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Pharmacists 'not confident' on hair loss, Regaine survey shows

Almost half (43 per cent) of pharmacists believe they should take a more active role in providing advice and recommending treatments to hair loss sufferers, according to a survey for McNeil’s Regaine.

The hair regrowth brand surveyed 50 pharmacists about their views on how they could help patients suffering hair loss.

One fifth admitted they were not confident answering questions on hair loss, with over a quarter saying they were less confident dealing with the topic than with questions on other men’s health conditions.

The results showed 49 per cent of pharmacists are asked for advice on hair loss at least once a month.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

Coming soon – A cure for baldness?

Coming soon – A cure for baldness, say German scientists, who claim to have grown hair follicles from stem cells for the first time.
Although their research used cells taken from animals, the scientists from Technical University in Berlin hope that they can create human hair follicles from human stem cells in a year’s time.

Stem cells are the body’s master cells. With manipulation in the laboratory, they can be grown into any tissue in the human body from blood to bone and whole organs.
According to lead scientist Prof Roland Lauster, the latest research could be a step towards providing treatment for the 80 per cent of people who suffer from hair loss worldwide, the ‘Daily Express’ reported.

Prof Lauster claims the treatment – which would probably require the hair follicles to be implanted on to the head – could be available in five years.

“Preparations for this are already in motion,” he said, adding that the creation of skin and hair follicles in a lab could also prevent the need for testing cosmetic products on animals.

“Since 1950 the number of new chemicals used in cosmetics has risen 500—fold, and so has the need for animals to be experimented upon to ensure they are safe for humans.

This could well do away with the need for them to suffer,” he was quoted as saying.

In 2004, a team from the University of Pennsylvania in the US also produced evidence that stem cell research could help prevent baldness. However, as of yet, no baldness cure has been invented.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

Midlife crisis? What midlife crisis? Middle-aged men are now more likely to buy a fast bike rather than a fast car, but what other signs of midlife crisis have changed over the years?

by Phil Daoust

The way it was: modern men in crisis are no longer turning to a Porsche to sort them out. Photograph: Alamy

Car v bike
Then: men in need of glamour headed to the car showroom for a topless MGB Roadster.

Now: they visit the bike shop. At Evans Cycles, £6,700 will buy a Pinarello Dogma 60.1 Sky Edition 2010 road bike. One happy mature owner says it’s “just a run-around to get me to and from work”, but it’s also good if you’re looking to show off.

Beer v marathon

Then: men of a certain age tried to prove they were tougher than their peers by drinking them under the table.

Now: they try to outrun, outswim or outrickshaw them, like Gordon “London Marathon” Ramsay, David “Channel” Walliams or James “Edinburgh to London” Cracknell. Is it about the taking part, rather than the winning? US researchers found that men were more interested than women in their final marathon ranking. Or, as Amby Burfoot puts it in the Runner’s World Complete Book of Running, “Men think sports are about beating the other guy.”

Leather v liposuction
Then: men who wanted to look sexier squeezed themselves into leather trousers, the tighter the better: think Rod Stewart.

Now: they consult plastic surgeons. Last year, the number of male breast reduction ops almost doubled, while tummy tucks rose by a fifth and face lifts by almost a quarter. Moob jobs mostly involve liposuction, though sometimes a surgeon will have to remove “excess glandular tissue” as well as fat.

Pony tail v crop
Then: men coped with hair loss by getting a transplant, growing a pony tail or simply combing over whatever was left.

Now: they shave their scalps à la Andre Agassi or Bruce Willis. Those really determined to hold back the years have their heads tattooed with fake stubble. “Cosmetic scalp pigmentation,” says the HIS hair clinic, produces “a natural cropped ‘buzzed’ hair style that is perfect for today’s modern stylish man”.

Real girls v match.com
Then: men worried about their waning attractiveness would hang around nightclubs trying to pick up women young enough to be their daughters.

Now: they hang around online dating sites, trying to pick up women who claim to be young enough to be their daughters. For all they know, they’re old enough to be their mothers. In fact, they may even be their mothers.

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help