Lock & Mane

As the Lock & Mane faithful know, we work closely with renowned Manhattan dermatologist and hair expert Dr. Michael Lorin Reed. We even have the honor of exclusively publishing his latest tome, “Women’s Hair Loss: The Hidden Epidemic.” We can’t say enough wonderful things about this book. It is informative without being preachy, prescriptive yet light and witty. It feels like having a great conversation with a good friend. So we thought we would have our own conversation with Dr. Reed about what inspired him to write the book and what readers can expect to learn from it.

Lock & Mane: After working with women on hair loss issues for so long, what finally inspired you to write this book?

Dr. Michael Lorin Reed: There are 30 million women out there with significant hair loss who need help, and there are not enough doctors to see them all. Since I can’t see them all (even though I would like to try), and since I know what they need to know, I wrote this book to act as my surrogate. There is such a wealth of misinformation out there that I wanted to try to correct it.

If women suffering from hair loss read this book they will know what they need to know to take the next step in their lives. It fills a gap between the patients who need the help and getting to where they need to be to get that help. It answers every possible question they could have.

L&M: You subtitle the book, ‘The Hidden Epidemic.’ Why is hair loss still a taboo subject for most women?

MLR: Hair is unique and it is the first thing we see on someone that makes him or her an individual.

That’s why we talk about people having a good hair and not a good skin day. Because it is so personal and yet so visible it makes it hard for women to talk about it or admit it to themselves, and it is certainly not something we are going to see get a big celebrity push. Celebrity women and public women don’t want to talk about their hair loss because their hair is such a huge part of their image. No one is going to have a 5k celebrity run to save women from baldness because it could be seen as a vanity issue and not a disease. Public women don’t want to come across as vain.

L&M: Since women don’t want to talk about it, can they actually self-diagnose with the book?

MLR: Yes it tells them in a step-by-step fashion what the common symptoms are to the most uncommon symptoms and combination symptoms and tells them how a doctor would diagnose everything.

Female pattern hair loss is the number one cause of hair loss and that is genetically determined, although the exact genetics haven’t been worked out. It is related primarily, but not exclusively, to the hormones in the scalp.

L&M: Do you advise your female patients to confide in their husbands about the issue?

MLR: I don’t actually. I try to encourage women not to get too involved with their husbands about it early on because unfortunately while we men may mean well we take one of two attitudes. Either blow it off as unimportant or make it such a huge deal that a woman now feels like the roof is falling down around her. I suggest that a woman confide in a close female friend or her stylist or just to her doctor.

L&M: What might women be surprised to learn from your book?

MLR: I think they will be surprised to learn that after reading this book they can do what I do. They will know a lot of what I know and they can go into their dermatologist and tell them exactly what they need. Women are also always surprised to learn that there are lifestyle changes to slow down hair loss and that hair loss can be stopped and in some cases reversed for women. A lot of women are surprised that this isn’t a death sentence for their hair.