Worried you're going bald? Eat nuts and have a fried breakfast

The good news for men is that scientists have discovered a cause of baldness — the failure of hair-producing cells to develop properly.

The bad news is that effective treatment could be a decade away. While your genes play a major role in hair loss, what many men don’t realise is that their everyday habits could be exacerbating the problem.

Here, Britain’s leading hair experts reveal the simple steps to help minimise it:

DON'T BRUSH TOO HARD

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Hair cells in bald men could be reawakened

Researchers have discovered that the skin on the heads of bald men contains just as many potential hair cells as their hirsute counterparts.

But somewhere along the line, the ability of them to grow strands of hair has been lost.

Now the researchers hope they can reactivate them – allowing for men to turn back the clock to their youth.

A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania looked at the "bald skin" on the head of men having hair transplants and compared it with skin where hair continued to grow.

They found they had exactly the same amount of stem cells – master cells that can convert into any other cells in the body.

However the ability of these cells to develop into a more advanced state – known as progenitor cells – had been lost.

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Baldness drug Propecia 'risking men's sexual health'

Young men could be risking their sexual health by taking a commonly used anti-baldness drug, claim some doctors.

They say finasteride, sold in the UK as Propecia, can cause serious side effects and isn't adequately labelled.

A quarter of men in their 20s show signs of male pattern baldness, with six and a half million males in the UK affected.

Propecia manufacturer Merck says it continually monitors the drug's safety and has updated the label.

James, 26, from Edinburgh suffered side effects after using the drug.

"I noticed hair loss, hair coming out in the shower and on the pillow, and I freaked out basically.

"I went onto the internet and researched it. I found out there was a drug called Propecia, and soon enough I started buying that and it worked a treat."

The prescription pill is extremely effective at stopping hair loss and in clinical trials nine out of 10 men didn't lose any more hair over a five year period.

Drugs' company Merck, which manufactures Propecia, claims on its website that less than 2% of men could suffer sexual side effects.

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Would you let your man spend £7,000 to hide his bald patch?

Anyone who’s caught their man secretly checking out his reflection in the bathroom mirror will know that most of them are as vain as David Beckham or Simon Cowell.

They may be able to laugh off comments about their complexion, weight or their (lack of a) six-pack, but if there’s one thing liable to put in him in a huff, it’s pointing out that he may be thinning on top.

Male pattern baldness - known medically as androgenetic alopecia - affects nearly all men by the time they are 60. For some, such as Prince William and footballer Wayne Rooney, it can begin as young as 17 or 18.

But, for most men, baldness begins in the late 20s or early 30s. By the age of 40, a large percentage have said goodbye to the thick, lustrous locks of their youth.

For those happy to go through life looking like Phil Mitchell, William Hague - or for the lucky few - Bruce Willis, it’s no big deal.

But for many others, baldness can become an obsession, as actor James Nesbitt admitted last week.

Publish Post

After years of battling his thinning pate, he finally had two follicular unit transplants, which replaced much of the lost hair. ‘They’ve changed my life,’ he says. ‘It’s horrible going bald. Anyone who says it isn’t is lying.’


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