Bald is beautiful, according to some fashion commentators who believe that hair loss is currently in vogue.

Icons of the fashion world are now arguing that Kayla Martell – the fashion queen from Delaware, who has been in the news for proudly showing off her bald head – is the perfect example of this trend. Martell has alopecia areata. This condition also affected the British TV presenter, Gail Porter, who like Martell, has not been afraid to appear in public without a wig.

Indeed there are many examples of celebrities who have proudly gone bald in recent years. Ever since Sinead O'Connor wore her baldness with pride in the 1990s, hair loss in women has become more acceptable. German fashion designer Patrick Mohr grabbed the world’s attention during the last Berlin Fashion Week, when he sent models onto the catwalk with ‘skinhead’ wigs that gave the appearance of baldness. Toni Love, a hair designer based in LA, told one reporter: “yes, going bald is the latest fashion trend.”

Meanwhile the celebrity stylist Mary Alice Stephenson says that it is “individuality that has made a return, not baldness.” Stephenson insists that being an individual, and having your own style, are more fashionable than anything right now. If being bald makes you unique among your peer group, then it will also make you fashionable.

The distress of hair loss

While some may relish the thought of baldness if it makes them trendy, it is worth remembering that for many, losing their hair can be a distressing problem. The majority of people who go bald are men – overall, one in two will go bald eventually.

The primary cause of this problem is male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness is caused by inherited genes. There is little that can be done to prevent it, except the use of certain products including Propecia, which can delay the decline of hair cells on a man’s scalp. Propecia cannot be used for women. Many women who go bald prefer to cover their hair using a wig, or have an expensive hair transplant carried out. If the fashion experts are right, though, perhaps more women with hair loss will be willing to go without these treatments from now on.