This book is too short! It's full of information on a quite wide range of topics related to hair, written in an agreeable style, rather less academic that I would have expected from a man with 20 years at an Ivy League medical school (he's in the private sector now, according to the brief bio material in the book).
The book starts with biology of hair and skin, a bit technical but written so it's accessible. A hair follicle isn't just a place in the skin where hair grows; it's a complex system. Hair itself is a complex material, well explained. What's unusual in the explanation is that the biology relates to things like cutting and dying hair. I had never thought about the science behind what beauticians do, but now I see better. Its a bit much to go into in a review but Stenn's book explains it well. The biology/ science he explains covers why hair curls, how its state varies with humidity and temperature. I'd always thought a "bad hair day" was an expression but yes, some days hair in effect misbehaves.
Stenn discusses some of the history of hair. That may sound a bit like a parody but it isn't. It's really the cultural history of hair, relating to style, myth and story (think of Samson), and the odd history of hair mementos in the Victorian era (a dead lover's hair in a locket with a miniature portrait, for example) and of hair art, that is, using hair as a medium to create designs and images. Wigs are discussed at some length--it's not something I would have gone out of my way to read about, but they are much more complex than I ever through. Who knew that Actor's Equity specifies a wig be cleaned every 14 performances, or that human hair for wigs comes from poor women selling it in Latin America, and from a tradition in India (that's hard to explain in a review, fascinating though it is). He also discusses baldness and its cures. And what hair communicates--among other things healthy hair communicates that a person's body is healthy.
But this is a book about hair, not just human hair. Historically the fur trade has been immensely important in some areas--and that's hair (he describes the felting process and the making of hats). Then there's wool, so important to British history--also hair. Stenn brings all this together and my guess is that many readers will think something like "of course!" when they read sections. Hair also has some unexpected uses. Sable hair is used for fine paint brushes (I recall using such a brush in doing paintings--not very good paintings, but the point is the excellence of the brush). One thing has me still wondering if he's pulling readers' hair: the bow used on a stringed instrument is made best from the hair of a Mongolian or Siberian stallion, specifically the tail, because cold climate makes for stronger hair.
The book ends with a vision of the barber/ beauty shop of the future, which may include robotic hair care, and much more, sort of a biotech and robotic boutique. I'm not sure how hairdresser and client will share secrets, but his portrait of the future looks interesting.
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