Hair Loss: Joe Tillman and the Emotional Fall Out

Imagine you're 17 years of age, standing in the lunchroom and idly minding your own business. Suddenly, someone points an accusing finger at you and alerts everyone to the fact that you are losing your hair. How would you feel? What would that do to your psyche? Suffice to say, you'd be absolutely devastated. Apart from the immediate embarrassment of being singled out - as different to your peers - you'd have to deal with the harsh reality of going bald in your teens. Nobody wants to be different. Teenagers want to 'fit in', and feel that they are accepted by their peer group.

Yet, the scene I just described is exactly what happened to Joe Tillman. Now recognised as a leading expert in hair loss, Joe had a very tough time at school. It was the 1980s; there wasn't much awareness around the issue. Some might argue that 'society has evolved: we're living in the age of enlightenment. 'What happened to Joe would never happen in today's 'woke' culture'. But, how far have we really come? Is it true that there's no longer a stigma attached to baldness?

Joe remembers his desperate efforts to fix his problem. He tried every remedy on the market, every type of medication, shampoo and cream. Anything that promised to regrow his follicles. Finally, he met a Doctor who promised that surgery was the answer he'd been seeking. Sadly, the recommended surgery only made it worse. This ill-fated event plunged Joe into a protracted period of misery. He spent years trying to 'cover up'. However, that was not always possible. He couldn't wear a baseball cap in high-end restaurants, nor was it advisable to completely shave his scalp. As Joe puts it, "...if you were a white guy shaving your head, you had questionable politics. It wasn't nearly as acceptable, or even fashionable, as it is today." The emotional burden was enough to bear, without the added social stigma.

"...if you were a white guy shaving your head, you had questionable politics. It wasn't nearly as acceptable, or even fashionable, as it is today."



All hair loss is not created equal

Given his painful history with hair loss, Joe has some very pertinent advice for those embarking on the same fateful journey. The first thing he advocates is that it's really important to go to an IAHRS surgeon and try to ascertain what is causing the hair loss. If we don't get to the root cause, then we can never properly treat the condition.

Generally speaking, hair loss can be broken up into scarring and non-scarring. Scarring alopecia is the least common and often follows serious injury or some kind of infection. Non-scarring focal alopecia is generally considered an autoimmune disorder. Autoimmune disorders occur when the body actually begins to attack itself, believing one of its parts to be a foreign invader. Moreover, the pattern of hair loss can also differ. Some people experience hair loss from all over their scalp - general thinning, if you like - whereas others have very noticeable patches, as hair begins to fall out clumps.

The inevitable outcome of this is usually further stress. It's a vicious cycle. You lose hair, your natural anxiety piques, and it winds up making the problem worse. Questions naturally arise in your mind: why is this happening to me, what can I do to solve it, is it permanent? Telogen effluvium is the medical term used for an excessive loss of hair following a traumatic event. Imagine going through a terrible event – like the death of a spouse or job loss – only to discover that you must also face a future without your hair.



You're not alone

The website of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation features the following statistics:

"Did you know as many as 6.8 million people in the U.S. — 147 million people worldwide — are affected by alopecia areata with a lifetime risk of 2.1%?"

It's important to understand that you are not alone. Worldwide, there are millions of sufferers. It affects people of all ethnicities and shows no regard for social status. Joe's YouTube channel, The Hair Transplant Channel, provides an outlet for men to get in touch and ask him all sorts of questions. Tillman feels that the worst thing you can do is to believe that you just need to "get over it". Hair loss can cause documented, long-lasting psychological effects. It can lead to work, social and interpersonal problems. Experts agree that the more extreme the hair loss, the more likely the victim is to have a severe psychological reaction. When your eyebrows and eyelashes begin to thin, they can radically alter your facial features. When you no longer look like everybody else, it can make it difficult for others to relate to you. Sadly, we're conditioned to respond to people who look normal. On average, people with hair loss are prone to developing some severe side effects such as depression anxiety disorder and social problems with social interactions. 

Obviously, these disorders have a wide-ranging impact on one's ability to work, meet with family and friends, and establish meaningful relationships with other people. In short, it severely curtails your life and can condemn you to loneliness and isolation. After nine long years of covering up, Joe reached a point where he was no longer willing to hide. That's why he took the bold step to chronicle his hair transplant surgery, becoming the first person to blog about the process. After receiving thousands of emails, he quickly realized that his courage was an inspiration to others. He continues his quest to not only break the baldness taboo but also to offer help - the kind of help he wishes he'd had, as a 17 yr old boy.