What You Lost May Not Be Your Hair, but the Courage to Speak Up

I hear many people’s ‘hair concerns’ every day.

When patients walk into the exam room, I can sense more than simple worry in their eyes; there is a real sense of urgency.

It is not unusual to see them standing in front of the mirror several times a day checking their hairline, counting the hairs that came out between their fingers while shampooing, or sighing at the sight of hair gathered in the bathroom drain.

I treat them seriously, and sometimes with a little humor.

“Hair can fall out for anyone. It’s a natural thing.”

That is what I say, but inside I am always asking myself:

'Can I become a small source of hope in this person’s life?'

Back in medical school, my friends used to call me someone with “a lot of hair.”

Back then, I did not truly understand the value of hair.

Now I do. Hair is not simply part of appearance.

It is because it is a tool for confidence, identity, and expressing oneself in society.

This meaning is especially significant in Korean society.

As a student, you have to manage your hair according to school grooming rules. At work, you have to meet standards of “neatness.” And in the dating market, hair volume can become an invisible condition.

One patient still stands out in my memory.

He was a man in his mid-30s, and he said that on days when he had to give a presentation at work, he could not sleep all night.

The reason was that he was afraid his crown would show under the bright lights of the meeting room.

He tried wearing a hat, but he had to take it off in the meeting room, so in the end he only handled the slides instead of giving the presentation.

Another young woman said she was always nervous on blind dates.

She was constantly anxious that the other person might be looking closely at her hair, or that her part might open up in the wind.

Another person said that after hair loss began, they started avoiding family gatherings.

They said it hurt every time their grandmother asked, “Why did it end up like this?”

They shared that more than the hair loss itself, the gaze of others left the deeper wound.

Hair loss is not only an appearance issue.

Our society prefers the look of “being healthy” and the image of being “young and vibrant.”

These standards are repeatedly reinforced through advertising, television, and social media, and those who fall outside them are placed under unspoken pressure.

So people who struggle with hair loss come to see themselves as “not normal,”

and sometimes they hide themselves.

They are hurt more deeply than just on the surface.

Medically, hair loss may not be a life-threatening condition.

But it certainly affects mental health.

It often leads to withdrawal from interpersonal relationships and avoidance of social life.

I hope.

I hope for a society where anyone can live confidently without shrinking back, whether they have hair or not.

I hope we stop viewing hair loss only as an “individual problem” and that society’s overall awareness changes together.

Hair loss is not just a matter of hair.

It is a “social issue” that can affect an entire person’s life.