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A Computer Programme To Predict Balding Prospects

by Gopalan on Jun 25 2009 10:49 AM

A 'baldness calculator,' recently introduced in the UK by a German cosmetic firm, is proving a great hit.

How many hairs do you currently lose per day, the calculator asks and also tells you how to keep a tally of hairs lost.

By asking question on age, marital status, occupation, where they live, what their current hairline is, the scalp condition, hair loss in their family, and so on, it claims to be able to predict relatively accurately one’s balding prospects.

More than half a million German men used it within ten days of it being unveiled there and three million men have tried it out globally so far.

Sixty per cent of users of the calculator to date have been young men aged between 15 and 30.

Two thirds of all British men will eventually suffer hair loss, according to recent research, Telegraph reported.

Scientists with German hair care firm Dr Kurt Wolff have worked closely with dermatologists from Germany's University of Jena to create a shampoo to combat baldness.

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They claim that their new Alpecin shampoo and hair tonic, which rely on caffeine as the main component, stimulate hair growth and slow down hair loss.

Around 500 scalp samples were taken from volunteers and tests showed that caffeine benefited hair growth, reports said.

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German scientists devised the program because half of men in their country suffer from hereditary hair loss.

Dr Adolf Klenk, head of research and development at Dr Kurt Wolff, said: "More and more men value full hair but especially younger men.

"They are looking for a partner and are at the peak of their social lives. They are very conscious about their looks and being accepted within their social groups.

"They get concerned that if they lose their hair, they will cease to be attractive to others whereas older men don't care so much."

Dr Klenk said that men with a history of hair loss on either their mother or father's side of the family are most at risk of going bald.

"Genetic predisposition is by far the most common cause of baldness. But other factors include severe, long-term emotional stress, perhaps associated with a divorce or the loss of a close relative.

"A poor diet can fail to provide the hair with sufficient nutrients and men who wear headgear in call centres or helmets on construction sites motorbikes may be putting their hair roots at risk of being pulled out or losing density.

"We have developed the male baldness calculator to raise awareness among men."

Source-Medindia
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