Open any women's magazine (not that this is anything we would ever admit to doing, of course) and apart from all these incredibly thin women posing in the kind of clothes we could never afford to buy for our partners, the one consistent obsession is health and beauty. When it comes to hair loss, the main aim is to sell all these expensive spa treatments, apparently much loved by celebrities. They all start off the same way, mentioning the inevitable changes in hormones, but focussing on stress and lack of sleep as the most common causes of hair dropping out. So, the answer is relaxation therapy to regenerate the scalp. Actually this is all pampering that dents the credit limit on even the most precious of the "metal" cards. The technicians massage, release sleep-inducing aromas, and play you the kind of music you hear in elevators at off-peak times. The news section then brings us all the latest gossip. It seems that poor dear Elin Nordegren has been losing her hair. That oversexed beast of an ex-husband has just paid her millions of dollars in a celebrity divorce but she's been losing weight and her hair has been thinning. This is what happens to celebrity wives when their healthy bodies get hit by the news of their husbands' infidelity. Thank god they all get enough money to pay for the spa treatments to get that stress out of their lives so their follicles can get back into the action again.

This is not to say stress is not a factor in men losing their hair. In fact, the physical stress of surgery and intensive treatments like chemo- and radiotherapy can have such a dramatic effect on the body that all the hair drops out. Except, when we get over the stress, the hair usually grows back. But when it comes to male pattern baldness, the cause and effect is usually the other way round. We can be living quiet and happy lives when, unexpectedly, we start noticing more hair washing out after each shower. Increasingly anxious minutes spent gazing in the mirror finally drive up stress levels as the first signs of the hair line receding are detected. The bad news is that even if you have teams of technicians massaging your scalp to your favorite music, there's no stopping hair loss. This is purely a physical process and your stress levels make no difference at all.

So at the first possible signs of male pattern baldness, you should go see your primary healthcare provider. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the answer is always the same. You can ignore the "problem", or cover it up, or shave your head, or start taking Propecia. Not that many people are happy to let nature take its course and the idea of standing proud by shaving your head is a bit too dramatic. Covering up is a bit of a joke so this leaves you with Propecia. The medical evidence is clear. If you start early enough, it will stop the loss and encourage regrowth. Your choice!