For the overwhelming majority of guys,  as we become older baldness is, shall we say, a rite of passage. This is not to imply that it is at all desired but rather wired into our genes. What gives us muscles (testosterone) also takes away our hair.

There are some medications out there which can help with male pattern baldness. This is a type of baldness where at first a small bare area in the back of the head grows until all that’s left are the sides-nothing in the middle. I’m sure there’s a reason why the center but not the side goes. Probably the same reason that those pesky nose hairs, eyebrows and ear hairs seem to flourish as we bald.

The other type of baldness results in a gradual recession of the hair up front so that your forehead seemingly grows in size. Also, a rather unpleasant type of baldness. Unfortunately, medications don’t help with this kind of hair loss.

Medications such as Propecia will help in many but certainly not all cases by stimulating hair growth. In my experience however, the results are less than amazing. In fact, in some cases the only difference I can see is in the checkbook, which has thinned.

Certainly, surgery is an option. Hair follicles from the remaining areas are transplanted into the bare parts. It takes time and patience but results are better. Don’t expect your health insurance to cover this (unless hair loss is for example the result of chemo therapy) as it is considered cosmetic surgery.

All guys would love to look like a WWF wrestler but the truth of the matter is that as we age, it is harder to bulk up. Some of us have genetics which predestine us to  become accountants. Yet, many of my compatriots take all sorts of untested, unreliable and frankly dangerous pills in an effort to find their inner Arnold. Many of these drugs will cause premature baldness, along with cancer, strokes, high blood pressure and liver damage. If you ask me, I’d rather be scrawny than risk those side effects.