There were articles in major newspapers headed ‘Balding Royals’, it was discussed on numerous radio chat shows and there’s now even a t-shirt being sold featuring a photo of Prince William with the caption ‘Advanced Heir. Yeah Yeah!’

The wording is a play on Advanced Hair Studio adverts, which show balding cricket aces – including Shane Warne, 40 – and the line: “Advanced Hair. Yeah! Yeah!”

So why is it that hair loss is such a talking point when it happens to celebrities, sports stars and now it appears royalty?

Is it that society sees them as being less attractive when they start to go bald? The answer is probably ‘yes’.

We already know of numerous celebrities and sports stars such as Shane Warne that have decided they would prefer to keep their hair, and are happy to talk about procedures such as Advanced Laser Therapy that is helping them retain a full head of hair.

I had a normal head of hair and I am now completely bald, said Cynthia MacGregor, 50, of Montreal, who has been diagnosed with alopecia universalis, a loss of all body hair.

Another sufferer, Shirley Ledlie, 51, of Brittany, France, said: It’s like having ‘I am a cancer sufferer’ tattooed on your forehead.  I look like an 80-year-old, ugly old man.

This lasting side effect of the chemotherapy drug Taxotere, in combination with other drugs, came to light when cancer patients began living longer. These women are now finding that survival comes at a cost.

Balding women from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and France are calling themselves the Taxotears. They include one Taxoterrorist, the nickname for Ms. Ledlie, who posted pictures of her balding head on the Facebook page of the pharmaceutical company.

We want every woman who’s been offered Taxotere to know it is a possibility, so it is her choice whether to take the risk or not, Ms. Ledlie said.

In Canada, about 10,000 patients, including an estimated 6,500 with breast cancer, were treated with Taxotere last year, according to Claudette Baltayan, manager of product communications for Sanofi-Aventis Canada Inc., the drug’s manufacturer.

The breadth of this phase of our trial is tremendous, said Kurt Stenn, MD, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. We have significantly more participants than our Phase 1 study. The improved quantity of our study group allows us to assess our cell-products and accelerate our efforts to truly understand the impact of cell regeneration on pattern hair loss.

Phase 2 of the study has thus far been conducted in eight cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Paramus, Raleigh, Houston, and Washington DC. The study will ultimately comprise at least 16 U.S. metropolitan areas, with numerous new cities expected to be added in the coming months.

The second phase of the trial is testing a variety of treatment regimens designed to realize a unique autologous cell engineering solution to hair regeneration. During the treatment, a small section of hair-bearing tissue is removed, cells are extracted and cultivated in a controlled laboratory setting, and then reintroduced to the scalp, where they are expected to elicit new hair growth.

This is leading edge research in our industry, said Vern Liebmann, Vice President, Operations. We’ve been able to conduct this study largely due to the generous financial backing of Aderans Co. LTD of Japan, and we’re collectively very excited to see the results beginning later this year.

Nanogen widens their scope for hair loss treatment, becoming involved with large scale clinical trials for the extremely promising Platelet Rich Plasma treatment.
Platelet Rich Plasma therapy received much applause when early results found it could not only improve hair growth and survival of transplanted hair, but also re-grew hair in a patient with Alopecia Areata. Nanogen hopes to be able to reinforce these early findings with larger trials, and contribute to newer growth-factor hair loss treatments. Other trials with Nanogen’s hair growth maintenance range are planned but details are not yet available.

Aside from research with existing products, Nanogen is collaborating with the University of Bonn to produce an accurate genetic test for hair loss, and has an exclusive agreement with researchers in Bonn to use chromosome 20 as the basis for a test to predict hair loss, as well as accurately diagnose Androgenetic Alopecia patients.

The company also plans to further bolster their professional background with the formation of a dedicated Expert Panel of hair transplant surgeons, trichologists, dermatologists and even grooming experts to advise and contribute to current and future hair loss research.

The double-blinded placebo study followed a small cohort of postmenopausal female patients suffering from Androgenetic Alopecia for a period of six months. Using a genetic technique patented by HairDX, we were able to identify women that benefited from Finasteride by experiencing a significant increase in hair counts.

While Finasteride therapy in men has proven very effective in treating Androgenetic Alopecia (male pattern baldness), there have been frustratingly few therapies for the treatment of hair loss in women.

Results of our pilot study are very encouraging, as it appears we have found a key piece of the genetic puzzle which identifies women who can benefit from Finasteride therapy in the same way men do.

Our findings suggest these women actually have a female corollary to male pattern hair loss (Androgenetic Alopecia), and that is an important finding, says Dr. Sharon Keene, Chief Medical Officer of HairDX.

