Written by Menswear Style in Hair on the 18th August 2020

You’ve noticed it for some time now. The way your mates start to snicker when you bend down or turn around. The less than subtle hints dropped by them at the pub. The way your dad makes smirking comments about how you’re “catching up with him”. Every time you leave the shower, you notice a little more hair in the drain. When you look in the mirror, you see a little more pink scalp smiling up at you through your hair. Male pattern baldness (or androgenic alopecia) can be a huge blow to your self-image and rob you of your self-esteem. It can make you look and feel older than you are, and make you feel genetically inferior to friends the same age who still sport lustrous manes. Of course, there are lots of great looking bald men who wear their hair loss with pride. But if you don’t feel like joining their ranks, you need to get to the heart of your hair loss.

Admit that it’s not going away  

Hair loss is something of a ticking time bomb. The longer you leave it, the more chance there is that it will become permanent. You need to resolve to do something about it now rather than in 5 years’ time.

Find out the cause 

There are many causes of hair loss, and knowing the reason behind yours is integral to finding a solution. In most cases, male pattern baldness is genetic, and many of us experience it in our 30s or even in our 20s. However, other factors like stress, diet, and even how you wear your hair can put pressure on your follicles and cause shedding locks. 

Talk to a trichologist 

Once you’ve established the cause of your hair loss, your next bet is to book an appointment with a trained trichologist (scalp doctor). They will be able to advise you on the best course of action. It may be that taking the prescription medication finasteride will help to curb your hair loss and give you the regrowth you need. Alternatively, if your hair loss is already quite pronounced, FUE hair transplants may be your best option. A trichologist will be able to explain what kind of results you can expect, and the best way to look after your scalp before, during and after any treatment.

Maintain your results  

If you decide to go the hair transplant route, it’s important to remember that this won’t necessarily make your hair loss go away. You will still continue to lose hairs outside the transplanted area. And eventually you will run out of donor hairs to mask your hair loss. Which is why it’s important to maintain your results by taking finasteride. 

If you can’t fix it, mask it 

Alternatively, if a transplant is beyond your budget, you may be able to mask your hair loss using keratin fibres. These are sprinkled into your hair, and can be very effective in covering up patches of bare scalp. While they won’t do anything to target the causes of hair loss, they can get you fast and natural looking results.

We provide tips such as talk to a trichologist before going for a FUE hair transplant or taking Finasteride in this blog post on Getting to the Heart of Hair Loss.