Can baldness be treated?

That depends on what is causing your hair to fall out. In some cases, such as completion of chemotherapy, or treatment of a fungal scalp infection, your hair will start to grow again.

Medical treatments

There are only two medical treatments that actually help slow or prevent male-pattern or common baldness. These treatments are minoxidil and finasteride.

Minoxidil is a liquid that is applied to the scalp twice daily and is used to prevent or slow down male pattern baldness. It can also be used to treat female baldness and alopecia areata. How it works is unclear but it is believed that it may act by direct stimulation of the hair follicle epithelium (covering). Effectiveness varies from person to person.

When used continuously for long periods of time, minoxidil produces satisfactory results in about 25% of people with androgenic alopecia. It may take a few months before an improvement is noticed. This new hair is usually thinner and lighter in colour and is sometimes like baby hair. New hair stops growing soon after minoxidil is discontinued. For hair to remain, treatment with minoxidil must be continued daily.
Minoxidil should not be used for hair loss due to illness or childbirth. Side effects include dryness and irritation of the scalp.

Finasteride is a new oral prescription-only medication (not licensed here yet). In clinical studies, 80% of men experienced slowing of hair loss, and 66% had visible regrowth. It usually takes about six months to start working and may take up to a year to see results.