Baldness. It’s one of men’s biggest fears, and it affects almost 50% of all men by the age of 50.
What causes it and what can you do about it?
The most common form is alopecia, or male pattern baldness. It’s caused by a sensitivity in the scalp to naturally occurring hormones called androgens. (These are the same hormones that help men’s skin to look so much younger for so much longer, so it’s not all bad news.)
You can try all manner of hair restoration cures and medicines, but they’re almost all useless, especially if you leave it too late. Only two treatments have been shown to have any effect, but they have real problems – they don’t work for everyone, they mostly just stop the loss, you need to keep taking them for a long time for them to work and if you stop taking them they stop working, too.
On the other hand, you can try a hair transplant. Famous examples include Elton John and Bruce Forsyth, though despite everything Eric Morecambe ever said, Ernie Wise never had one (which is why you couldn’t see the join).
How does a hair transplant work?
Plugs of skin containing hair follicles are transplanted from the back or side of your head, because they’re unaffected by the androgens. We use your own hair – anyone else’s simply won’t match – which helps to give you a natural hairline.
It’s a simple, day procedure that doesn’t take long and results in growing, natural hair.
