While your mom will tell you it's what's inside that counts, the simple fact is that appearance has an important impact in both business and social situations. For men, one of the key factors in projecting an air of youth, power and virility is a healthy head of hair.

Unfortunately, for 50 million men in the United States, male pattern baldness, the most common cause of hair loss in men, is in their genes. Some men experience male pattern baldness while still in their teens, and it becomes more common as men age. Forty percent of men have noticeable hair loss by age 35; by age 60, it's 65 percent.

"With America's fixation on youth and looks, it's no wonder that the onset of hair loss can send men into a panic," says Dr. Ken Washenik, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director of Bosley, the largest and most experienced practice. "While losing your hair is not life-threatening, it can trigger powerful emotions." Young men who lose their hair rematurely may feel like their hair loss ages them before their time and fear the effect it will have on their social life. Older men who are losing their hair face an unwelcome reminder that time marches on.

"I started losing my hair in my early 20's and was so self-conscious and shy that I questioned my future career as a math teacher and football coach as both would require me to face the public every day," says Scott Wright of Eugene, Ore.

The good news is that thanks to scientific and medical advances, men who are experiencing hair loss have a variety of treatment options.  The first step in taking control of your hair loss is to meet with a qualified hair restoration expert to design a personalized treatment plan that is right for you. Bosley offers to provide information and to advise patients on hair loss treatments.  

You do not have to accept going bald, here are some of the choices available:

• Minoxidil: This topical medication can help slow down hair loss in some cases, and help regrow hair on the top of the head in others. It must be used daily to remain effective.
• Propecia: This daily oral medication is available by prescription only. It interrupts the formation of the hormone DHT, one of the principal factors in male pattern hair loss. It has been shown to help slow down the progressive thinning of hair, so it works best for those in the early stages of hair loss. If the medication is stopped, hair loss resumes.
• Modern follicular unit transplantation is the state-of-the-art procedure used to restore a thinning hairline and add density to the crown. "It is a safe, in-office medical procedure that redistributes healthy hair follicles from non-thinning areas at the sides and very back of the head, where you have more than you need, to the thinning or balding areas on top," explains Dr. Washenik. Bosley has performed almost 200,000 hair transplantation procedures since 1974, making them the world's most experienced hair restoration experts.

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