Testosterone And Male Pattern Baldness
Adam Milewski asked:
You are an aggressive, highly sexed, macho male, pumping testosterone throughout your body. You may be proud of your muscles, of your sexual drive, your testosterone-filled body. Yet the very thing that makes you a big strong sexual male can also make you bald. And to add insult to injury - the more hair you lose on your head, the more hair you will grow in your ears, nose, upper back, and shoulders.
The first signs that testosterone is linked to male pattern baldness were the eunuchs, who unlike their uncut male friends, never lost any hair. Fifteenth century castrati in the Italian opera always had a full head of hair. So did all soldiers whose battlefield injury happened to include any harm to the testosterone and DHT manufacturing center - the testes. But the hormonal link in balding is complex. Eunuchs, who produce no testosterone, never go bald even if they have a baldness gene. However, if castrated men with a family history of baldness are given testosterone, they lose hair in the classic horseshoe-shaped pattern. So how does the testosterone affect the male pattern baldness?
Normally the scalp loses roughly 100 hairs a day and sprouts 100 new ones. But the sex hormone testosterone can upset this break-even dynamic. Testosterone, in the form of DHT, or dihydrotestosterone stimulates hair growth on the face and the body. But in men who carry a certain common gene, the same hormone gradually defoliates the scalp, causing their aging heads to grow shiny even as their ears, noses and shoulders sprout more hair. Scalp hair loss is influenced by the transformation of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). If there is already a hereditary tendency for hair loss, chances are, the scalp hair will thin and lead to male pattern baldness.
How does testosterone, the very same hormone that in your mother’s womb made you a male instead of a female, actually promote hair loss on your head? Studies show that while balding men don’t have higher than average circulating testosterone levels, they do possess above-average amounts of DHT in the scalp follicles. So it isn’t the testosterone itself that promotes your shiny noggin. Testosterone transforms into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase, which is produced in the prostate, various adrenal glands, and the scalp. Over time, the action of DHT causes the hair follicle to degrade and shortens the active growth phase in the hair follicles. Although the follicle is technically still alive and connected to a good blood supply (it can successfully nurture a transplanted follicle which is immune to the effects of DHT) it will grow smaller and smaller as the male pattern baldness progresses. However, the sebaceous gland attached to it remains the same size. As the hair shafts become smaller, the gland continues to pump out about the same amount of oil. So as your hair thins, you will notice that your hair becomes flatter and oilier.
Some follicles will gradually die, but most will simply shrink to the size they were when you were born. Meaning the hair that grows in these “baby” follicles is weaker, thinner, just as it was when you were a couple of days old. With a steadily shorter active growing cycle in the follicles, more hairs are shed, the hairs becoming thinner and thinner until they are too fine to survive daily wear and tear. Balding hair gradually changes from long, thick, coarse, pigmented hair into fine, un-pigmented “peach fuzz” hair, just like those fine little hairs on your forehead or on women’s cheeks.
But excess DHT doesn’t cause male pattern baldness on its own. Most men who lose their hair have a hereditary condition called androgenic alopecia. If such men indeed have increased levels of a hormone known as 5-alpha reductase and this transforms testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), then they may suffer from hair loss. The rate of hair shedding in androgenic alopecia is speeded up by three forces: advancing age, an inherited tendency to bald early, and our already most familiar friend, excess DHT in the hair follicle.
So who’s at most risk for hair loss? Genetically, light-haired and skinned men are more likely to lose their hair than dark-haired and skinned men. Furthermore, Caucasian males are much more likely to lose their hair than non-Caucasians. So, if you are a blond, light skinned Caucasian, with a family history of male pattern baldness, you are several times more likely to lose your hair than a Japanese man, for example, or an African-American man.
Of course, genetics and over-production of DHT in the hair follicle are not the only causes for hair loss. Hair loss is aggravated by your diet, which in turn can affect the way your body produces hormones. In a recent study in Japan, it was found that more and more men are suffering from baldness and hair loss the more westernized their diet becomes. It is known that fatty foods and red meat, two staples of a westernized diet, contribute to hair loss. And of course stress, which activates production of adrenaline (the same family of testosterone), encourages hair loss as well.
So what can you do aside from pray to wake up tomorrow as a big strapping black basketball player? Keep calm. Eat balanced and healthily, even adopt a more eastern diet with more vegetables and soy products. But as far as male pattern baldness, remember this. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Your bald head and hair loss is just nature’s way of indicating that you’re a guy pumped to the gills with all the good stuff that makes you a sexual male - testosterone and DHT.
