If bald is not beautiful for you

The condition of hairlessness is very common among men of all ages. While baldness is romanticised a lot in films and other forms of art, the reality is that no man feels exulted when his scalp goes shiny. Among all types of hair fall that men experience, male pattern baldness affects most men. But there is nothing to feel devastated about it and you are not the only one with this problem anyway. Studies show that male pattern hair loss affects approximately half the male population by the time they reach the age of 50. And many of them do not even get a clue that they are losing hair until much of it is gone. But the heartening thing is that with proper and timely treatment, you can not just stop hair from falling off, but can also get some of your lost hair back.

Stages of male hair loss

Unlike random hair fall, male pattern baldness follows a typical pattern. With the help of patient surveys and clinical observations, experts have reached a general consensus about the different phases of hair loss:

• Phase 1: The hairline starts to recede.
• Phase 2: The anterior part of the head gets exposed, followed by disappearance of hair from a very small region at the vertex.
• Phase 3: Similar to the previous phase, only the rate of disappearance accelerates.
• Phase 4: The receding hairline is about to meet the the hairless region at the vertex, which is also expanding.
• Phase 5: Phase 4 culminates, causing a bald scalp with very thin covering of hair on either side of the vertex.

Even if you want, you may not be able to prevent the first 2 phases of male pattern baldness. This is because by the time you will come to know about your hair loss, much of it will be gone. But what you can do is talk to your doctor to prevent further damage. Unlike many other losses, hair loss is not irreparable and with finasteride, you will notice significant improvement in just about 3 months.

Propecia finasteride for prevention of male pattern baldness

This FDA-approved once a day pill is intended to treat male pattern baldness. Propecia is the brand name for finasteride, the active ingredient in this drug. Finasteride helps reduce a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Experts believe that DHT is responsible for male pattern hair loss, along with genetic factors. DHT triggers hair fall by causing the hair follicles to contract and preventing hair from coming out of the contracted follicles. What finasteride does is it blocks the production of DHT and in doing so, keeps the hair follicles from contracting.

You are the one to mind your head!

Hair loss can affect some men negatively, causing distress and poor body image. On the other hand, some men live just fine with a shiny scalp. So it is not compulsory to treat male pattern baldness. You are in the best position to decide what you need to do. It is advisable that you should talk to your doctor first and discuss your problem frankly.