The American Hair Loss Association believes that more than 85 percent of all men will have a significant thinning or their hair by the time they cross 50. While some begin to lose theirs much before, a sure way of predicting baldness is a receding M-shaped hairline.

Thereafter, the person starts losing hair on top of the head and when these two meet, it leaves a horseshoe pattern on the head with hair around the sides. So, what causes baldness and can it be cured via medicines?

We present the seven things you need to know about hair fall and baldness and measures that can be adopted to reduce its pace.

1.Hair fall cannot be caused by wearing a cap or by running your fingers through them regularly. Similarly, combing, brushing, twisting or styling too does not cause any damage though it is suggested that one treats the hair very softly.

2.Studies suggest that smoking could adversely impact male baldness which means that the quicker you kick the butt, the longer you have a head full of hair.

3.Hair loss does not usually signal a medical problem though chemotherapy does take away the hair in both men and women.

4.Most hair loss is a genetic trait though for some it results out of certain medications containing too much of Vitamin-A. Illness and stress can cause a dramatic shedding of hair

5.Preventing hair loss is easier than replacing it and before attempting to take the first step ensure that you know enough about the available treatments as many are reported to be shams.

6.Though baldness has no known cure, there are medications like the FDA approved Minoxidil that is known to reduce the pace. Additionally, finasteride is also known to slow down hair loss by cutting down the body's production of DHT.