Some men who suffer from male pattern baldness feel that their condition is dismissed by society, according to a leading charity.

In recent days, Alopecia UK commented that some men become upset because they feel others do not regard their situation as important.

Ruth Bowdage, spokesperson for the charitable organisation, explained that males are often told that it is fashionable to shave their head so they should just do that.

She explained that hair is part of a person's image and to suddenly lose part of it can be detrimental to their self confidence.

"For men in particular, people don't regard it as unacceptable to nudge each other and say 'oh look, he is losing his hair now' without really thinking through the effect of those words, or the consequences," she concluded.

A survey by malehealth.co.uk found that two-thirds of all men will eventually be affected by male pattern baldness, meaning that in the UK at any one time, 7.4 million men are losing their hair.