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You are an aggressive, highly sexed, macho male, pumping testosterone throughout your body. You may be proud of your muscles, of your sexual drive, your testosterone-filled body. Yet the very thing that makes you a big strong sexual male can also make you bald. And to add insult to injury - the more hair you lose on your head, the more hair you will grow in your ears, nose, upper back, and shoulders.
The first signs that testosterone is linked to male pattern baldness were the eunuchs, who unlike their uncut male friends, never lost any hair. Fifteenth century castrati in the Italian opera always had a full head of hair. So did all soldiers whose battlefield injury happened to include any harm to the testosterone and DHT manufacturing center - the testes. But the hormonal link in balding is complex. Eunuchs, who produce no testosterone, never go bald even if they have a baldness gene. However, if castrated men with a family history of baldness are given testosterone, they lose hair in the classic horseshoe-shaped pattern. So how does the testosterone affect the male pattern baldness?
Normally the scalp loses roughly 100 hairs a day and sprouts 100 new ones. But the sex hormone testosterone can upset this break-even dynamic. Testosterone, in the form of DHT, or dihydrotestosterone stimulates hair growth on the face and the body. But in men who carry a certain common gene, the same hormone gradually defoliates the scalp, causing their aging heads to grow shiny even as their ears, noses and shoulders sprout more hair. Scalp hair loss is influenced by the transformation of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). If there is already a hereditary tendency for hair loss, chances are, the scalp hair will thin and lead to male pattern baldness.
How does testosterone, the very same hormone that in your mother’s womb made you a male instead of a female, actually promote hair loss on your head? Studies show that while balding men don’t have higher than average circulating testosterone levels, they do possess above-average amounts of DHT in the scalp follicles. So it isn’t the testosterone itself that promotes your shiny noggin. Testosterone transforms into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase, which is produced in the prostate, various adrenal glands, and the scalp. Over time, the action of DHT causes the hair follicle to degrade and shortens the active growth phase in the hair follicles. Although the follicle is technically still alive and connected to a good blood supply (it can successfully nurture a transplanted follicle which is immune to the effects of DHT) it will grow smaller and smaller as the male pattern baldness progresses. However, the sebaceous gland attached to it remains the same size. As the hair shafts become smaller, the gland continues to pump out about the same amount of oil. So as your hair thins, you will notice that your hair becomes flatter and oilier.
Some follicles will gradually die, but most will simply shrink to the size they were when you were born. Meaning the hair that grows in these “baby” follicles is weaker, thinner, just as it was when you were a couple of days old. With a steadily shorter active growing cycle in the follicles, more hairs are shed, the hairs becoming thinner and thinner until they are too fine to survive daily wear and tear. Balding hair gradually changes from long, thick, coarse, pigmented hair into fine, un-pigmented “peach fuzz” hair, just like those fine little hairs on your forehead or on women’s cheeks.
But excess DHT doesn’t cause male pattern baldness on its own. Most men who lose their hair have a hereditary condition called androgenic alopecia. If such men indeed have increased levels of a hormone known as 5-alpha reductase and this transforms testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), then they may suffer from hair loss. The rate of hair shedding in androgenic alopecia is speeded up by three forces: advancing age, an inherited tendency to bald early, and our already most familiar friend, excess DHT in the hair follicle.
So who’s at most risk for hair loss? Genetically, light-haired and skinned men are more likely to lose their hair than dark-haired and skinned men. Furthermore, Caucasian males are much more likely to lose their hair than non-Caucasians. So, if you are a blond, light skinned Caucasian, with a family history of male pattern baldness, you are several times more likely to lose your hair than a Japanese man, for example, or an African-American man.
Of course, genetics and over-production of DHT in the hair follicle are not the only causes for hair loss. Hair loss is aggravated by your diet, which in turn can affect the way your body produces hormones. In a recent study in Japan, it was found that more and more men are suffering from baldness and hair loss the more westernized their diet becomes. It is known that fatty foods and red meat, two staples of a westernized diet, contribute to hair loss. And of course stress, which activates production of adrenaline (the same family of testosterone), encourages hair loss as well.
So what can you do aside from pray to wake up tomorrow as a big strapping black basketball player? Keep calm. Eat balanced and healthily, even adopt a more eastern diet with more vegetables and soy products. But as far as male pattern baldness, remember this. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Your bald head and hair loss is just nature’s way of indicating that you’re a guy pumped to the gills with all the good stuff that makes you a sexual male - testosterone and DHT.
