), “and the hairs return yet more
coarse and obtrusive.” The various Oriental and Occidental pastes for
removing the hair have no more permanent effect than shaving.
“Superfluous hairs can be removed either by the introduction of an
irregularly-shaped needle into the follicle (after the extraction of the
hair), which is then twisted so as to break up the papilla and produce a
little inflammation, which closes the follicle; or a needle can be
inserted, and a current from a battery be turned on, when the follicle
is destroyed by what is known as electrolysis. These procedures could be
done only by a physician.”
Concerning electrolysis Dr. S. E. Woody says in the _American
Practitioner and News_ that the number of hairs to return and demand a
second removal will decrease with the skill of the operator and the
thoroughness of the operation. He usually expects the return of about 5
per cent, but when these are in turn removed the cure is complete. “You
should have the patient come only on bright days, for good light is
necessary.”