For the majority of those who experience thinning hair on their scalp it is a very gradual process. That is not to say it will not progress. For men with typical male pattern baldness it begins at the temples and on the top of the head. Gradually these two areas of loss will increase in size until they meet and the person is left with only an arc of hair extending upwards from the nape of the neck. In women the loss is usually a more general thinning. In both these common types of hair loss the cause is the same - you chose the wrong parents. If one or both of your parents suffered with thinning hair then it is likely that you will do the same. This type of hair thinning or loss is called androgenetic alopecia, otherwise male or female pattern baldness. In men this usually presents as thinning at the temples and on top of the scalp. It is caused by the action of testosterone which, when converted to DHT (dihydrotestosterone) causes the hair follicles to shrink and become less productive before they eventually die.

There are however other reasons for hair loss, some of which are relatively easy to reverse, so do check with your doctor in order to eliminate these - certain drugs, loss as a result of coming off the birth control pill, or after pregnancy for instance.

Whatever the cause there are treatments available. These vary considerable in cost, efficacy and duration. Some help may be obtained by taking dietary supplements such as saw palmetto, an active anti-androgen. It blocks 5 alpha reductase and so lowers levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone ). It also blocks receptor sites for DHT thus disabling it. Saw palmetto is safe, has been used for hundreds of years by native Americans, is not known to react adversely with drugs. It is well tolerated, only a very few people complain that it upsets their stomach and it is relatively inexpensive. It is available from a health food shop or herbalist.

There are medicines available that will help in many cases such as those containing Finesteride. However check what side effects have been produced and work out the cost before starting such a course of treatment. It may help, but when you stop taking it you will quite quickly be back at square one.

There are clinics which can provide hair implant services. Those methods used today are better than earlier attempts, but it is an operation and so carries some slight risk of infection etc.

You may want to consider a method to disguise your loss, especially if it is a temporary one. There are many products available that will artificially thicken the hair that you do have or colour the scalp so that the thinning is less obvious.

There are also many more new hair loss treatments being developed using techniques such as cloning and gene therapy that may one day offer a permanent cure, so don't give up hope of getting back a full healthy head of hair!

You have a lot of choices to make. Just remember that even the best of treatments takes time. Hair grows very slowly so practise patience.