Propecia and the science of baldness

There are an incredible number of myths about hair loss and that proves the underlying truth of the matter. Although scientists have a general understanding of how and why we lose our hair, all the honest medical practitioners will admit the understanding is less than perfect. Into this gap step the marketers. Knowing there's a real demand for reliable treatments, the ads sell hope and fuel the mythology that there's a cure for every possible situation in which we lose our hair. This is cruel, if not criminal but, despite the FDA stepping in periodically to curb excessive claims of medical effectiveness, the less than honest marketers continue to make the claims and sell their products. So what exactly is the science?

Because people prefer certainty over uncertainty, it's convenient for many to claim science has identified the baldness gene. Depending on who you ask, it's supposed to be attached to the X chromosome which men can only get from their mothers. That means you should worry if your maternal grandfather or any of his brothers were bald. Except this is not really true. Newspapers may sell copies on the suggestion there's only one gene and now we know which it is, we can focus all our efforts in persuading it to keep on making hair. But a number of genes contribute to the process of deciding how much hair grows, how thick it is, what color it is, and so on. Simply seeing a possible hereditary link is not the same as solving a complex genetic jigsaw puzzle to say exactly which genes do what in the overall process of hair growth. Worse, even if we were to come up with the definitive genetic guide to hair loss, no scientist has yet devised a way of switching a gene on or off. Let's say the conclusion is that one gene is responsible for deciding whether hair grows. There's no drug in the pipeline that can even begin to kick it back into life again and so restore growth.

The bad news then continues. Genes and chromosomes are not the only factors that cause hair loss. So even though you may decide not to worry because everyone on your mother's side has a full head of hair, your hair can fall out because of stress or some other less controllable factor. All scientists can say is that, with the exception of Propecia which has been through the formal clinical trials to get approval as an effective treatment, none of the natural remedies work. Ignore all the advertising hype for this miracle cure and that magic ingredient. Only Propecia has any effect on hair loss and that's only for male pattern baldness. If your hair loss has some other cause, Propecia is not going to help. So ignore all the ads and the myths. The truth is hard. For some men, hair loss is inevitable. You can try meditation and relaxation technique or acupuncture. They may make you feel better.