It’s a common problem, especially for men of a certain age. A hair or two on the pillow, that thick thatch not looking quite as plump as it once did. The dreaded bald patch.

But while the balding gents of yesteryear may have had little choice but to accept their fate, today there are a wealth of technologies to help stem the thinning of those once-luscious locks.

Male pattern baldness is mostly genetic and can be spotted fairly easily – a receding hairline is followed by thinning hair on the crown of the head. In the past, transplant technology has helped. The hairs at the back of the head are immune to hormone attacks and are therefore great candidates to be transplanted elsewhere on the head.

But a limited supply of these hairs means you can only cover up the worst-affected areas. Perhaps there is a solution on the horizon – dermal papilla cells. The amazing regenerative properties of these cells mean that new hair can grow on a once-barren head.

A Manchester-based company called Intercytex is trialling the new cells on patients now – early results are extremely promising, but we won’t know for sure if it’s fully worked until 2009.

TV star Gail Porter is getting ready to launch the paperback version of her autobiography.

The book, entitled ‘Laid Bare: My Story of Love, Fame and Survival’ deals with Porter’s very public experience of alopecia, the condition which caused her hair loss. Porter suffered from depression as her hair loss took hold, and shortly afterwards her marriage to Dan Hipgrave broke down. The couple have a daughter, Honey.

The paperback version of the book is due to be released in Edinburgh at the start of August. Porter said of her autobiography: "I found it quite cathartic writing about my life. It's very personal, but it has helped me see things in perspective and taught me not to stress about things that don't matter."

The 36-year-old has a packed schedule in the forthcoming months. She is fronting Edinburgh’s first Big Bike ride through Holyrood Park to aid the NSPCC and ChildLine.

Porter is also working on several documentaries, and is involved with other charities, including the Fairtrade Foundation, Life After Stroke, and Action Aid.

As the traditional summer season of dieting looms, ladies should beware the possibility of some pretty unpleasant side effects should they take their weight loss too far. One such effect is hair loss.

Losing too much weight in a short space of time can cause mineral deficiencies, which in turn cause the body to react by shedding hair. To put it another way, hair loss is the body’s way of saying it is malnourished.

Other side effects that may make ladies think twice before skipping meals include depression, older-looking skin, fertility problems and shrinking breasts.

Pop star Sarah Harding fell victim to the latter side effect when she lost weight. She has complained about her breasts losing their shape: "When we tour, we burn off so much energy we lose weight. I wouldn't mind putting some back on. I want my boobs back."

Expert advice is of course to diet in moderation to give the body its best chance of slimming down and toning up without the unpleasant effects of rapid weight loss. After all, not many people would choose hair loss over a few extra pounds!

An article recently published in the Japan Times has made the claim that there may be a link between male sexual activity and hair loss.

The Add Hair Zomo Center in Yoro-cho, Gifu Prefecture in Japan conducted a survey on 1,400 of its members in which, amongst other things, it questioned them about sexual activity.
The findings led the Add Hair Zomo Centre to speculate that there may be a correlation between expulsion of seminal fluids and resulting hair loss.

Seminal fluid is composed of around ninety per cent water and ten per cent protein. Protein is responsible for the growth and repair of many of the body's tissues, including hair. Hence, the theory holds that 'excessive' expulsion of seminal fluid may lead to a protein deficiency in the body, and thus hair loss.

A source in the hair restoration business, who wishes to remain anonymous, has even issued guidelines suggesting that restraint and cold showers are the secret to keeping a full head of hair.

"Using this formula, the ideal frequency (of emissions) can be calculated by taking the person's age in years, dividing the number by 10, and squaring the result. Thus for a man age 30, the ideal frequency is once each 9 days, and for age 45, once every 20 days," he explains.

However, it may reassure men everywhere to know that this correlation is still at the theoretical stage!

Ever heard that wearing a tight hat will stop your hair growing? Or brushing it 100 times a day will make it thick and strong?

There are all sorts of creative, colourful and crazy myths surrounding hair loss, so here's a few of the most common set straight:

Could wearing that cap a bit too tight be contributing to a hair thinning problem?

No, says hair loss expert Dr Marc Avram, in an interview for health website Healthology.com. "Hats do not cause hair loss." he confirms. Doctor Avram explains that because people often wear hats to disguise hair loss, and the hair loss continues, they can then start to associate the hat with the hair loss. But "it has nothing to do with the hat".

How about the idea that blow-drying damages the hair, and the hot gust can literally blow hair away?

Almost entirely myth, says Dr. Avram. "There's probably no evidence that shows that use of a hair dryer causes you to lose hair," he explains. "That said if you have an excessively hot hair dryer that is beyond the standard or norm, you can damage skin and damage, theoretically, the hair follicle."

