Options For Treating Male Baldness

The development of gradual hair loss affects around two in every three men on average or around two thirds of the adult male population by mid life. Women also can be affected by a degree of hair loss over their lifetime but as female hair loss is usually not associated with testosterone it is rarely as dramatic as male hair loss and more easily reversed. As the balding process can take between 5 and generally around 25 years to take full effect in men the question is whether there is a real cure for this problem?

Firstly, for hair to replenish itself there needs to be a reliable growth of new hair as old hair is lost by falling out during the natural cycle. As men age the hair follicles that grow the replacement hairs become less robust resulting in weaker and thinner replacement hair which is less sustainable. Ultimately the follicle generates hair that is too weak to find its way to the surface of the scalp. This results in gaps appearing on the scalp where hair no longer grows. Male hormones are directly linked to these changes that reduce replacement hair growth.

Anyone considering treatment for baldness needs to be careful before agreeing to a therapy. Treatments range from oral drug therapies and scalp lotions to strand by strand hair replacement techniques, wigs and hair transplantation. A search of the internet will generally show that satisfaction with the available treatments varies from person to person. The cheapest solution is most likely the use of a wig. Hair replacement techniques such as strand by strand, drug therapies, lotions and hair transplantation are all expensive. Hair transplants and strand by strand hair replacement can run into thousands of dollars by the time the course is completed. While drug and hair lotion treatments are ongoing and there is no guarantee that they will be successful with all men. The likelihood of damaging consequences from taking drugs is low. Nevertheless, there is also no guarantee that drug treatments have no long term side effects. As with any drug therapy, you take the treatment for balding at your own risk.

Hair transplantation may be covered by private health insurance policies in some countries. However, government funded national health schemes would be almost certain not to cover hair transplants. Similarly, drug therapies for hair loss would generally not be covered by national health schemes.

Essentially, you need to decide just how desperately you feel about your hair loss as there is no easy solution to the problem. In many cases people learn to accept that losing some, or even all of their hair, is not the most disastrous thing that can happen in life. After all, losing your health is a far bigger problem overall than loss of hair. Another way of looking at it is some celebrities (Telly Savalas who starred as Kojak was an example) even trade on their baldness and are considered highly sexually attractive as a result of their baldness.

By: Anthony Parker

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website.ws/apparke916 I am university educated and have a career background of 27 years employment in both the public and private sectors. I have also run my own businesses. I am currently self-employed in my own consultancy advising people on business start-ups.