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Baldness is Online Resource of Male Baldness Treatments
David Sprake asked:
Baldness is a dreaded word not because it is a deadly disease but because it significantly changes the image of the person going bald. Just as hair gives beauty to a person, baldness gives the opposite effect. Although not everyone may express their anxiety over baldness, statistics shows that men spend large amounts of money just to fight baldness. It clearly depicts that baldness can be an image disturbance and needs to be dealt with for those who are concern with how one looks.
Baldness is more common to man rather than women. In fact, Androgenic alopecia or male baldness is the most common. It is caused by the DHT sex hormone in men that result to a progressive hair loss although the extent of this is different among male individuals. Most male baldness occurs during the age of 50’s. Male baldness has two common forms, the alopecia areata and the alopecia totalis. The former is indicated by hair loss on scalps, beards and eyebrows which are seen as patches while the latter indicates a total baldness on the head. Another extreme case on male baldness is the alopecia universalis which result to total baldness in the body. Although male baldness is common as it is, women are also prone to baldness which has also its causes.
Aside from these natural causes of baldness, there are also baldness caused by medical conditions such as one that undergone chemotherapy due to cancer, severe fever, ringworm in the scalp, various mycotic infections and other hormonal changes after pregnancy such as hypothyroidism. The use of hair products that are harmful to hair may also result to baldness.
Fortunately, there are products and technologies that help in the baldness treatment. These bald treatments vary from surgery, pills, applications or supplements. One of which is the newly discovered Propecia, a prescription drug recommended by the doctor after undergoing various medical evaluation to the patient. Propecia is taken orally and may have various side effects so caution is advised. It is limited to those patients with no medical problems. Propecia has a generic name finasteride and is used commonly for treatment of baldness. Just like any other prescription drugs, Propecia has several contraindications that need to be noted.
Another is herbal medicine such as saw palmetto. Although this has not been necessarily approved by the FDA, saw palmetto is found to have an effect on the DHT by converting testosterone to DHT thereby preventing hair loss. Saw palmetto is a bushy plant found in southern US and has been initially used to cure other diseases such as UTI and cancer. It was also recommended for the treatment of respiratory and reproductive although later, saw palmetto is best known to cure hair loss and prostate enlargements.
Applications such as Rogaine are also recommended for baldness treatment. Such products promote hair growth when applied to areas that are balding and needs to be used continually until the desired growth of hair is met.
Aside from this, surgery is also possible for baldness such as hair transplant and laser therapy, both initiating hair growth on affected areas.
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Baldness is a dreaded word not because it is a deadly disease but because it significantly changes the image of the person going bald. Just as hair gives beauty to a person, baldness gives the opposite effect. Although not everyone may express their anxiety over baldness, statistics shows that men spend large amounts of money just to fight baldness. It clearly depicts that baldness can be an image disturbance and needs to be dealt with for those who are concern with how one looks.
Baldness is more common to man rather than women. In fact, Androgenic alopecia or male baldness is the most common. It is caused by the DHT sex hormone in men that result to a progressive hair loss although the extent of this is different among male individuals. Most male baldness occurs during the age of 50’s. Male baldness has two common forms, the alopecia areata and the alopecia totalis. The former is indicated by hair loss on scalps, beards and eyebrows which are seen as patches while the latter indicates a total baldness on the head. Another extreme case on male baldness is the alopecia universalis which result to total baldness in the body. Although male baldness is common as it is, women are also prone to baldness which has also its causes.
Aside from these natural causes of baldness, there are also baldness caused by medical conditions such as one that undergone chemotherapy due to cancer, severe fever, ringworm in the scalp, various mycotic infections and other hormonal changes after pregnancy such as hypothyroidism. The use of hair products that are harmful to hair may also result to baldness.
Fortunately, there are products and technologies that help in the baldness treatment. These bald treatments vary from surgery, pills, applications or supplements. One of which is the newly discovered Propecia, a prescription drug recommended by the doctor after undergoing various medical evaluation to the patient. Propecia is taken orally and may have various side effects so caution is advised. It is limited to those patients with no medical problems. Propecia has a generic name finasteride and is used commonly for treatment of baldness. Just like any other prescription drugs, Propecia has several contraindications that need to be noted.
Another is herbal medicine such as saw palmetto. Although this has not been necessarily approved by the FDA, saw palmetto is found to have an effect on the DHT by converting testosterone to DHT thereby preventing hair loss. Saw palmetto is a bushy plant found in southern US and has been initially used to cure other diseases such as UTI and cancer. It was also recommended for the treatment of respiratory and reproductive although later, saw palmetto is best known to cure hair loss and prostate enlargements.
