New York Magazine
The Cure for Baldness

New York Magazine
The Cure for Baldness: How I Flipped My Wig

This article chronicles the experience of a young writer named David Thorpe who began going bald at age 27. Once his balding started, he began to constantly and completely shave his head.

Out of curiosity, David contacted a hair restoration club in Long Island, New York called, Virtual Reality. They started planning his 'cure'; a toupee based upon the hairstyle of his shaggy-haired hero, tennis star Roger Federer. He had the have something for the toupee to blend into, so he began to grow his real hair out for a few months and the Virtual Reality technicians matched his hairpiece to his actual hair.

These photographs were all taken on one day at the Virtual Reality Salon (which was honestly one of the scariest places I've ever stepped foot into). We started with this toupee on (which looked surprisingly real). The toupee was then professionally removed, which involved removing the adhesive that held the fake scalp (made of contact lens like material called, "Dermalens")to his real scalp. His head was then shaved completely as he'd been used to having it.

During the time he had the toupee, he received mixed responses. Some people didn't recognize him, some people had a hard time looking at him and some people thought he looked amazing. He viewed this all as a curious and temporary experiment. He now takes comfort knowing if he wants hair, he can have it.