A significant portion of adult males in Japan express concern over hair loss. Now, perhaps even more so, as new revelations suggest linkage between hair loss and sexual activity.
"We received 1,400 responses to a survey of our members," says Keigo Yoshida, executive vice president at the Add Hair Zomo Center in Yoro-cho, Gifu Prefecture. "In addition to questions related to frequency of shampooing and dietary preferences, we also questioned them regarding their sexual activities. About 70 percent of the respondents said they ejaculated between 14 to 30 times per month."
Readers' indulgence is requested while Asahi Geino delves into a somewhat sticky subject: Can, the magazine asks, any correlation be established between seminal excretions and hair loss?
According to an unnamed journalist who covers dietary topics, although water composes 90 percent of such emissions, their basic ingredient is a protein.
"For a long time men have been advised to take a diet of meats, eggs and other foods high in proteins," he remarks. "Hair is also created from protein intake."
Ergo, a new theory holds that excessive ejaculation of seminal fluid may deplete proteins and would impede hair growth.
"Viewed objectively, it (i.e., excessive ejaculation) can result in premature aging, reduced metabolism and thinning hair in males from middle age and beyond," says Add Hair's Yoshida. "We've found that compared with the older generation, today's younger men tend to be more sexually active. Even though they boast a robust metabolism, they're burning up too many proteins. As lifestyles change, so do sexual lifestyles, and that's why you see more young guys showing signs of premature baldness."
An unnamed source in the hair restoration business tells Asahi Geino a guideline has actually been developed to discourage overactive libidos from ravaging one's hairline.
"Using this formula, the ideal frequency (of emissions) can be calculated by taking the person's age in years, dividing the number by 10, and squaring the result. Thus for a man age 30, the ideal frequency is once each 9 days, and for age 45, once every 20 days," he explains.
In other words, to assure a shaggier pate, men should bite the bullet, take cold showers and engage in restraint in all things carnal.
"It may be a bit stressful for males in their teens and 20s to stifle their sex urge to that degree," he acknowledges. "So there are advan- tages and disadvantages to these guidelines."
Some men try to have it both ways by supplementing their dietary intake with Zinc. Dr. Hideo Yamanaka, director of the Hibiya Clinic in Tokyo's Toranomon, advises Zinc be taken in daily doses of 15 to 20 mg.
Indeed, word from the street has it that male performers in adult videos regularly pop Zinc along with multivitamins, so as to aid their anatomy to "recover rapidly" from exertions in front of the cameras.
Acknowledging that quite a few of the adult-video industry's more illustrious performers have shiny pates, Dr. Yamanaka points out that genetically predisposed male pattern baldness, commencing from the front, may indicate the presence of higher levels of such hormones as testosterone, androsterone and androstane. Many such men, who also have heavy growth of facial hair, are known for their sexual prowess, but their occupation may be exacerbating their hair loss.
In that respect, truly, a vicious cycle has never been so much fun.
