Baldness has been a great concern of many men for decades. Its progression is different in males and females. Males usually develop a receding hairline that develops into the typical ‘M’ shape as they begin to lose hair from the lateral sides of the forehead. Simultaneously, a steadily increasing bald patch develops on the crown on the head. The two areas of recession finally meet, leaving the remaining hair in a horseshoe-shaped area.
In simple terms, male pattern baldness occurs when the hair follicles shrink and, initially, yield increasingly finer hair and finally none at all. Its causation has been attributed to genetic predisposition as well as changes in the levels of testosterone, which is the principal male sex hormone. Though it is also marginally present in females, testosterone determines the physical differences between men and women, including the degree of ‘hairiness’. For instance, an excess of it can cause an abnormality termed ‘hirsutism’, or abnormally prolific hair growth.
Close to 65% of all males suffer from baldness to some degree or another. For those who do, male pattern baldness may have more serious ramifications that merely cosmetic ones, a recent study conducted by the Harvard Medical School linked baldness to a higher incidence of heart disease. The study proposed that the loss of hair on the front of the head heralded a 9% increase in such a risk, while hair loss on the crown ups the coronary ante to as high as 23%.
This ominous aspect aside, the options for treating male pattern are presently limited to the use of oral finasteride, topical application of minoxidil, and natural hair transplants (artificial fibers being banned by the FDA due to high rejection rate). Of course, camouflage via hair weaving, wigs, and toupees is an alternative – probably the most cost-effective and least risky one.
