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10th Sep 2021

There’s a festival for bald people taking place next week

Charlie Herbert

It will mark America’s ‘Bald is Beautiful Day’

The first-ever ‘Bald Fest’ is set to take place in New York next week as a way of celebrating those who don’t have hair.

The event has been organised by rapper Kosha Dillz, real name Rami Matan Even-Esh, and will take place at Brooklyn’s legendary underground Rubulad club on 13 September, which is America’s national ‘Bald is Beautiful Day.’

Even-Esh has described Bald Fest as being “a celebration of owning your own fate” and “the opposite of fashion week,” which starts this Wednesday.

He told the New York Post that all people are welcome, whether that’s “people who are losing hair, receding hair, bald, Alopecia, bald allies and bald-owned businesses”.

Some of the events taking place at the festival include a ‘bald mitzvah,’ a blad trivia contest, and live music from bald musicians.

Oh and the absolute highlight: a Pitbull impersonator contest.

Instagram influencer Nicholas Heller will be there, telling the Post that he is “new to all this.”

“I shaved my head. I was balding,” he said.

“Maybe this is my opportunity to really embrace it and lose the hat for a little while.”

Tickets cost $18 (about £13) and are available on the event’s website, and it’s all for a good cause, with profits going toward Haitian earthquake relief.

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Here in the UK, the NHS estimates that half of all men will be affected by pattern baldness by the age of 50, whilst around 8 million women in the UK experience hair loss at some point in their lives.

Earim Chaudry, medical director and hair loss expert at Manual said: “There is still a huge social stigma in hair loss, especially for men. Embarrassment around the topic means that many men feel unable to talk about their hair loss with a partner or loved one.

“But hair loss could also predict other health risks, especially if you are experiencing rashes, aches and pains and lethargy, you would need to be checked out by a medical professional.”

Chaudry added that there are four symptoms that should be assessed by a medical professional if they are accompanied by hair loss. These are:

  • Losing hair from other areas on the body such as eyebrows or eyelashes
  • Feeling lethargic

  • Weak, soft or brittle nails

  • You’re taking strong medication for other health issues

For more information about hair loss and when it could be an issue, visit the NHS website.