Michael Thomas (sophomore-computer science) never goes out without his hat.

Thomas is a balding student and says hair loss has had a significant impact on his life.

"I'm a pretty self conscious guy to begin with and going bald doesn't help," he said. "I feel uncomfortable in certain situations. I don't feel comfortable if I don't have a hat on."

Thomas said that some women feel sorry for men who are losing their hair.

"You get a kind of pity," he said. "They kind of feel bad for you."

Thomas is one of millions of men across the world who suffer from hair loss. One of its causes is puberty.

During puberty, the male body produces more testosterone. But as testosterone circulates through the body, it can interact with hair follicles, causing androgenetic alopecia, more commonly known as male pattern baldness.

"When (testosterone) hits the hair follicle it converts to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and we know DHT plays an active role in causing the hair follicle to miniaturize," said Dr. Jeffrey Miller, assistant professor of dermatology at the College of Medicine at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

There are various ways to combat male pattern baldness, Miller said. Propecia is one solution. It blocks the conversion of testosterone to DHT.

Miller said Propecia is proven to be effective in the treatment of androgentic alopecia.

"Well over 90 percent of men on Propecia maintain what they started with," Miller said, citing studies that looked at the data more than five years.

Another treatment of male pattern baldness is using a 2 to 5 percent topical minoxidil solution. The brand name version of that is Rogaine.

"We don't understand how minoxidil solution works, but we do know it can still cause miniaturized hairs to become thicker," Miller said.

Studies have shown that minoxidil solutions have over 60 percent effective, Miller said.

To obtain Propecia, a person needs a prescription from a doctor, while Rogaine is available over the counter.

Another method to restore one's hair is a hair transplant. Hair is taken from the back of the scalp, and it is positioned to the front of the scalp.

Addressing the problem of balding should be done as soon as possible, Miller said.

"The further gone you are, the harder it is to get a more favorable response," he said.

Besides testosterone, genetics play a role in male pattern baldness.

"There is a genetic predisposition of going bald in men," Miller said. "One of the myths is it comes from either the mother's side or the father's side. You can inherit the balding gene from either parent, but we don't know what the balding gene is."

There are many ideas as to what causes baldness, such as over-combing one's hair, or using gel and other hair care products.

"Anything done externally to the hair, especially cosmetically, does not cause male pattern baldness," Miller said.

Stress is another factor people cite for male pattern baldness, but Miller said it is unlikely that stress is a cause.

Besides androgenetic alopecia, there are other forms of hair loss. Alopecia areata causes hair loss in quarter size patches.

Telogen effluvium, which is most common in women, causes people to shed their hair. Miller said there are many occurrences of this after childbirth or after a significant stress on the body such as a flu-like illness.

There also could be scarring of the hair follicles, which brings about hair loss.

Miller said that he has seen a significant number of high school students or college men suffering from male pattern baldness, but it can occur much earlier.

"I've seen androgenetic alopecia in a male as young as 13 or 14 years old," he said.

Alan Baehr(graduate-counseling psychology) said balding in young men could damage their psyche.

"Anything perceived as being less attractive could affect someone's self-esteem and social interactions," he said.

Hair loss could also adversely affect one's dating life.

Steven Hoffman(senior-civil engineering) said, "There are some girls that are pretty picky and going bald might be in the minus column."

Corinne Thatcher(sophomore-Latin American studies) said, "I guess some people are more concerned about appearance instead of intelligence or talent."

Even though there is a lot of importance placed on looks, people are more than that Baehr said.

"I would say that it helps to look at your self-esteem as beyond your appearance," he said.