Hair apparent

      Hair. What is it, really?
      Masses of fibers sprouting from the skin that, among other things, protect us from the elements.
      Today, the premise is kind of strange when you think about it. After all, we're not sleeping in damp caves anymore or chasing our suppers through prehistoric swamps and tundra. If we need to keep warm, we put on a coat or turn up the thermostat.
      Yet, there are millions of men and women in this country losing the hair off their heads and they are miserable about it. Steve Heaton, owner of LifeLike Hair Center on East Sahara Avenue, says some of his male customers would rather walk down the street with their pants down than their heads bare. More than one has said so.
      "We're such an appearance-conscious society that a guy that doesn't have (hair) doesn't feel a part of it," Heaton says.
      He should know. Heaton started losing his hair as a teen. By the time he was 22, any time he accompanied his mother on an errand, say to the grocery store, strangers were mistaking him for her husband.
      Heaton started wearing a hairpiece at 23. The metamorphosis was instant, starting from the moment he put it on. He looked younger, happier. "It," the bare head, was not the first thing people noticed about him anymore. "Hair will do more for a guy than a new wardrobe or an exercise program," he says, sitting in LifeLike, which looks like an exclusive men's club with high-back chairs and pictures of proud men back from the hunt, rabbits and pheasants at their feet.
      Hairpieces have changed a lot since Heaton started wearing them in the 1960s. Back then they were called toupees or rugs. Filmmakers had a field day showing floppy hairpieces blowing in the wind or sitting cockeyed on wet heads like dead rodents. Even Heaton admits his first hairpiece wasn't the greatest. It sat too far forward on his head and the hairline looked unnatural.
      Today, the hair is brushed back, away from the face, for a more natural look, Heaton says. The synthetic fibers that pose as real hair are finer and not as shiny as the old ones. Hairpieces, made of either synthetic or real hair, also contain fewer strands so they are easier to work with and don't look plastered down. The more hair the better, in other words, is no longer the rule.
      "You don't want them just perfect. That's a dead giveaway," says Jimmy Threet, owner of Fashion Hair Center, also on East Sahara Avenue.
      Threet has been fitting hairpieces for more than two decades. His own hairpiece, made of snow-white strands, makes him look 20 years younger. He shows no embarrassment taking it off and showing how it fits on his bare head.
      He attaches his by using two-sided tape. People also can use a few drops of adhesive, clips, or have it woven through the natural hair, he says. This is done by attaching the hairpiece with a fine thread to a client's own crest of hair, usually sitting just above the ears.
      Fitters such as Threet can make a mold of someone's head so that every divot, every bump is recorded and used as a guide when the manufacturers make the base of the hairpiece. A person can also choose everything from the amount of gray in a hairpiece, say 10 percent along the temples or 20 percent on top, to the amount of wave, to the texture, to the thickness, Threet says. The point is to match the piece to the person's lifestyle.
      Today's hairpieces, in fact, can be worn swimming, sleeping, showering, playing sports, Threet says. They are treated like a real head of hair. The only time they have to be removed is if the natural hair underneath needs to be trimmed. If it isn't trimmed every four to six weeks, the hairpiece becomes loose.
      Both Threet and Heaton are honest about their hair loss, but their customers usually insist on confidentiality. Many of them, they say, try to avoid being seen going into their shops and try to keep their new hair a secret. Threet has had men drive by and peek into the window to see if anyone was inside.
      "They're very skeptical about coming in.
      "I don't understand it. It's no different than wearing glasses if you need them. If it helps their appearance and makes them feel good about themselves, why shouldn't they?"
      Heaton agrees. The first time customers try on hairpieces, their faces usually light up. It's like giving them permission to be who they want to be.
      "A lot of what holds people back is they're afraid of what people are going to say. What they don't realize is most people don't know what they've done."
      Hairpieces can range from something as small as a quarter to a full head of hair. Heaton says his customers spend, on average, between $500 to $1,500 on new pieces; Threet's average is about $850 to $1,200. Both say business has increased during the past few years and their customers are every age.
      "It's really a positive thing. Wearing hair is a positive thing," says Heaton, who has also fitted pieces for accident victims and people losing their hair because of an illness.
      "There's still a stigma around for some people ... but it should be a normal, casual thing."