Prince Harry is going bald just like his brother, says leading hair loss expert

They say we all eventually turn in to our parents but there are some things we'd rather not inherit.
Prince Harry, it seems, has begun to lose some hair around his crown, just like his big brother William and their father Charles.
The 28-year-old royal's hair shows signs of thinning in pictures taken on a recent charity trip.

Rapidly thinning: Prince Harry's hair was noticeably thinner as he played with children on a visit in February to Lesotho in southern Africa on behalf of his charity, Sentebale

Pictured during a visit to the Kananelo Centre for the deaf on behalf of his charity, Sentebale, in Lesotho, last month Harry was showing some scalp through his famous ginger locks - indicating the beginnings of male pattern baldness, according to Britain's leading hair loss expert Asim Shahmalak.

Prince William started losing his hair in his early 20s and was noticeably bald by the time he was 25.

 

The process appears to have started a little later for his younger brother Harry, who nevertheless looks to have inherited his family's baldness gene.
Hair transplant surgeon Dr Shahmalak - hair loss expert on the Channel 4 show Embarrassing Bodies - said the pictures showed clear signs of hair loss. and that Harry is thinning around the crown area.

Disappearing: The 28-year-old royal's hair loss was more pronounced than ever in Lesotho last month

'Around a quarter of men start going bald before the age of 30, so this is hardly a big surprise especially when it runs in the family as it does for the Windsors.
'If Harry's hair loss progresses in the normal way, I would expect him to have a significant bald patch around his crown by the time he is 40. It will be worse if it also spreads to his hairline as it has with his brother.' he said.

'Hair loss can have a devastating impact on a young men like Harry. IIt can shatter their confidence and lead to significant loss of self esteem.'
Dr Shahmalak said that a strong family gene is the most significant factor in the onset of hair loss.

Like father, like son: Prince Harry at the Queen's Jubilee last year with Prince Charles, left, who is also suffering from thinning hair. 'There is a strong family gene on both sides of Harry's family,' hair specialist Dr Shahmalak said

Hair envy: Prince Harry admiring a full head of hair as he met a child in Lesotho

Prince Harry's father, Prince Charles, his grandfather Prince Philip and both his uncles, Princes Andrew and Edward, have significant hair loss.
And the gene is prominent on his mother's side, too: Princess Diana's father Earl Spencer was bald.
Dr Shahmalak said: 'There is a strong family gene on both sides of Harry's family. He is lucky that it has kicked in a bit later than his brother William - but the signs are not good for Harry.'
But he said there were simple measures Harry could take to combat his hair loss.
'I would strongly urge him to act now,' said Dr Shahmalak.

Going, going, gone: Prince William started losing his hair in his early 20s and was noticeably bald by the time he was 25

Family problem: Prince Harry's hair was showing clear signs of a growing bald patch at Prince William's wedding in 2011

'The best remedy at this stage is for Harry to start taking Propecia which won't replace the hair which he has already lost but will help to stop him losing any more. If William had started using the drug at the same age he could have significantly slowed down his hair loss.
'The other solution would be for Harry to use Minoxidil, the only other clinically proven hair loss medication available.
'You can buy a mousse which you apply to the thinning areas of the scalp.
'But the only long-term solution is a hair transplant - where hair is moved from the back or sides of the scalp to bald areas such as the crown.'
Dr Shahmalak said the stigma around seeking treatment for hair loss had largely gone, thanks to high profile hair transplant patients like Wayne Rooney and James Nesbitt.

Expert: Dr Shahmalak runs the Crown Cosma hair loss clinic in Manchester

He said: 'Wayne Rooney was brave to go public about his hair transplant and show that he was not embarrassed to seek help for his hair loss.
'The stigma around seeking treatment has been removed. It would send out a great signal to other men if a royal would also seek treatment.
'Their options in covering up their baldness are limited. It would be difficult for Prince William, for instance, to shave his head, which is what a lot of men do to hide their baldness. A royal with a crew cut just doesn’t seem right somehow.'
Prince Harry - recently voted the World's Most Eligible Bachelor in a magazine poll - once joked that Prince William was 'already bald aged 12.'
Harry also made fun of Prince William's baldness when commenting about artist Nicky Phillips’ portrait of the princes three years ago.
He said said: 'I'm a little bit more ginger in there than I am in real life, I think,' he said, 'And William has been given more hair.'
On Prince Harry's charity trip to Lesotho, Africa, in  February he met children at a charity on the trip who were urged to teach the young royal the sign language for 'ginger.'
Harry quickly replied: 'What about the word for bald!'
Dr Shahmalak said hair loss before the age of 30 can shatter a man's confidence, particularly around the opposite sex.
He said: 'It can be devastating for a lot of men but I am not sure that will be a problem for Harry.
'He has is a very charismatic young man and has always attracted the attention of beautiful women.'
Harry is currently dating the socialite Cressida Bonas, 24, after they were introduced  by her friend Princess Eugenie at a music festival last May.
Dr Shahmalak's Crown Clinic saw a 25 per cent surge in bookings after Wayne Rooney's transplant.
He has performed hair transplants on a number of celebrities including Dr Christian Jessen from Embarrassing Bodies and Martin Roberts, star of BBC1's Homes Under The Hammer.