Indeed it does. The commonest form of baldness seen in men is known as male pattern baldness, and it happens because of the excessive presence in blood of certain male hormones known as androgens. This is the reason why it is sometimes known by the name of 'androgenic alopecia'.

At a rough estimate, male pattern baldness occurs (counting all its different forms) in more or less 66% of all adult males at varying ages. It can be identified by hair receding from the sides of the head or temples. This is also known as a 'receding hairline' or a 'receding brow'. Additionally, a bald patch may develop in some cases on the top of the head.

Here we shall take a brief look into the process of male pattern baldness.

State of the art medical research reveals that male pattern baldness is triggered by 5-alpha reductase. This is an enzyme that converts the male sex hormone testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This chemical substance has a detrimental effect on hair growth on the scalp.

However, it is believed that DHT alone cannot cause baldness. You have to be genetically susceptible to its influence. Which is why many sexually active men never seem to suffer from this problem.

How do you know whether you are genetically susceptible to the harmful effects of DHT? Well, biologists say that you need look at your mother's father. If he had male pattern baldness, then the chances are that you'll get it too! That is, if it hasn't started already - male pattern baldness sometimes sets in as early as the end of puberty, as soon as you become sexually mature.

The different stages of male pattern baldness have been studied extensively, and there's even a scale of measurement that can tell you which stage of baldness you are in. This is known as the Hamilton-Norwood scale.

The disastrous effects of DHT on scalp hair is compounded by another substance called sebum. This is a fatty material released by a certain kind of gland present all over our body, called 'sebacious gland'. These open up into the hair follicles, from which hairs sprout. DHT is a sticky substance, and becomes even stickier when combined with atmospheric dirt and other stuff. Along with DHT, the sticky sebum mixture attacks the hair bulbs, which are the relatively thick, round bottom ends of hairs rooted inside the follicle. The bulb shrinks, and becomes less tightly rooted. Subsequently, it falls out easily.

So one sensible method of countering the effects of male pattern baldness to some extent is to keep your hair and scalp clean by frequent washing and shampooing, so that sebum doesn't get a chance to build up.

It shouldn't be assumed that men who have hair are sexually less potent than those who are bald. In fact, quite the opposite has been revealed through research - men with a full head of hair often have higher total levels of male hormones than bald people.

The difference may lie in another chemical substance, known as 5-alpha reductase. This is something that makes it possible to synthesize DHT from the male hormone testosterone. People who have a higher level of 5-alpha reductase are statistically found to be more prone to develop male pattern baldness.

A lot of research nowadays is concentrating on how to control or slow down the effects of 5-alpha reductase. In fact, most of the anti-baldness drugs available today in the US work either by countering the effects of DHT or by controlling the action of 5-alpha reductase. The commonest drug used to treat male pattern baldness is known as finasteride, which is marketed under several different trade names in the US.

There is another common drug known as minoxidil, which is known to helpful for regrowing hair. This drug was originally developed for lowering blood pressure, but patients found out that it had the side effect of making hair grow! So now several ointments and lotions containing minoxidil can be found in the market. But the funny thing is, no one has yet been able to find out how exactly this drug works to stimulate hair growth.

Natural androgen levels are sometimes increased by external factors, and this may also speed up the process of hair loss. For example, if you're taking anabolic steroids, you need to worry about the health of your hair. Anabolic steroids break down in the body into testosterone and DHT, and as we have already seen, excessive levels of these can cause hair loss.

There are also other causes that can suddenly increase your androgens levels. For example, if you suddenly start doing intense weight training, your androgen level will shoot up. A sudden weight loss will have the same effect on your body. So if you're planning on starting to diet or exercise, you need to fix a moderate schedule that won't make your hair fall out!