Male pattern baldness is a condition that will affect about a quarter of men in their thirties and about half of men in their fifties. It is surprising that so many men continue to go bald; not just because there are so many available treatment options but so many negative feelings towards male pattern baldness as well.

Experts will tell you that over the last few decades men have become far more conscious about appearance in our society than at any time previous. This occupation with appearance obviously extends to hair, which is a very large determining factor in our overall appearance. To lose this due to male pattern baldness or to have one's appearance significantly altered because of hair loss can be extremely damaging to the psyche. It is as if part of themselves has been lost.

This was clearly demonstrated by a recent study by the makers of a pharmaceutical hair growth drug surveyed a group of men entering the age of susceptibility to male pattern baldness (18-35) about their attitudes and thoughts towards androgenic alopecia (the scientific name for male pattern baldness). This is not a group which had displayed signs of balding and they were not selected for having a family history of male pattern baldness; they were a simple cross-section of the young male population.

Participants were first asked how often they thought about the possibility of suffering from male pattern baldness and how troubled they were by it. 25% of the men surveyed were said very concerned about the possibility of hair loss. These would most likely be men who had seen high rates of male pattern baldness in their families, though some were men who are very particular about their hair and appearance. This was further demonstrated by the lengths men would go through to keep their hair.

Nearly a quarter of men, 22%, would rather go without vacation time than be struck by male pattern baldness and more than half of men would rather be professionally or personally humiliated than lose their hair. It stands to reason that much of this attitude is fuelled by the belief that women prefer a man with a full head of hair; and other studies have proved this to overwhelmingly be the case. However, 10% of men say they would give up sex and 5% would divorce their wife or dump their girlfriend rather than live with male pattern baldness. This indicates that hair is important to a man for reasons beyond just attractiveness to the opposite sex. In fact, 5% of men when asked said they would rather die than lose their hair.

For some, keeping their hair was a matter of life or death, but every one of the respondents would prefer not to suffer from male pattern baldness. This brings me back to my original point: it is shocking that we see so many men in our society without hair. It is not for lack of treatment options; you can have hair transplant surgery or use pharmaceutical drugs to treat male pattern baldness. Herbal supplements are becoming a much more popular option for treating hair loss, because of affordability and lack of side effects. Some of them are quite effective, and they would definitely be my recommendation. There will most likely never be a situation where you would have to choose between your wife and your hair, and with these treatment options we can rest assured there never will be.