Hair Loss

Ask Tommy Lee Jones about his cantankerous performance as radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens in Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" and the veteran performer bristles. Perhaps mistaking the question for a personal comment, the Harvard-educated, Oscar-winning actor feigns ignorance: "Cantankerous? I don't know what the meaning of that word is!" He paused, adding: "And I hear that word all the time. " If the "No Country for Old Men" star has been hearing the C-word more than usual lately, it's likely due to Jones' spirited portrayal of the fiery abolitionist congressman in the acclaimed biopic, which arrived in theaters earlier this month featuring Daniel Day-Lewis as America's 16th president.

TRYING to prevent hair loss is not a new male obsession. For all we know, cavemen spent time staring into pools arranging their residual tresses into primitive comb-overs. What is new, however, is that today's remedies actually work -- at least to some extent. If you're already losing your hair and that bugs you, the sooner you start treatment the better. "It's easier to stop losing hair, than to replace hair that's gone," says Dr.

THE MOUSE FORMULA The threat was delivered to Hal Z. Lederman's attorney: "Inform your client that if he continues to steal the formula, I'm not just going to sue, I'm going to take drastic action." It came from one Robert Murphy. Lederman, the marketing mastermind behind a hair-growth product called the Helsinki Formula, didn't let it bother him. He had been getting the same message for months.

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details. Hold that hot comb, say a team of researchers -- African American women suffering from scarring hair loss may have weaves, braids and other hair-grooming traditions at least partly to blame. Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia is a type of hair loss that spreads from the middle of the scalp outward. It spreads as hair follicles die and are replaced by scar tissue, and it seems to be a particular issue for African American women, though its causes are not well understood.

Kellie Pickler shaved her head this week in a sign of solidarity with a close childhood friend facing cancer, and to raise awareness about early prevention of the disease. But the country singer might not know how many other cancer patients were moved by her gesture. Cancer patients endure a particular kind of hell when they lose their hair, said Nancy Lumb of Chevy Chase, Md. For many -- especially women -- it's the single hardest part of their battle. Lumb should know. She never cried when she was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago. She stayed strong when she had to tell her husband, her friends and her family about the diagnosis.

It's the ultimate bad hair day. Your hairline's disappearing, no matter how carefully you arrange your remaining strands. You have to face the mirror and admit you just can't hide it anymore. Then you go skulking around pharmacy aisles checking out Rogaine displays or considering spray-on hair in a can. Everyone's looking for a magic potion to deal with their balding pate. Truth is, there are no miracle cures, just a few emerging treatments that help slow the process for some people.

Shaun White is fearless, right? Just look at some of those tricks he's pulled off in becoming a skating and snowboarding legend. Most people would be too terrified to even try some of the stunts that helped him win two Olympic golds and 22 X Games medals. But there's one thing that apparently sends chills down his spine, something most people do on a regular basis. Getting a haircut. Maybe it's because he likely hasn't had one in a long, long time, as evidenced by the flowing red hair that has made him instantly recognizable pretty much everywhere he goes.

OIL of wormwood. Dog urine. Equal parts Abyssinian greyhound's heel, date blossoms and ass hoof, boiled in oil. Being licked by a cow. Through the centuries, men losing their hair have resorted to desperate measures to recover the luxurious tresses of their youth -- but happily, their options have expanded substantially beyond dog urine. Now there are sophisticated transplant techniques and drugs shown by science to be more than mere snake oil. And more is still to come.