As a youth, Viktor Scham was a long-haired, sweet talking Casanova who enjoyed flirting with the pretty girls and reveled in collecting their numbers.

That all changed, however, when Scham hit his early 20's. And it wasn't because he got married, either. His locks abandoned him.

"I didn't have enough courage to flirt," said the 33-year-old Elgin resident. "My whole personality changed."

It didn't help when his brother-in-law called him "chrome dome" and a high school buddy announced after seeing him for the first time in six years, "Man, are you losing your hair!"

"I felt old," admitted Scham. "I wanted to look younger."

He made his wish come true three years ago by purchasing a hair piece that filled out what he was lacking on top. It proved to be a wise decision.

"My whole life has changed," he said. "I play football. I go water skiing. I feel younger. I feel very much younger. I feel like I'm in my early 20's."
 
 

Technology and a growing acceptance of men's need to boost their vanities are allowing them to fix one of the male's biggest curses - balding heads.

Most men with thinning hair start seeing their hairline recede between 18 and 22 years of age, said Brad Olson, owner of Brad Olson Hair Systems in Elgin. By the time they're 30, they're practically "slick bald" on top.

As unfair as it seems, men are often left with two options - accept it or do something about it. Television commercials entice some men to reattach hair through surgical procedures or by weaving someone else's hair into their existing locks.
 
 

Both "cures" proved to be too extreme for Earl Montague. He opted for the less dramatic, less expensive hair piece.

"The reaction was incredible," said Montague, who at age 40 had practically forgotten what he looked like with hair. Friends' comments have been "all pluses," he added. "Not, 'Who is this guy kidding!'"
 
 

The secret to naturalizing hair is a conservative, unobtrusive use of human hair. Too much hair tends to look fake, said Olson, creating a clownish appearance. "Less is better."

Unlike hair pieces of 30 years ago, today's are meant to show a little scalp. A nylon screen, used to weave the human hairs into, peaks through at the crown.

"The nylon becomes invisible when pressed to the skin," said Olson, removing his own hair piece and holding it up to the light to reveal its sheer pattern. When pressed to the scalp, the nylon looks like flesh.

But don't worry, men. Even though the nylon keeps your head warm in the winter, it's not unbearably warm in the summer. Many men, including Montague, say they even forget it's there.
 
 

Attaching the hair to your head depends on one's lifestyle and preferences. Some hair pieces bond to existing hair, allowing men to sleep and shower with their pieces in place. Others lock into place with hair clips or stick to the head with double-sided tape. Clients say all three methods are reliable, staying in place with little effort.

"(Slippage) is never an issue," said Montague, who opts for the double-sided tape method. "You can run your hands through it."
 
 

Vernon Studt wasted his youth on buzz cuts. By the time he was ready to let his hair grow, Studt's hairline had begun to recede like an old man's. Only Studt wasn't an old man. He was 18 and barely out of high school.

"I was sitting out at the pool one day when I noticed it was getting thinner and thinner," recalled the Elgin resident, who was practically bald on top by age 30.

Although he didn't like his "new look," he was reluctant to do anything about it for another 34 years. He had seen too many men try to hide their bald spots with hair pieces and fail. "I poked fun at people who wore them," he admitted.

Montague, who "never liked seeing (himself) bald," wrestled with similar fears before deciding to try his first hair piece one year ago.

"I was terrified I was going to look like a rock star from Kiss," admitted Montague. "I was not looking for a wig."

Before going to Olson, Montague considered joining a Larger Hair Studio. He was enticed by their television advertisements but found them impersonal and too high-pressured in the end.

"They wanted me to buy two pieces," he recalled. Worse yet, none of the sales representatives were clients. They were young men with full heads of hair.

"They have no idea what it's like to have no hair," said Montague.

Turned off by the lack of empathy - not to mention the $3000 price tag. Montague dropped the idea of having hair for nearly two years. Then he came across Olson's newspaper advertisement. He found the will to try it again.

This time he found what he was looking for - support and understanding.

"He made me feel so comfortable," said Montague. "The first thing he did was he took his hair replacement off."

The gesture did more for the skeptical customer than any sales pitch or brochure.

"My confidence went up instantly," recalled Montague. "I thought, 'He's one of us.' I felt real good about that."

Within weeks, Montague was walking around with a full head of hair once again. "It took 10 years off my age," he said.
 
 

Adjusting to a life with hair takes some getting used to.

Uncomfortable with his new head of hair, Montague took a side trip before heading home to surprise his wife.

"I was so nervous, I went to the mall and walked around for an hour," he said. "I would ask the clerks questions so they would look at me. I wanted people to look at me."

To his surprise, no one seemed to notice the "rug" on his head.

"I expected people to jump back, pull a cross out," He said with a chuckle. Instead, he received courteous service.

"No one has ever hinted I had a hair replacement," he said. Even those that know he's bald underneath are amazed at how real it looks.

"They're dumbfounded," added Montague. "They say, 'Tell me more about it.'"

So attached to his hair, Studt rarely leaves the house without it - even to take the garbage out.

"I put a baseball cap on," he explains. "It's like you don't want to be seen without it."

That doesn't mean he tries to fool anyone into thinking it's real, however.

"I'm very casual about it," he said. "You have to have a sense of humor about it. If you don't, you're not going to have fun with it."

Taking the plunge.

Deciding you'd like more hair isn't the problem; getting yourself to actually do it is.

"People are embarrassed to do something about it," said Olson. "They're afraid of what their friends are going to say. They just don't want to look foolish. They don't want to be laughed at.

Even Olson, who has been selling hair systems since 1965, was a little uptight the first time he had hair added. He was concerned people would think he placed too much value on his looks.

"I felt slightly awkward," he recalled. "You question yourself. Should I bother to improve my appearance?"

Montague was the same way:

"I was terrified about what people would think," he said. "Would they think I had an ego problem?"

Olson attributes such uneasiness to social stigmas.

"Men have just felt like they weren't allowed to do anything extra to look better," he said. "It's always been the female."

That's why many men need the approval of their wives or girlfriends before deciding to go through with a hair replacement, he added. "He doesn't seem to want to be the one who raises his hand first."