HAIR loss can be a sensitive issue for men.
Seeing their hair grow thin and fall out, especially for young men, can lower their self-confidence, make them feel less confident and less attractive to the opposite sex.
But now bosses at High Street store Boots say they have the key to reversing the trend – and all men have to do is pop a pill.
In the Meadowhall branch of Boots, adviser Ganesh Paul says he can understand how men feel about losing their hair.
The instore pharmacist started losing his hair in his 20s.
He said: "I can empathise – I'm OK with my baldness and the people around me like it. I totally empathise with men who are coming into see me. I remember I was unhappy at 20 about losing it.
"I was really down. I shaved it off and everyone around me really likes it."
But he says if the treatment had been around when he started losing his hair he may well have used it.
He said: "When men come into the store they say they feel less attractive to the opposite sex, they feel teased by colleagues or their partner, and it does affect their self-confidence. They can also experience anxiety."
Before taking the medication, men have an assessment to see if they are suitable for the treatment, called Propecia.
The medication is for male pattern baldness – where hair starts to thin and is an inherited condition.
But the medication can help stem the loss as it works by inhibiting a hormone which leads to hair loss.
In some cases, says Ganesh, men have not just seen their hair loss slow, they have experienced some regrowth.
Digital pictures are taken before treatment starts of the man's head and are used to track the effectiveness of the medication.
Tablets cost £90 for a three-month supply and they have to be continued to maintain the hair.
As with all medication there can be side-effects which can loss of libido and erection, although the effects are said to be temporary.
Boots carried out a survey into the effects of hair loss and found it caused a lot of distress.
As many as 20 per cent of men believed that losing their hair would make them less attractive to women.
This was reflected in the results from men with little or no hair, with 17 per cent stating they feel much less attractive without hair than when they had a full head of hair.
Around a third of men had been teased as a result of their fleeing follicles and 14 per cent felt upset, angered and found that it greatly affected their self confidence.
Males aged from 25 to 34 were most affected by teasing as well as males who were divorced, separated or single.
But only a third of women believed that men losing their hair were less attractive.
Dr Martin Tovée, a psychologist from Newcastle University, said: "Hair loss can have a negative effect on men's self-confidence and their perception of their attractiveness to the opposite sex. Looking at treatment options is a good way to take an active and positive approach to the situation."
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