Applications such as Rogaine are also recommended for baldness treatment. Such products promote hair growth when applied to areas that are balding and needs to be used continually until the desired growth of hair is met.
Aside from this, surgery is also possible for baldness such as hair transplant and laser therapy, both initiating hair growth on affected areas.
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Why Some People Go Bald and Others Don’t
David Sprake asked:
A lot of men as well as women fear the thought of going bald. Baldness is something that is common among men. Male baldness creates a feeling of stress, embarrassment, anxiety, and other different psychological complications. Baldness also increases distress. When male baldness shows up at an early age, it will really become harder to cope up with the emotional problems that will arise. Several research have shown that bald men are not getting any improvement with their physical well-being. There are a few bald men who are considered to be sexy. Some of the famous sexy bald men are Patrick Stewart, Sean Connery, Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis, and Yul Brynner. But most men prefer to have hair on their head. They would do anything to keep it.
Androgenic alopecia or just alopecia is the medical term used for male baldness. This is considered to be the most common type of baldness. Because of the excessive conversion of testosterone into Dihydrotestosterone or DHT hormone, hair thins out in a kind of progressive manner. How much hair loss occurs varies from one person to another. An occurrence of just a minor hair loss like a few bald patches on the scalp, beard, and some of the time, the eyebrows is known as alopecia areata. Total baldness occurs when the person has alopecia totalis. This type of person has no hair at all on the head. The most extreme from of baldness is known as alopecia universalis. The person has no hair on the entire body.
So far, there is no known cure for male baldness. There have been clinical trials on the use of herbs which can be used in baldness treatments. One of these herbs is saw palmetto. Baldness in men is linked to DHT. It is primarily used to treat various problems with the reproductive and urinary system. The herb has been determined to lower DHT levels inside the body. This is especially true when combined with oral finasteride or Propecia. Baldness or specifically the conversion of testosterone to DHT is significantly reduced when these two are combined. The combination of saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol is also used to treat men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Studies have also shown that these two elements reduce baldness in men and possibly in women.
Although larger studies are needed to support the findings of the use of saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol, these findings, nonetheless, provide a glimmer of hope to millions of men and women who suffer from baldness. The use of herbs provides a natural approach in baldness treatments. More importantly, pregnant women are advised not to use saw palmetto without any medical supervision. It has not been proven yet if the herb is safe to use during pregnancy.
Life Insurance Quotes
A lot of men as well as women fear the thought of going bald. Baldness is something that is common among men. Male baldness creates a feeling of stress, embarrassment, anxiety, and other different psychological complications. Baldness also increases distress. When male baldness shows up at an early age, it will really become harder to cope up with the emotional problems that will arise. Several research have shown that bald men are not getting any improvement with their physical well-being. There are a few bald men who are considered to be sexy. Some of the famous sexy bald men are Patrick Stewart, Sean Connery, Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis, and Yul Brynner. But most men prefer to have hair on their head. They would do anything to keep it.
Androgenic alopecia or just alopecia is the medical term used for male baldness. This is considered to be the most common type of baldness. Because of the excessive conversion of testosterone into Dihydrotestosterone or DHT hormone, hair thins out in a kind of progressive manner. How much hair loss occurs varies from one person to another. An occurrence of just a minor hair loss like a few bald patches on the scalp, beard, and some of the time, the eyebrows is known as alopecia areata. Total baldness occurs when the person has alopecia totalis. This type of person has no hair at all on the head. The most extreme from of baldness is known as alopecia universalis. The person has no hair on the entire body.
So far, there is no known cure for male baldness. There have been clinical trials on the use of herbs which can be used in baldness treatments. One of these herbs is saw palmetto. Baldness in men is linked to DHT. It is primarily used to treat various problems with the reproductive and urinary system. The herb has been determined to lower DHT levels inside the body. This is especially true when combined with oral finasteride or Propecia. Baldness or specifically the conversion of testosterone to DHT is significantly reduced when these two are combined. The combination of saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol is also used to treat men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Studies have also shown that these two elements reduce baldness in men and possibly in women.
Although larger studies are needed to support the findings of the use of saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol, these findings, nonetheless, provide a glimmer of hope to millions of men and women who suffer from baldness. The use of herbs provides a natural approach in baldness treatments. More importantly, pregnant women are advised not to use saw palmetto without any medical supervision. It has not been proven yet if the herb is safe to use during pregnancy.
Life Insurance Quotes