Men, myths and skin care in the 21st century

May 2006 (BALTIMORE)

It's the 21st century, and men are finally coming out of the skin-care closet. In fact, men's skin care is a $7.7 billion industry. Whether it's treating hair loss or eliminating unsightly hairs, men are finally taking pride in how they look. What are the most common problems men face and how can they be fixed?

More than 20 million American men are losing their hair. Who's to blame? You might have heard baldness is inherited from your mother's father. But Robert Weiss, M.D., a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine cosmetic dermatologist in Baltimore, said that's a myth.

"You're probably in trouble though if both your mother's side and your father's side are bald," he said.

To reduce the risk, drink up. Two glasses of wine a day are shown to slow hair loss by preventing the liver from breaking down as much estrogen. Dr. Weiss said Rogaine and Propecia can help.

Nearly 80 percent of men say shaving irritates their skin.

"The curlier your hair is, the more likely it is to, as it's growing, to grow back into the skin and create a bump," Dr. Weiss said. To minimize the ouch factor, get the beard thoroughly wet, shave with the grain, don't repeat strokes and relax your skin.

Finally, unwanted hair is a big problem for many men, and Dr. Weiss admits it seems to be something that bothers women a lot about their mate. But you can skip the waxing and shaving. New lasers can zap a back-full of hair in less than 20 minutes. They work on faces, too.

"It's starting to permeate into male consciousness that you actually can do things," Dr. Weiss said -- things that will keep that man in the mirror smiling back.

Dr. Weiss is currently studying a new way to stimulate hair growth. He's testing a device that uses low-energy red light to energize hair follicles. The energized follicles absorb the light, which stimulates them to grow.