False. A tendency to baldness is inherited and probably involves a combination of genes. So you are not automatically in the clear even if your father has a full head of hair. It is not true, as sometimes claimed, that only genes from the mother’s side are involved.

True. Scientists have now identified some chemicals that are produced in the body during periods of stress, which can affect hair growth (Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2004;123:455–7).

True. A person aged 20–30 years typically has 615 hair follicles per square centimetre. The number falls to 485 by 50 years of age and to 435 at 80–90 years of age. Also each hair is thinner. So, with ageing, hair becomes both finer and sparser.

Transplanted hair behaves in a similar way to the hair where it was taken from. It will last a lifetime for most people or at least into old age when the procedure is done correctly. We simply re-distribute existing permanent hair to your thin areas. Sometimes in old age one may experience hair thinning throughout the donor area. If this happens then the transplanted hair will follow suit.

The art of a hair transplant is to conceal the scars. When performed by skilled surgeons, Follicular Unit Hair Transplants will only be detected by thorough expert medical examination. The donor site however will have a very fine scar completely hidden by your hair. The technique of trichophytic donor closure is now rendering donor scars extremely difficult to detect even with no covering hair. Having said that, we would not recommend shaving the back of the head because healing and scarring can vary from person to person.