And what about brushing it 100 times every night to ensure strength and vitality?

This is perhaps the most inaccurate of all, since brushing that often could actually have the opposite effect.

So continue to follow a sensible hair care regime of washing, styling (and even hat wearing), safe in the knowledge you will not be causing any undue hair loss.

New research suggests that eating the wrong foods at the breakfast table can cause baldness. Hair loss expert Sid Smith has published an article on Hairgrowthportal.com claiming that bad diets could significantly contribute to the problem of hair loss by not combating the destructive effects of 'free-radicals' in the body.

Free radicals are highly reactive, unstable molecules that are the by-products of normal metabolism and are associated with the aging process. Free radicals steal electrons from healthy cells to neutralize their own charge, causing cellular damage.

Experts believe that free-radicals in the body could attack the hair follicle, leaving it no longer able to produce new hair buds after the existing strand of hair falls out. This means the end of a healthy hair cycle, and irreversible hair loss.

However, there is an arsenal of defence available against these rogue molecules and their damaging effects on hair, and that's a healthy diet. Many foods are high in antioxidants, which help to fight and reverse the effects of free radicals.

The antioxidant property of certain foods – including green and orange vegetables, tomatoes, tea, and even dark chocolate – can jump in to control the free radical before it attacks any key molecules in the hair.

Aim to consume a generally healthy diet which incorporates these foods, and also plenty of vitamins such as C, E and beta-carotene, and this should help fight off the free radicals attacks on hair.

Caffeine may have the potential to stimulate hair growth, a recent laboratory study suggests. A small research team investigated the effects of caffeine on the follicles of men in the early stages of hair loss, and found a significant effect.

The research, reported in the International Journal of Dermatology, showed that caffeine could have the potential to stimulate hair growth in Male Pattern Hair Loss (MPHL).
In the study, hair follicles were extracted from 14 men in the early stages of MPHL and placed in test tubes with solutions containing different levels of caffeine. At the end of the study, caffeine had boosted the length of hairs by between 33% and 40%.

Most baldness is caused when hair follicles, the tiny sacs in the scalp from which hair grows, become exposed to too much dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. This is a chemical produced by the male hormone testosterone, and causes the hair follicles to shrink, meaning the hair becomes thinner and weaker.

Caffeine works by blocking this hormone's damaging effects on the hair follicles.

However, this doesn't mean an average day's coffee-quaffing will reverse baldness – since scientists estimate you'd need to drink around 60 cups a day to see the benefit!

Researchers are now working on developing a caffeine-rich follicle gel, which could be rubbed into the scalp. No milk and sugar there then...

You've heard of the blind mice, but now it's the turn of the bald mouse to make headlines – since scientists have discovered a gene therapy making it possible to re-grow hair on bald mice.

By correcting a gene mutation in the bald mice, researchers found they were able to restore hair growth. It's mutations in the co-called 'hairless gene' in both humans and mice which means the natural process of hair growth, shedding and re-growth is disturbed.

In humans and mice with the mutation of the gene, hair growth is initially normal, but when it is shed, it does not grow back.

However, the researchers discovered that by introducing a normal gene in bald mice they were able to restart the process, resulting in successful fur growth.

The study was carried out by teams at America's Kennedy Krieger Research Institute and Johns Hopkins University, and has shed light on the hair loss process, much of which is not understood. The thinking in the US is that these findings could lead to a permanent gene therapy to treat hair loss, resulting in a full glossy coat for mice and men everywhere.

Just days after receiving a life ban by British Airways, Naomi Campbell surprised onlookers at an opening party at New York’s Metropolitan opera.

And no, it wasn’t the sharp, black Yves Saint Laurent suit she was wearing.  It was the extra wide hair parting.

Some experts are saying that Naomi could be experiencing a mild case of traction alopecia - a hair loss condition brought about by prolonged or excessive use of hair extensions or weaves.

There have been reports that celebrities Britney Spears and  Paris Hilton have both suffered hair loss as a result of their extensions.

Certainly Naomi, with her long straight hair style, has been using weaves for at least the majority of her modeling years. 

Over time weaves, which make hair look straight, can reduce the thickness of natural hair, ultimately resulting in hair loss.  Apparently it is possible to fix the problem with certain hair treatments, so long as the hair loss is not too severe or advanced. 

Media pundits are jokingly speculating that the real cause may be that Naomi has been pulling her hair out after being banned from BA after being handcuffed and bailed following an alleged incident where she is said to have spat at police.

No longer her favourite hairline, then?