Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Everyday I get asked about hair loss.  As someone who is shedding his way to male pattern baldness I can completely relate with the panic surrounding hair loss.
So why do people lose hair?

Hair loss can be caused by many things including genetics, stress, diet, medication and most commonly hormones.  Typical male pattern baldness can be held at bay and often reversed by daily use of  Propecia.  The original drug Finasteride is currently used to treat enlarged prostate but was found to increase hair growth so it was re-packaged as a much more expensive hair loss drug.  Another weapon against hair loss is a topical solution or foam like Minoxidil or Rogaine that is applied twice daily to the scalp. Other topical, over the counter treatments for thinning hair are shampoos such as Nioxin.  The latest and FDA approved fight against the chrome dome uses red laser light therapy technology like those used in the hairmax laser comb.  The comb has mixed reviews and doesn't seem to work for everyone.  Several well known dermatologists tested it and shared the positive results on the Today show.  Basically the comb is brushed against the scalp three times a week for 15 minutes,  and on most testers there was noticeable new hair growth.  I'll let you know how it works once I save up the pricey 500 bucks.
As a general rule the less hair you have the shorter it should be cut, don't do the pony tail, mullet, comb over thing!  I always cut thinning hair dry so I can see how it falls naturally, it's a fine line between too short and just long enough for coverage.  If you have a good head shape and nice features you may be a good candidate for just shaving it off.  If you're thinking about shaving your head, go see a barber and cut it very short with a 1" or 2" guard that way you can see your head shape before going full Kojak.