Jezebel: hairy issues

Hair Apparent

Intern Katy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:20:00 EST

This morning Asha Mandela broke the Guinness World Record for longest dreadlocks on a woman with one strand measuring in at 19 feet, 6 inches. She told The Early Show that her hair weighs over three pounds. [CBS]

Excess Hair May Be A Sign Of Health Problems In Women

Margaret — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Doctors say many women don't tell their doctors about excess hair because they are embarrassed, but it is usually a sign of a hormone disorder.

Five to 15% of women have excess hair, a condition known as hirsutism, and in 70 to 80 percent of cases polycystic ovary syndrome is to blame. If untreated the condition can cause major fertility problems. Excess hairiness may also by a symptom of certain tumors and thyroid dysfunction. Cosmetic concerns can cause psychological problems too. "The effect that excess hair can have on a woman's self-esteem and how she views herself as a woman - and therefore her quality of life - can be extremely distressing," says Rachel Hawkes, chairwoman of Verity, a polycystic ovary syndrome charity. Mild cases may be treated cosmetically, but in moderate to severe cases hormone therapy may be needed to eliminate the hair. [BBC]

[Image via Cedars-Sinai.]

It Beats All

Sadie — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EDT

As part of a rather macabre series of stories on "children who narrowly escaped serious injury," the Twin Cities' Star Tribune brings us the tale of 5-year-old Roberta Sandgren, who in 1954 got her pigtail tangled in an electric mixer while watching her mother bake a cake. For some reason, a cop was needed to untangle the little girl's hair from the beater. Roberta is now 60 and lives in Germany, where she works for a biotech company. All's well that ends well, I guess. [StarTribune]

Hairy Issues

Sadie — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:40:00 EDT

Wait, so there isn't just an endless supply of glossy, ethically-sourced human hair waiting to be made into extensions for Jessica Simpson? Um, no. Although celebs and those they inspire may not choose to think too hard about where their borrowed locks spring from, according to a new BBC documentary, Whose Hair Is It Anyway?, the growing demand for human hair extensions has led to ethically dubious hair-culling, with sources ranging from Russian prisoners to corpses (although hair dealers deny both.) Just as well that the recent extension-related bald patches and errant red-carpet strands are raising the celeb consciousness quotient. [Times of London]