The Tortoise & the Hair
The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare is a well-known one, the lesson being to never be overconfident or complacent like the hare, or you’ll find that the tortoise/hair has gone!
That may well apply to me, as while slowly creeping to senior citizen status, I’ve been fortunate enough to find that other than recession by my temple’s hairline and thinning spots along where I part my hair, I manage to give the impression that my full head of hair is intact. It’s even “virgin hair” — never been colored, dyed or treated. And it could be so easy to find comfort and complacency in that state of affairs. Complacency that can turn me into the proverbial hare, finding I’ve lost the race against time and aging — better to be the plodding tortoise, and take careful, manageable steps that can lead to preserving what I still possess.
If for fables we turn to Old Man Aesop, to keep my position in the race against Father Time, I would turn to someone who has provenance, history, reputation and equity on his side — and while thankfully not as ancient as Aesop, I turn to Svenson. A consultation with one of its hair specialists is the first step in establishing what my concerns are, and finding ways to address them. Yes, it’s the old “an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure” adage; but in the case of forestalling baldness, this really is the way to go. Some four years ago I had begun treatments and had the discipline at the outset, religiously showing up twice a week for a month. But yes, I did lapse, get lazy, and it was the fact that my hair beside my parting had now thinned to the point that when you had a light shining in that area, one could see as much scalp as strands of hair, that had me beating a path to Svenson — hoping it wasn’t too late.
There is a range of protocols one can opt for at Svenson; and primary to my concerns was to have twice weekly sessions when, after a corrective and cleansing regimen was applied to my hair, a green booster liquid would similarly be air-sprayed directly to my scalp. This was to fortify and improve the condition of what hair I had, strengthening the follicles and roots. An ionizer would then pass through my scalp (the Iontophoresis function of the Svenson Scalpmaster machine), improving blood flow and ensuring better absorption of the booster. A few minutes under the infrared lamp would make for the session that lasted all of 20 minutes. Coupled with the scalp and shoulder massage, time would go by quickly — and the Svenson girls are well-trained to keep the session light and relaxing.
There’s a futuristic contraption that’s placed over your head like a giant hair dryer. This is the Revage machine that uses laser pulses to stimulate growth. The disclaimer here being that when we refer to growth, we are talking about what is still there, ensuring it grows in a healthy, robust manner. This is not miracle-time, creating something out of nothing. This is trying to avoid the scenario of Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow; and NOT restoring hair when it has already gone the way of the dinosaurs, extinct! That sleight of hand requires another kind of treatment/magic.
With my visits to Svenson, it is maintaining and protecting what I still have that’s on my mind...and the cranium that holds it. For this, it is never too early to start.
All the world’s a stage
One common thread running through these three novels is the acting profession. With Lovett, it resides on the Elizabethan stage, as the Bard is at the center of his amazing story about antiquarian booksellers. In the case of Franco, it’s contemporary Hollywood and its dark underbelly. With Peruvian Alarcón, it’s about trying to revive revolutionary theater, staged for the “people.”
The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett (available on Amazon.com) This is one of my most enjoyable reads of the year. Anyone with a love for books, for Shakespeare and for historical fiction and mystery will take to this like a fish to water. The authenticity of authorship, a lost play by Robert Greene supposedly annotated by Shakespeare as a basis for The Winter’s Tale — drives the mystery element, as we shuffle through history and the various owners of the antique book. There’s antiquarian bookseller Peter Byerly, and the colorful personal history he shares with his deceased wife, Amanda, providing the contemporary tragic love story, and the glimpse into this rarefied world of book collecting and libraries. My kind of page-turner — the esoteric made fun!
Actors Anonymous by James Franco (available at National Book Store) Yes, this is written by that James Franco — actor, director, and sometime fiction writer. Written like an AA 10-Step Program to Acting, this novel gives us insights on the ego, insecurities and vanities of those who enter the acting profession — whether successfully, or pining on the sidelines while building up a resume. The world of struggling actors comes vividly to life. I loved the schizo quality of Franco, in one breath both egotistical and self-deprecating. There are poems about the late River Phoenix that drip with delicious sarcasm, and there are anecdotes and vignettes about fictitious wannabes that ring true, and reveal so much about the Hollywood psyche. Very entertaining!
At Night We Walk in Circles by Daniel Alarcón (available on Amazon.com) A noted Peruvian author, Alarcón gives us a fascinating blend of recent history, the plight of a revolutionary theater troupe, and the complex web of relationships that ensue as nostalgia bumps head with social reality. Founded by Henry Nunez, the Diciembre Theater Group attempts a revival and takes The Idiot President on the road, performing the play in small mountain villages and to audiences of campesinos. As playwright and actor, Henry recruits Nelson to play the role of the President’s son. The blurring of lines between theater and reality, how the best of intentions can be the worst of ideas, and how irony can rule our lives, are all themes of this majestic, intricately plotted novel.
