Many years ago, the title of this article was almost a famous
song, featuring both as a stage musical number and, later, as a
free-standing pop or blues song. For the obvious cultural reasons, it
reinforces the link between hats and the head. From the earliest times
when clothing was just being invented, humans found various good reasons
to cover their heads. It’s a good way to prevent sunstroke or, at the
other end of the temperature scale, to keep frostbite from removing ears
and noses. When status and rank became more important, headwear
indicated who was thought important. Later, it became the means of
concealing hair loss. Even in the earliest centuries, men have always
been embarrassed when their hair thinned and dropped out. Not all
societies venerate age. This can make it important to conceal balding as
one of the symptoms of aging.
The problem, as always, is to decide whether the means of concealment make the hair loss worse. Modern experts will tell you wearing any type of hat does not damage your head. Yet there’s considerable mythology from the military where uncaring sergeants make the recruits wear those terrible helmets. This is not to suggests previous wearers were infecting the newbies with hair-eating fungus, but to suggest that many volunteers are entering the military at a time when early hair loss might start. In practical terms, there’s no connection between what you wear on your head and the decision made by your genes to start your hair thinning and dropping out.
The problem, as always, is to decide whether the means of concealment make the hair loss worse. Modern experts will tell you wearing any type of hat does not damage your head. Yet there’s considerable mythology from the military where uncaring sergeants make the recruits wear those terrible helmets. This is not to suggests previous wearers were infecting the newbies with hair-eating fungus, but to suggest that many volunteers are entering the military at a time when early hair loss might start. In practical terms, there’s no connection between what you wear on your head and the decision made by your genes to start your hair thinning and dropping out.