Educational Media Reviews Online

Jennifer Raikes has created a noteworthy film about the little-known or understood condition trichotillomania, or “trich” (pronounced trick). It is a disorder resulting in hair loss characterized by the person pulling, picking, or otherwise manipulating their own hair. It is not isolated to the hair on the scalp, but also eyebrows, eyelashes, or any other areas where body hair exists. Is it a bad habit or a disease? With so little research on it, even the medical establishment is not certain how to categorize it, since it appears to cross both psychological and neurological boundaries. By the end of the film, the life altering stigma trich creates and the devastating effect it has on those suffering from it (as well as those close to them) becomes painfully clear.

Bad Hair Life is structured around interviews with trich sufferers, detailing their symptoms, and the shame and guilt that result from their pulling. Interwoven are interviews with health care providers and family members, and Raikes highlights the Trichotillomania Learning Center (www.trich.org). Help is available, and trich sufferers usually respond to a combination of medication, behavior therapy and support groups. The film is well written and produced (all by Ms. Raikes) and nicely paced. While a bit lengthy for an educational setting, it does provide a fine overview and introduction to this condition with the emotional impact to help viewers understand the depth of the problem. Highly recommended, and because of the narrow focus, most useful for health sciences and psychology collections.