DEAR ABBY: My husband, "Jack," is a wonderful companion and a caring father, but he has one hang-up that's driving me up the wall and embarrassing me in front of our friends. I've talked with him about it until I'm blue in the face, but he refuses to accept it. He has been losing his hair steadily for the last 10 years, and although nearly half of our female friends have bald husbands, Jack refuses to acknowledge the fact that he no longer has the hairline he once had. Abby, he now parts his hair behind his ear and "sweeps" it over the bald spot.
To make matters worse, his favorite sport is boating. No matter how much "goo" he uses to keep his swatch of hair anchored down, once we're out on the water, he has a foot-long "flag" of hair streaming in the breeze. When we have friends with us, they often stare at the back of his head in horrified fascination, and I'm so embarrassed that I don't know where to look. What can I do to get Jack to wake up and realize the only person he's fooling is himself? -- FRANTIC IN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.
DEAR FRANTIC: Balding is an issue for many people -- both male and female. Some people are more sensitive about it than others, and go to great lengths to "cover up" the problem. However, your husband's sensitivity to losing his hair has gotten to the point where it has become a case of "the emperor's new clothes."
If you can't convince your husband that bald is beautiful, you might be able to convince him that his disguise is fooling no one by taking a video camera along on your next boat trip. One look at the replay should help him see the wisdom of consulting a hairstylist who can assist him in maximizing the hair he has left -- or visiting a specialist to explore the option of a transplant or hairpiece. I wish you the best of luck. There are none so blind as they who will not see.