Marketing A Disease

"Are you a hair loss victim?" asks the Web site of Positive Trends Inc., which is selling Saini Herbal Scalp & Hair Conditioner as a "time-tested and proven solution" to hair loss.

"Healthy hair is the body's most beautiful ornament," the site pronounces.

"Scared of going bald?" taunts the Web site of Kevis Rejuvenation Programs, which features an image of a bald man with a depressed look on his face.

If men with male pattern baldness didn't think of themselves as victims before they encounter these Web sites, they likely do after. What are these companies working harder to create -- a hair-loss remedy, or the fear that makes it seem necessary?

The Web sites of the two FDA-approved treatments also portray hair loss as a disease to some extent.

Merck's Procepia site features a commercial showing adult twin men -- one of whom used Propecia, while the other didn't. The results were predictable. The commercial and Web site urge men to ask their doctors if Procepia is right for them, and the company even nudges them along by offering a free doctor's visit.

Visitors to Pfizer's Rogaine site are greeted by the image of a shirtless young man with a full head of hair, carrying an attractive woman on his back. Users are given the opportunity to take a survey about how their hair loss is affecting their self-image, and what's described as an "easy quiz" purports to tell users if Rogaine is right for them.

"Wonder no more. The answer is just a few clicks away," the site says. "Take (the quiz) now and take it seriously. Because the sooner you start to treat hair loss, the better chance you have to take control of it."

How "seriously" should we take male pattern baldness? It is, after all, a condition that affects most men -- and has since the beginning of time. And contrary to many other conditions consumers are advised to take seriously, hair loss isn't life threatening.

A spokesman for Merck declined to comment on the company's marketing of Propecia.

Kara Pollard, Pfizer's brand manager for Rogaine, said the company recognizes the difference between products for hair loss and those for life-threatening diseases. She said it comes through in the marketing. While men are looking for a functional benefit from Rogaine -- to regrow their hair -- there's also an emotional aspect at play: They're hoping to rebuild their confidence.

Pollard said that younger men who are losing their hair respond well to Pfizer's marketing, while she said there is still a lot of potential to reach more men.

"We do find there is a small portion of consumers that just don't have that emotional need or consideration, and they're just comfortable being bald or slightly bald," Pollard said.

She said the goal of the company's advertising is to change these men's minds -- and the company touts its FDA approval to try to convince consumers that Rogaine is a viable option.

Emotional Toll

So far, none of Tyler's treatments have worked, and he's very conscious of his thinning hair -- so much so that he wears a cap in public.

"(I've had to come) to grips with the fact that the best part of my life -- where I had confidence -- is probably over," he said. "I can't really describe the emotional impact with words."

Tyler, who is single, said his hair loss has affected every aspect of his life. He said he doesn't like himself, and therefore can't bring himself to love anyone else.

"If you mention that statement to someone who hasn't experienced it, they'll think you're exaggerating," Tyler said. "But you have to experience it in order to understand."

Tyler is a regular on several online hair-loss forums, such as hairlosshelp.com, for which Farrel Manne is a site administrator.

Manne, 40, said it was very traumatic to start losing his hair at age 23.

"Most of my friends, if not all of them, had all their hair, and it was very traumatizing to lose it so young," he said. "When you look in the mirror, you want to see the best image you can see, and that includes having a lot of hair on your head."

But it's gotten easier since then.

"When I got older, it was easier, because it's more common for someone my age to lose their hair," said Manne, who lives in Los Angeles.

Marcus, another hairlosshelp.com regular, said losing hair at 16 broke him as a person.

"I socially isolated myself from all my friends and family due to the embarrassment and shame I felt," said Marcus, now 26, of Bedfordshire, England. "I fell into a deep depression of constant suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts after seeking help from the medical profession and being practically laughed at and scorned for even caring about such 'trivial' things."

This devastation is more widespread than many people think, according to Dr. Ellen Rubin, a psychiatrist in private practice in New York and a clinical instructor at New York University School of Medicine.

Rubin said balding makes many men feel self-conscious and vulnerable, although she thinks only a small percentage of them end up needing professional therapy.

Men who start losing their hair in their 20s find it especially taxing on their self-esteem. As a result, younger men are more likely to look for medical treatment, said Rubin, who is also on the faculty at St. Luke's Hospital in New York.

"If you're in your 20s and you start to lose your hair, you sort of panic and seek treatment," she said. "(These men) don't believe that bald is beautiful."

But Rubin doesn't think product marketing has much of an effect on men's self-consciousness. She said we live in a culture in which we're judged by how we look, and men who don't have a strong sense of self will be affected by hair loss long before they pay attention to product marketing.

"When men notice their hairline is receding, it isn't the marketing that makes them become conscious of it," she said.

Next:

Part 3: 'I Wanted To Fight It'

Related Article: A Hair-Raising Experience