A man can live without a quiff, of course, and a lack of hair never held back the likes of Patrick Stewart or Jason Statham. What’s more, women don’t find it the turn off men think it is either: in a recent survey by WatchMyWallet.co.uk 84 per cent of women claimed that hair loss would not affect how attracted they were to their partner. But if you’re not yet ready to embrace the pate, here’s everything you can do to thicken, disguise and style out thinning hair.

How To Stop A Receding Hairline

Luckily, there are things a man can do to, at the very least, slow down the hair loss process. “The key is to treat hair loss as soon as possible,” advises Tarver. “It’s much easier to retain hair or slow the progress down with treatment than to restore hair once it has been lost.”

So whether you’ve a receding hairline or a burgeoning bald spot, here’s how to stay one step ahead of hair loss.

1. Feed Your Head

According to Tarver, getting plenty of protein is key to a healthy head of hair. “Keratin, the sulphur-containing protein that hair is made of relies on dietary protein for its composition,” she says. “Thus a low protein diet will result in finer, weaker hair.” Men are pretty good at getting the protein they need but fall down when it comes to getting their five a day. If you consider mac and cheese a side dish, you may not be getting all the other essential nutrients that keep hair strong and healthy.

Foods rich in B vitamins, zinc and iron (like breakfast cereals, liver and apricots) and silica (bananas and – handily – beer) are especially good for hair health. “People with hair loss caused by issues other than male pattern baldness are often deficient in vitamins B12,” says Tarver, who points out that a supplement may be especially important for vegetarians since dietary B12 can only be obtained from animal sources.