Bring on the wigs
Long hair had long been a status symbol in pre-hygenic societies because of its difficulty to maintain under limited bathing conditions. It signified time and energy that only the elite often had. And when venereal diseases started making the royal courts of Europe bald in the 17th century, they were unwilling to give up the pretense of their locks and started wearing wigs. The bigger the wig, the larger the cost—so the ostentation of the wigs quickly got out of hand. As a sign of aging, being bald unfortunately still has a bad rap, despite the best efforts of Mr. Clean and Bruce Willis.