Once these results are confirmed, it can usher in a new era of treatment for female Androgenetic Alopecia.

“But today, more and more women are seeking treatment. Five years ago, one in 25 to 30 of my patients was a woman, now it’s one in every 12 patients.” Sometimes, hair loss is due to an underlying medical condition such as lupus, polycystic ovary syndrome, a thyroid problem, anemia or hormonal imbalances.

Hair loss can also be a side effect of medication such as ibuprofen, antidepressants, hypertension drugs, anticoagulants and chemotherapy.

It’s crucial that any woman who notices hair loss visit a hair loss professional in order to determine the reason for the loss. After pattern baldness, telogen effluvium is the most common cause of hair loss in women. It is a temporary hair loss in which a higher than normal percentage of hair shifts into a shedding phase.

Telogen effuvium can occur after pregnancy or when a woman goes on or off birth control pills, or it can follow an emotionally traumatizing event such as the loss of a loved one.

Studies have also linked crash dieting to temporary hair loss.

Once a doctor establishes that pattern baldness is the cause of the hair loss, women can consider treatment. Minoxidil (Rogaine) is the only medical therapy available to women; it’s been found to help women maintain the hair they still have. The 2 percent minoxidil formula is marketed specifically to women, and the 5 percent formula is marketed to men.

Most hair loss specialists, however, recommend that women with significant hair loss use the 5 percent formula, though they need to be cautious about keeping the minoxidil off their face in order to avoid unwanted facial hair.

You have to display safety and efficacy to them, but their most important perspective is it’s safe for people to use, said Robert Tulk, president of the company.

According to the company’s patent, Stemcelex is: a system provided for promoting hair growth comprising one or more extracts from a steroidal alkaloid-containing plant selected from a Veratrum plant, a Buxus plant, a Holarrhena plant, a Solarium plant and a Rauwolfia plant … The system can also be used in reducing hair loss, enhancing or restoring hair colour, increasing the thickness of hair, improving the general appearance of hair, and/or reducing or eliminating dandruff. Methods of promoting the growth of hair are also provided.

With a global patent registered, Island Laboratories plans to set up corporate offices in Toronto. There’s also interest from China, India, the Middle East and Europe to manufacture and distribute the product, said Tulk.

You have to compete globally, he said. If you can’t rationalize placing manufacturing where you’d like to put it  close to the people of your local communities  then first and foremost you have to survive …

The Trichological Society says a growing number of salons are offering to do them at a cheap price and some hairdressers don’t have the qualifications to put them in properly.

The organisation says that’s leading to more young women suffering from hair problems such as bald patches and alopecia.

Barry Stevens is a hair scientist who runs the group.

He said: “People who have hair extensions usually have high hopes they’ll look and feel good but very often it ends in tears.

“There can be quite serious consequences wearing them for a long period. They are capable of destroying hair permanently.”

A report published in the British Journal of Dermatology also warns people about the possible dangers of hair extensions.

Researchers in the US and Italy say problems with them are more common than reported.

As a result of radiation treatments to treat ringworm as a young girl  a common form of treatment in the early 1940’s – the patient developed skin cancer later in life. She had numerous basal cell cancer lesions on her scalp that were removed, but the procedure left her with a scar and hair no longer grew in the area. While joyous about overcoming cancer, she was self conscious about her scalp.

Dr. Boden performed a modified scalp reduction, removed the scar tissue and transplanted hair to the area. By removing the scar tissue, Dr. Boden was able to produce the most natural looking results with the hair transplant.

Beating cancer is a blessing, but when a patient looks in the mirror and sees signs of this battle, it’s a constant reminder, said Boden. I don’t want financial means to stand in the way of self consciousness.

In addition to managing his own practice, Dr. Boden is a participating physician with the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons Operation Restore program, which helps people who have lost hair as a result of disease or trauma and lack the financial resources to have corrective hair restoration surgery.

There’s no mention of them being UK approved, which is because they are not classed as health products here.

They are sold online in the UK for around £350, with promises of increased hair growth, cessation of hair loss, faster growing hair, more manageability and more vibrant colour.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says the devices do not fall under its remit.

Jennifer Kyne from the MHRA told us by email, Whether or not a specific product would be a medical device under Directive 93/42/EEC would depend on the claims being made for each individual product by its manufacturer. ’Hair loss’ or ‘balding’ is not regarded as being a medical condition and therefore products which claim to treat such problems will not be medical devices and would not require CE marking as such.

It should also be noted that the regulations in the USA are not the same as those in the EU and just because something has been FDA approved does not mean that it is a medical device under EU regulations.