HEALTH
HOPE SPROUTS ETERNAL
BY KAREN SPRINGEN
Ken Washenik, 44, uses every available weapon in his battle against baldness. More than 15 years ago he started rubbing Rogaine onto his scalp twice a day. Five years ago he added the pill Propecia to his daily regimen. And over the past two years he's relocated 2,200 follicles from the back of his head to the sparser region on top. His next step? Washenik, a New York University dermatologist who recently took over as medical director of the hair-transplant company Bosley, is tackling the holy grail of hair loss: trying to figure out how to clone the cells responsible for hair growth.
OK, so curing baldness won't save lives. But it will undoubtedly ease the emotional suffering of millions. Each year those 80 million follicularly challenged men and women pour $2 billion into the quest for the magic pill, medical procedure--or at least the perfect wig, says Chris Webb, editor of The National Hair Journal. tip sheet offers a guide to what's available now--and what's on the horizon:
MEDICATIONS. Buyer beware. So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only two antibaldness medications: minoxidil, sold over the counter as Rogaine, for both men and women, and finasteride, a prescription pill sold as Propecia, for men only. Both drugs are pricey: a year's supply of Rogaine costs about $200, Propecia about $720--and, like other baldness treatments, they're not coveredby insurance. For best results, many men have combined both drugs. Check theNorth American Hair Research Society's Web site (nahrs.org) for more information.
TRANSPLANTS. The good news is that surgery no longer means obvious plugs: clumps of 15 to 20 hairs replanted like a cabbage patch. Today doctors can move hairs like blades of grass--one to four follicles at a time. Each year 100,000 Americans opt for the procedure, which typically costs about $6,000 and requires a local anesthetic. But don't expect miracles: you'll probably still look as if you have thinning hair. "There's no way we can create a hairline like when [you] were 12," says Robert Leonard, past president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ishrs.org).
CLONING. For patients with truly shiny pates, there may not be enough hair on the sides of their heads to cover what they've lost up top. "It's basically taking from Peter to pay Paul," says Duke University dermatologist Elise Olsen. With cloning, there would be an unlimited supply. Even the genetically blessed could thicken their tresses with regenerated cells--a surgical alternative to hair extensions. "There would not be a theoretical limit other than space on your scalp," says Washenik, who hopes to clone follicles within five years, though other doctors say the technology is farther away. Hurdles include making sure the cloned hairs match the originals in color, texture and direction of growth.
GENE THERAPY. No one knows how long it will take, but someday doctors hope to be able to manipulate the genes that cause hair loss. Unfortunately, there's more than one gene involved. "Male-pattern hair loss is what we call a complex-trait disease," says Columbia University geneticist Angela Christiano, who has discovered three baldness genes so far.
COVER-UPS. Americans alone still spend about $600 million on semipermanent hairpieces that bind to your natural hair and need to be adjusted every three to six weeks as your own hair grows. In the meantime, men might consider simply accepting their fate. As celebrities like Vin Diesel and Michael Jordan have shown, bald can be beautiful.
TRAVEL: FANTASY ISLANDS
Flee the freeze by jetting off to a tropical paradise. These private-island resorts will wrap you in the warmth you've been missing back home. But be warned: bliss doesn't come cheap.
North Island, Seychelles
www.north-island.com
With just 11 villas tucked into the forest or lining the beach, this 500-acre resort needs no menu. Instead, the chef speaks personally to each guest for inspiration.
FROM $1,350 PER PERSON PER NIGHT
Necker Island, Caribbean
neckerisland.com
Splurge like a mogul at Sir Richard Branson's private hideaway. There's room for you and 25 friends to explore the inland mangrove lakes--or just meditate.
FROM $1,385 PER PERSON PER NIGHT
Mnemba Island Lodge, Zanzibar
ccafrica.com Lie on the soft sand while traditional dhows breeze past. Or if you're the type who gets bored reading and sunbathing, explore the coral- and dolphin-rich waters.
FROM $520 PER PERSON PER NIGHT
Soneva Gili, Maldives
sixsenses.com/soneva-gili
The villas stand on wooden stilts above a turquoise lagoon. And your bathroom's glass floor affords a perfect view of the reef sharks circling below.
FROM $645 PER TWO-PERSON VILLA PER NIGHT
--Michelle Jana
FITNESS
HOT AND HIGH TECH
Humble long johns have come a long way. Now called "base layers," these high-tech undergarments are made of synthetic fabrics or itch-free wool, and wick away sweat to keep you warm and dry on the slopes.
1. Fleur d'hiver The Emily top ($54) and Veronica bottoms
($54) sport futuristic fabric with a feminine touch;
fleurdhiver.com.
2. Snow Angel Doeskins V-Waist bottoms ($48) sit low on the hips, while the crewneck top ($54) is made of plush micro-fleece;
snow-angel.com
3. Lowe Alpine Dryflo Seamless Crew ($59) and tights ($55) encourage extra vapor transfer from the body's sweaty spots, while holding heat in cooler zones; lowealpine.com.
4. Smartwool Made of the softest New Zealand merino, the Versa-Wear Zip-T ($89.95) speeds moisture away from your skin; smartwool.com.
5. Arc'teryx The Rho LT Zip ($75 each for top and bottom) holds heat and flatters trim physiques, while the chest pocket is the perfect stash for cash; arcteryx.com.
--Paul Tolme
KIDS
SPACE & TRAVEL
With Mars and new voyages to the moon captivating young minds, space is cool again. Regular tourists won't be lifting off any time soon, but enthusiasts can experience some of the trials and wonders of space travel at astronaut camps being set up around the world. In the United States, the original Space Camp opened in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1982 (spacecamp.com). Today campers can strap on a jet pack, train like shuttle astronauts, and eat, sleep and even go to the bathroom in a low-gravity environment. (Cost range: $100 to $900, depending on age and duration of stay.) More recently the organization has set up satellite campuses in Japan (space world.co.jp), Belgium (www.eurospacecenter.be), Turkey (space campturkey.com) and Canada (spacecampcanada.com). A new U.S.-style Space Town is in the works near Pusan, South Korea. And the best news? Adults can go, too.
--Sandy L. Edry
TECHNOLOGY
PHONE FUN
In Asia, talk--as in mobile-phone minutes--may be cheap, but short-text messaging (SMS) has become the preferred mode of communication for many. It's been loads of fun for those who don't mind using the English alphabet. But for the fast-growing Chinese market, the tedious process of pushing multiple buttons just to build a single character makes repartee slow and tedious. Nokia has found a solution. In a new feature that has set China and Singapore abuzz (and is likely to become standard fare elsewhere), the keypad of its new 3108 model slides down to reveal a Palm device-like handwriting pad. The 3108 is programmed to recognize both Chinese and Latin characters, and to predict which word you are attempting to create. Now the only button you need to push is the one to send your message.
--Alexandra A. Seno