World's top experts put hair problems in perspective

The science of hair is a lot more complicated than shampoo and conditioner and can be a lot more life-altering than a botched dye job.

About 40 people with serious hair disorders will be seeking help from international hair experts this week at what's being billed as the largest hair meeting ever.

At least 400 hair researchers from Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia and North America have registered for the fifth annual Congress of Hair Research starting today at downtown Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

Along with workshops and symposiums, experts will be trying to help patients from the University of B.C.'s hair clinic suffering from a range of hair problems that put a bad perm in perspective.

They vary from cicatricial alopecia, a rare disorder that destroys the hair follicle and replaces it with scar tissue, and alopecia areata, an autoimmune skin disease resulting in hair loss, to more common disorders such as male pattern hair loss and women who have too much hair.

"These are people who may be cases where treatment may be complicated," said Jerry Shapiro, a clinical professor at UBC's department of dermatology and skin science and a doctor at the clinic. "We may have to go to more risky therapies, and we'd like other people's opinions."

Shapiro, who is also the conference chair, said the meeting will address a slew of hair disorders as well as the latest research on treatments and cures.

Session topics include chemotherapy-induced hair loss, tissue engineering of hair follicles, nutrition and hair growth, pigment biology and hair-related surgery.

One hot research topic is the quest to use stem cells to regrow a full head of hair from one hair sample. Shapiro calls the procedure "the holy grail of dermatology," and predicts it will be possible within his lifetime.

Hair loss treatment is a $7-billion annual industry in North America, according to estimates from the Canadian Hair Research Foundation.

Isn't it all a bit of a fuss for hair?

Not so, insists Shapiro. "The people who don't care about it are people who have lots of it."

Shapiro said about 50 per cent of Canadians experience some sort of hair disorder, and hair loss -- which he added occurs in women as well as men -- can affect a person's self-esteem and confidence.

For actors and models, it can have a direct influence on their career.

But Shapiro said he's seen studies in which photos were sent out with job applications and, all other factors being equal, the candidate with hair was favoured.

Renee Sarich, general manager of Axis Hair Salons in Vancouver, said she sees lots of men looking for a cut that hides their hair loss

But she admits there's only so much a stylist can do. "Once you start thinning on top to a certain degree, it's done, it's over," she said.

She said she's increasingly seeing clients turning to drug therapies such as Propecia to treat pattern hair loss.

She said it has helped some, although she has concerns that patients must take it continuously and there are some side-effects.

But you don't have to convince Sarich, who's been working in salons since she was 13 years old, of the importance of a good head of hair.