Bonded by baldness

With a name like Brotherhood of Bald People, you would expect a group of burly men with shiny, slick domes -- and you'd be right. But this brotherhood also embraces women who don't want to wear hats during their cancer treatments and little girls sporting pink T-shirts that feature a hairless princess -- a reminder that bald is beautiful.

The Brotherhood of Bald People started two years ago as a website with forums, blogs and pictures celebrating baldness. Founder Mike Ubl, of Ham Lake, has transformed it into an online support group and a company that offers T-shirts, hats and other products with messages such as "Hair is so overrated" and "If you want to rub it please ask first." The brotherhood also hosted a "Take Me Out to the Bald Game" night at a Saints game last week.

"It doesn't matter if you're Michael Jordan, you go through the same thing when you start losing your hair," Ubl, 51, said. "You think it's the end of the world."

After venting on the website about the difficulties of losing hair and the negative perceptions about baldness, Ubl and his staff quickly realized that children, especially young girls, with cancer and illnesses that result in hair loss should be included in the group. A line of T-shirts with the character Princess Jewel, a crown adorning her bald head, was created and delivered to Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. The leaders of the site also donate 10 percent of the proceeds from merchandise sales to charity.

The website's core members are men with male-pattern baldness. Brian Neary, who does sales and marketing for the group, said men with receding hairlines will often come to the site to get advice about shaving techniques and debate whether some women prefer bald men. There are about 680 registered users on the site from all over the world.

"We like to think of ourselves as the anti-Hair Club for Men," he said.

Neary, 33, told a story about one member who got hair transplants, but ended up shaving his head anyway. Even with scars from the transplant procedure, he still goes bald. He said he wished he would have found the website sooner.

Ubl, who shaved his head years ago when long hair was the style, said he wanted to create a place where people all over the world could come to share stories.

"My favorite is comparing Benjamin Franklin, who had the guts to go natural, with George Washington, who was bald, you know," Ubl said. "He was out there dodging bullets on the battlefield but straightening his wig."

While Ubl said his parents tried to get him to "comb over" his hair when it started receding in his 20s, he encouraged his 20-year-old son, Tyris Ubl, to shave his head. Tyris, whose hair has been receding for a few years, went under the razor at the Saints game.

Broader reach

The camaraderie of the brotherhood attracted Mae Farrow, of Idaho, after she lost her hair from chemotherapy. Farrow, who is in her mid-50s, wears her "Hair is so overrated" T-shirt to chemo.

Vicki Neis, a child life specialist at Children's Hospital, said the brotherhood T-shirts help children with cancer feel accepted. "People are concerned when they see a child with no hair, but if they're wearing the T-shirt it says, 'I do know I'm bald, but you don't have to worry,' " Neis said.

The brotherhood donates the T-shirts to Children's Hospital, but wants to find a company that will sponsor the line so the shirts can be given out to children all over the country.

"These old guys that don't have hair, they just have the biggest hearts," Neis said.