"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Female hair loss has been interpreted in some ways.

At least 40% of ladies experience it. Hair loss or alopecia throughout their life. It might be alopecia areata (patchy hair loss), traction alopecia (pulled hair loss) or one other form. The alternative ways during which female hair loss has been depicted in art history reflects the many various ways it has been interpreted through the years.

In Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-century Britain, for instance, female alopecia was sometimes described as such. Retribution for sinsincluding adultery.

However, some historical art shows a more neutral, and even positive, attitude towards female alopecia. In religious or mythological art, he was sometimes idealized as divine.

Left: Madonna and Child by Carlo Crivelli (circa 1490). Right: Madonna and Child with Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Jerome by Cosmè Tura (circa 1455).
National Gallery of Art/Museum Fisch

Madonna and Child, painted within the Fifteenth century by Italian Renaissance artist Carlo Crivelli, depicts Jesus and Mary embracing in a sleeping manner. The couple sits behind a non secular altar surrounded by ripe fruits and decorated with halos. The Madonna's brow is high and her blonde hair has fallen, especially on her right temple.

This connection between alopecia and divinity is echoed within the work of one other Italian Renaissance artist, Cosme Tura. of that Madonna and Mary Magdalene (ca. 1490) Both mother and child are depicted with distinguished foreheads.

Wisdom is depicted in stone as two heads, with a bald woman on one side.
Prudence by Andrea della Rubia (circa 1475).
Along with the museum

A glazed terracotta piece by the Italian sculptor Andrea della Rubia in 1475 depicts Prudence as a two-headed bald man, an anthropomorphic figure of Christian morality.

Female baldness has been related to the divine for various reasons. He emphasized personal appearance in favor of deeper, more spiritual, priorities. But deliberate hair removal also played a job. For some religious people, similar to Buddhist nuns and Haredi Jewish wives, a bald head is taken into account acceptable. Clear and shaving may represent a. Regular, sacrificial ritual.

Ancient engravings.

Egyptian painting of two princesses
Two Princesses (circa 1353 to 1336 BC).
Along with the museum

Artwork on the partitions of the tomb of the traditional Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled from 1351 to 1334 BC, depicts his two daughters naked, with bald heads. Natural baldness was common amongst ancient Egyptians, including women.

A statue of a bald-headed princess
Bald head of an ancient Egyptian princess (circa 1352–1336 BC).
Along with the museum

In fact, the traditional Egyptians had. Separate terms For men and women alopecia. This confirms how common baldness, shaving heads and wigs were for each sexes in ancient Egypt.

And it's not only Egypt. Partial and full head shaving has historically been common amongst women in sub-Saharan Africa. As A traveler saw From the inhabitants of the 18th-century kingdom of Asini (modern-day Ghana): “Some people shave only one half of the head … others leave wide unshaven patches here and there.”

Medieval and Renaissance Alopecia

A Fifteenth-century painting, Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, by the Italian artist Fra Filippo Lippi, depicts a female figure facing a male figure. He has a distinguished brow and high hairline.

Portrait of a bald woman in profile.
Portrait of a Woman with a Man in a Casement by Fra Filippo Lippi (circa 1440).
Along with the museum

Appearance of Recessed Frontal Hairlines in Medieval and Renaissance Europe Fashion can be And it’s even considered an indication of intelligence, encouraging the practice of shaving the brow and plucking the eyebrows.

Queen Elizabeth I of England within the Sixteenth century was often painted this fashion. An undated oil portrait The British monarch depicts her in jeweled robes, with a pearl-embellished veil and a distinguished brow.

At that point, removing body hair for girls, including on the brow, was not only a matter of fashion. This debate also arose due to patriarchal ideas that girls have body hair. Dirty and dangerous even for men.

Advanced alopecia

Advertisements And research Nowadays hair loss is discussed mainly through medical terms, as a sort of harmful disease. Fresh BBC article People with alopecia areata are called “patients” and their experience of it’s “deeply challenging.” This actually reflects some experiences, but not those that interpret their hair loss more objectively, and even pride.

Pharmaceutical and cosmetic products are promoted as “must-have” treatments. A newly licensed drug, litfulo or ritlecitinib, has been Welcome to this week As “first treatment” and “medicine” for alopecia. But many types of alopecia will not be delimiting, and for the reason that “treatments” on offer have limited efficacy and potential issues of safety, it should be Don't have a default answer.. For example, the European Medicines Agency notes that ritlecitinib resulted in 80% of hair regrowth but just for 36% of individuals taking it. About 10% are vulnerable to diarrhea, pimples and throat infections.

Another study Noted that Similar alopecia drugs, which work through immunosuppression, work only in the event that they are taken repeatedly, yet their long-term safety has not been established.

Depictions of alopecia throughout art history are reminders of the various complex ways during which female hair loss occurs. Sometimes used as a weapon to shame women, sometimes revered as an indication of the divine, the reality is that hair loss really does say something a few woman's price, morals or status. Does not tell.

But historical depictions of female alopecia and baldness offer hope. They show that alopecia has been conceptualized in another way at different times. This signifies that the present type of alopecia as an inevitably harmful disease requiring a selected “cure” can also be biased. They suggest that if our societal interpretation of alopecia improves (as something that shouldn’t be stigmatized), so can the person experience (as something that shouldn’t be feared).