The Hindu Business Line : Hairy tales

IT is said that, in creation, man is almost the only "naked" animal, the others being covered with hair all over the body. Could this be the reason why most people take great care of their hair?

At any rate, an unkempt appearance is not accepted in sophisticated social circles. So much so that one has lost count of the variety of hair oils, shampoos, and hair-dyes that flood the market.

What to say of people's craze for the hairstyles of their heroes, in films and sports! England's soccer captain, David Beckham's varying haircuts seem to fascinate his fans as much as his prowess in the game. In the 1960s, the Beatles' hairstyle became a rage the world over.

On a different plane, hair is considered valuable by many religious groups. Only this would account for the practice of tonsuring and offering one's hair to God in total reverence.

As to the commercial value of hair, one has to look at trading in this "commodity" transacted by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) in Tirupati. Sale of human hair yields huge earning to the TTD, and is referred to as "black gold". Do all these things, directly or indirectly, account for the importance attached to luxuriant hair on one's head?

Else, how to understand people's concern with growing bald or receding hair? People do not ignore these as natural occurrences with ageing or a matter of no consequence. How well this weakness is exploited by manufacturers of "hairgrowth" drugs!

Thousands of hair transplants are done in the US and all over the world. "Hair restoration" is now a separate discipline for extensive research. Scientists say that a person's hair speaks volumes about him. It reveals a person's ethnicity, origin, diet, and even lifestyle.

What does one make of hair being treated as a limb and considered worthy of being insured against loss or damage? Recently, a London insurance firm came up with a product providing men with cover of £1 million for permanent loss of hair — chest hair at that!

K. Gopalan