Using over-the-counter medication can “slow down or halt the process” of balding, according to a dermatologist.

Speaking to Pat Kenny, a consultant dermatologist with the Institute of Dermatologists, Professor Caitriona Ryan said, “By the age of 50, 50% of men will have significant hair loss”.

“50% of women by the age of 70 … you see thinning all over the hair,” she said.

“They don't typically have their receding hairline in the same way as a man would have.”

Hair follicles

The dermatologist said premature balding can be assisted by the intervention of dermatology.

“A normal hair follicle, as [the balding] process happens, shrivels up and becomes a tiny little hair follicle, and then disappears,” she said.

“Once there's no hair follicle opening, it's gone – there's no getting the hair back.”

To avoid the hair follicles disappearing, Professor Ryan said intervention should begin as the hair begins to thin.

“When they're starting to see subtle thinning, especially for men at the front of their hair … start to use things that can just slow down that process or halt that process,” she said.

“It can be over the counter.

“The tablets are prescription, and they can be prescribed by a GP or a dermatologist for men and for women.

“Finasteride can make a big difference especially if someone is losing their hair early.”

Women and men

Professor Ryan said early onset balding “impacts men and women considerably, but I think sometimes we neglect the men a little bit.”

“You don't realise how impactful it can be to be bald in your 20s,” she said.

“The [hair loss] that I think most people are aware of is called telogen effluvium and that's after you've had stress in the body.

“It could be psychological stress … an accident or surgery … the vast majority of women who've had a baby, three months after the events, the hair starts to shed, and it can be really dramatic.

“This hair all comes back, and I think this is one of the things that it's really important for us to reassure patients with.

“It takes about nine months for the hair to grow down again.”

Hair loss in the form of alopecia areata (Nadzeya KOLABAVA / Alamy Stock Photo)

Alopecia

Professor Ryan said another form of balding occurs when people experience alopecia areata, an immune-mediated condition.

“Your own system is fighting against your hair follicle and gobbles them up really,” she said.

“For some people it's a lot of their scalp is missing and in the worst form of it, all hair is missing from the body.

“That can be absolutely devastating because it usually happens to younger people often in their teenage years.

“Often they'll have a family history of it, or they could have family history at least of autoimmune conditions, sometimes stress can trigger episodes.”

Professor Ryan said there are immunosuppressants used to dampen down the overactive immune system which can be very effective.

“There are lots of drug companies that have drugs in development and there was one of those drugs approved by the EMA, just in the last year,” she said.

“That brings enormous hope for patients who have suffered from this, it's really socially impactful.”