It is actually possible to stop hair loss so those of you who reckon that you'll never get it sorted and have resigned yourself to facing life with a bald head take note of the following. Firstly remember all over the world millions of men suffer from hair loss and the vast majority of the hair loss is the heridatary male pattern hair loss that affects about 1 in 3 men by the age of 30 and 1 in 2 by the age of 50.

Hair loss research continues unabated and the complete cure is yet to be found but in the meantime scientists are nearly there with the latest research showing that a gene has been located that counteracts balding by activating the hair follicles. The gene is being formulated into a drug version that will be tested later on in 2006. A recent advance has been the cloning of healthy hair cells from your own head that can then be implanted into your scalp so that you get your own hair with the minimum of surgery.

Another new advance in the field of hair transplantation is the use of follicular unit transplantation which is basically an advanced form of hair plug surgery. It works by cutting thin strips from the scalp that have hundreds of hair from from the back of the head and then using a microscope dividing them up into follicles of 1,2,3 or 4 hairs depending on the accuracy and look required. Some surgeons have even made use of polarised light in order to get the grafts exactly in place and get perfect results. The scars that you get from the removing of hair from the back of the head are easily covered with the existing hair and with a good surgeon the whole surgery can take just a few days.

However surgery is not for everyone and the best medical drug bases treatments are undoubtably Minoxidil and Propecia. They both work by reducing the build up of the follicple destroying hormone DHT and they can be used in tandem to get really good hair growing results. Using them together is a good idea for stopping a rapid onslaught of male pattern balding. The Minoxidil comes as a topical liquid that is applied directly to the scalp with a pipette in small drops.

The Propecia is the latest drug to come onto the market and involves taking tiny tablets the block the DHT forming in the scalp in the first place by preventing the testosterone becoming dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Propecia has been shown to help sustain hair and prevent hair loss in around 90 percent of men and is some cases actually hair has been seen to regrow. In some very rare cases the Propecia can cause side effects like decreased sex drive but the effects are temporary and will cease if you discontinue taking Propecia. Propecia must not be used by women in any circumstances as it can cause damage to an unborn foetus.