This is what I think. Remember that supplement that came out a long time ago called "chromium picolinate"? I hate to call it a "supplement" because it is a mineral that we all need anyways. But anyway, it was supposed to help us shed fat and build muscle. Well it like many other vitamins and minerals and other vital nutrients we are deficient in. We are a nutrient starved nation and we get way too much sh*t we don't need, which that within itself deplets the body even more. The western diet sucks when it comes to health. So when you actually get the nutrients the body needs to work right, you think that you have found a cure or perhaps good treatment for many things because you feel better and everything starts to look better too.
When it comes to genetically predisposed diseases, lack of good nutrition and that includes vitamis and minerals and all that, the disease will happen sooner in ones life and at a quicker rate too. So, taking in what the body needs will help keep the genetically predisposed disease away for a while, slow it down, and help keep the disease from getting too bad. Now, I am not calling male pattern baldness a disease but it is a genetically predisposed condition. But that is the catch................taking in what the body needs. Doing that is hard within itself. Basically just popping a multi vitamin/mineral tablet won't do it. Anyone that is interested in "giving the body what it needs" is gonna find out it is not easy.
So, I think that taking zinc orally would be beneficial for male pattern baldness due to the fact that many men are deficient in zinc anyways. So if you start taking zinc orally, you are getting the right amount, and you start to notice that your hair is improving, then good, you were probably deficient anyways.
I read somewhere that even though zinc levels were good in serum blood, the skin lacked zinc in some people. Thats interesting. Makes you wonder why these people had very low zinc levels in their skin, despite the fact that their blood levels were rich with zinc. I think that is where topical would come in handy. Maybe there is a reason why their skin wasn't receiving the right amount.
So yes, take your zinc. Make sure that you are getting around 30 mgs a day. DO NOT go over 100 mgs...........it'll have the opposite effect.