Patients, preferably adults can go through hair loss treatments if they experience excessive hair fall or certain bald patterns.

Before making a diagnosis, your doctor will likely give you a physical exam and ask about your diet, your hair care routine, and your medical and family history. You might also have tests, such as the following:

• Blood test. This might help uncover medical conditions that can cause hair loss.
• Pull test. Your doctor gently pulls several dozen hairs to see how many come out. This helps determine the stage of the shedding process.
• Scalp biopsy. Your doctor scrapes samples from the skin or from a few hairs plucked from the scalp to examine the hair roots under a microscope. This can help determine whether an infection is causing hair loss.
• Light microscopy. Your doctor uses a special instrument to examine hairs trimmed at their bases. Microscopy helps uncover possible disorders of the hair shaft.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two medications to treat male pattern baldness:

• Minoxidil (Rogaine). Rogaine is available over the counter (OTC) as a liquid or foam. Apply it to the scalp twice a day to encourage hair growth and prevent hair loss.
• Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar). Finasteride is a pill that you take daily. It’s only available with a prescription from your doctor.
• Other medications. Other oral options include spironolactone (Carospir, Aldactone) and oral dutasteride (Avodart).

For both minoxidil and finasteride, it may take up to a year to see results, and you’ll need to keep taking them to maintain the benefits.

Products with minoxidil help many people regrow their hair or slow the rate of hair loss or both. It'll take at least six months of treatment to prevent further hair loss and to start hair regrowth. It may take a few more months to tell whether the treatment is working for you. If it is helping, you'll need to continue using the medicine indefinitely to retain the benefits.

Possible side effects include scalp irritation and unwanted hair growth on the adjacent skin of the face and hands can be seen with the use of medication.

Rare side effects of finasteride include diminished sex drive and sexual function and an increased risk of prostate cancer. Women who are or may be pregnant need to avoid touching crushed or broken tablets.