A few years ago I'd have tried it. Not now. Now I shave my head and wear a chemo scarf most places. For two years before retirement I wore a wig because the job required uniforms and specific grooming standards, and scarves weren't on the accessories list.
Even if the PP405 stuff provided a full head of hair in a week, though, I still wouldn't do it. Hair has to be styled. I always hated messing with it and in 40 years I never, not once, got the look I really wanted via cuts, perms, or both. Wigs are available with built-in style that doesn't wash out. You can buy the style you want, clap it on, and be done with it. Plus no coloring, no tedious salon appointments, no bullshit products, no bad hair days because no hair. I would not return to the days of caring what my real hair looks like.
Hi Fager, I think that's a great mindset, not clinging to something that's lost, but accepting it and finding ways it can actually work in your favor, such as saving time on styling hair, as you mentioned. If you're achieving the aesthetic you want, who cares if it's natural or not? Yet, as you pointed out, there are still internal and societal standards that demand strands of hair arranged in certain aesthetically pleasing ways on our heads.
As of right now, I feel very attached (no pun intended) to the endogenously produced and extruded strands emerging from the follicles on my head. I think it's fascinating that we have the ability to pull biological levers to enhance these processes. But to be honest, why do we even care in the first place?
I don't know why hair is such a big deal, but it's really make-or-break, isn't it? One of the AI-hot-gay-dude Instagram accounts I follow posted an image yesterday of a guy who would have been smoking hot if not for the massive Farrah hair he'd been given. (The theme was leonine masculinity.) There's another account that's on a long streak of making all his characters bald, and as pleasing as they are in every other way, their shaved heads are the visual equivalent of a phonograph needle dragged across a record. In the absence of any other information about a person, hair usually plays a huge role in whether he's considered attractive or not. It's a conspicuous indicator of health and grooming standards, so that's probably part of it.
You know what an unexpected side effect of wearing the scarves is? People offer to help me now. Unless it's obvious that I won't be able to get a Home Depot product into my truck I don't ask for help, because then I have to smile and be nice to people and they're nice to me and it's just very unpleasant. But it happens nearly every time that when I'm loading something a random guy will hustle over and start helping. It's not possible that he's considering potential advantages to himself because even in my twenties I wasn't the kind of girl guys crossed parking lots for, and at this age I'm operating at peak ratbag 24/7. People just see the scarf and assume it's medically necessary instead of a signifier of shiftlessness. The other day at the post office an old lady *with a cane*, who had to be 20 years older than me, left her place at the counter to open the door for me as I left with a package. It's all down to the scarf, not decrepitude: I can still access the truck bed by stepping on the tire and climbing in over the side.
I would definitely like to try this product for thicker hair. Now, just wondering if any research is being done to return new hair growth to its natural color? I’d try that also!!
i wanna try it on a woolly mammoth 🤭
An extra woolly mammoth!
As someone who would benefit from this, this is very interesting. Thanks for all the details on the mechanism and biochemistry, David.
There have been times when I have considered getting my hands on some 'research use only' products. This is one such time.
A few years ago I'd have tried it. Not now. Now I shave my head and wear a chemo scarf most places. For two years before retirement I wore a wig because the job required uniforms and specific grooming standards, and scarves weren't on the accessories list.
Even if the PP405 stuff provided a full head of hair in a week, though, I still wouldn't do it. Hair has to be styled. I always hated messing with it and in 40 years I never, not once, got the look I really wanted via cuts, perms, or both. Wigs are available with built-in style that doesn't wash out. You can buy the style you want, clap it on, and be done with it. Plus no coloring, no tedious salon appointments, no bullshit products, no bad hair days because no hair. I would not return to the days of caring what my real hair looks like.
Hi Fager, I think that's a great mindset, not clinging to something that's lost, but accepting it and finding ways it can actually work in your favor, such as saving time on styling hair, as you mentioned. If you're achieving the aesthetic you want, who cares if it's natural or not? Yet, as you pointed out, there are still internal and societal standards that demand strands of hair arranged in certain aesthetically pleasing ways on our heads.
As of right now, I feel very attached (no pun intended) to the endogenously produced and extruded strands emerging from the follicles on my head. I think it's fascinating that we have the ability to pull biological levers to enhance these processes. But to be honest, why do we even care in the first place?
I don't know why hair is such a big deal, but it's really make-or-break, isn't it? One of the AI-hot-gay-dude Instagram accounts I follow posted an image yesterday of a guy who would have been smoking hot if not for the massive Farrah hair he'd been given. (The theme was leonine masculinity.) There's another account that's on a long streak of making all his characters bald, and as pleasing as they are in every other way, their shaved heads are the visual equivalent of a phonograph needle dragged across a record. In the absence of any other information about a person, hair usually plays a huge role in whether he's considered attractive or not. It's a conspicuous indicator of health and grooming standards, so that's probably part of it.
You know what an unexpected side effect of wearing the scarves is? People offer to help me now. Unless it's obvious that I won't be able to get a Home Depot product into my truck I don't ask for help, because then I have to smile and be nice to people and they're nice to me and it's just very unpleasant. But it happens nearly every time that when I'm loading something a random guy will hustle over and start helping. It's not possible that he's considering potential advantages to himself because even in my twenties I wasn't the kind of girl guys crossed parking lots for, and at this age I'm operating at peak ratbag 24/7. People just see the scarf and assume it's medically necessary instead of a signifier of shiftlessness. The other day at the post office an old lady *with a cane*, who had to be 20 years older than me, left her place at the counter to open the door for me as I left with a package. It's all down to the scarf, not decrepitude: I can still access the truck bed by stepping on the tire and climbing in over the side.
So cool. Even with healthy hair, I'd be interested in it being thicker.
Very informative and very encouraging!
Thank you, Dr. Kingsley!
It's always a great feeling sharing optimistic biotech stories!
I would definitely like to try this product for thicker hair. Now, just wondering if any research is being done to return new hair growth to its natural color? I’d try that also!!