As a culture, we seem to have become obsessed with the idea of perfection. Anywhere and everywhere you look, there are images of people used to sell products and services, to inspire us they have leadership qualities, to tell us what makes people sexually desirable. Curiously, hair loss can be used in politicians and other leaders to suggest a link between age and experience. Never trust a young man. Wisdom only comes when you've been there and got the T-shirt to prove it. There's another truth. If you're rich and powerful, you can look like Elmer Fudd but women will still want to marry you. If nothing else, this encourages young men who start losing their hair to earn enough money not to care.

Growing up, we study our bodies wondering when we will grow tall, whether we'll have six-packs, how we can avoid the acne attack, and so on. In that generalized way, we vaguely follow what the biology teachers say about hormones and all that other scientific stuff, but most of the time we just hope for the best. Few bother to moderate the diet and work out to put on muscles. We have this blind trust it will all turn out alright. Except, more often than not, it doesn't. We end up overweight and not at all as attractive as we dreamed. Yet, so long as we remain self-confident, we can stay happy with our lives. That's why hair is important.

Hair is one of the more visible features of our bodies. We can wear loose clothing to hide bulges, but hats and caps attract questions and comments. This is where the biology lesson come in useful. All hair goes through a growth, resting, shedding cycle. Every time a hair fall our, it grows back slightly thinner. This is not something we can control. When young, hair looks bouncy, full of body and a good color. When older, it's lank and threatening to turn grey. Worse, all older men find their hair recedes. An early Brit king called Canute had his throne moved to the beach and instructed the tide not to come. Everyone was disappointed as he was forced to move up the beach to avoid premature drowning. So it is with aging. No matter how much we might want to stop time, there's no drug in the market to keep our bodies young.

With this warning ringing in your ears, you should recognize the limitation in the use of Propecia. This is a wonderful drug and it really does slow down and stop hair loss. But only in younger men suffering premature hair loss. If you are older, and your hair thins and falls out, this is age and there's nothing you can do to reverse it. So, as a younger man, always have a doctor confirm you have male pattern baldness. Why see a doctor? Because Propecia is not an "instant" cure. You have to take it for three to six months before you see real signs of benefit. If your hair is falling out for another reason, this drug will not help. You will simply spend money and take pills. Nothing will happen. So confirm the cause of the hair loss before starting this drug. Only then will you see the results you hope for.