Hormones And The Genetics Of Male Pattern Baldness An Unexpected Connection
Androgenic alopecia is often wrongly attributed to hormones.
Its true that those experiencing male pattern baldness have particular hormonal profiles, and hormones certainly play a role.
Men experiencing male pattern baldness usually have a high level of dihydrotestosterone , which is a byproduct of testosterone that has been broken down for use by the body.
DHT has been proven to shrink hair follicles, which makes it impossible for healthy hair to survive. Its then easy to incorrectly conclude that its the amount of DHT circulating in the system thats causing the shrinkage of hair follicles and subsequent hair loss.
More DHT doesnt necessarily mean youre going to lose your hair.
What Does Testosterone Do To Your Hair
Testosterone is an androgen present in both males and females. It plays a vital role in the development of your sexual organs.
Your hair growth life cycle is affected by various hormones in your body. Androgens are also one of those hormones that support scalp hair growth to a limited extent. As androgens primary function is to develop sexual characteristics during puberty, they target hair growth in the genital areas.
As you age, scalp hair follicles become sensitive to androgen actions on the hair growth life cycle, making you lose scalp hair in different patterns. It is called Male Pattern Baldness and Female Pattern Hair Loss .
Heres how it looks:
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Does Injected Testosterone Cause Baldness
Posted on October 10, 2018 in Hair Loss
We at Leonard Hair Transplant Associates are often asked whether anabolic steroids such as testosterone cause baldness. Injected testosterone has been used for many decades to increase muscle mass as well as for other medical reasons like hypogonadism, where the body manufactures too little of this hormone.
It is commonly known the DHT is the biochemical culprit of androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness. If a person has the genetic predisposition to having DHT turn off the hair growth cycle at some predetermined time, then hair will undergo miniaturization and the balding process will become evident with thinner and thinner hair.
Our experience is that if one injects testosterone to restore normal testosterone levels, then there is little concern for it to cause baldness. However, if one injects testosterone that leads to much higher testosterone levels in the blood stream, then we have seen it to accelerate the natural process of male pattern hair loss leading to thinner hair sooner than nature would have had it happen. This increase, we have often observed, can be significant and rather rapid, depending on how much and how often it is injected.
How Hormone Replacement Treatment Affects Your Hair
Most of us have heard about hot flashes and mood changes during menopause, but what about hair thinning? Many women experience hair loss during menopause, but hormone replacement treatment may be able to help. Thinning hair during menopause can seriously affect your sense of well-being and your self-esteem. However, youre not alone with menopausal hair loss. An estimated 21 million women in the U. S. will experience hair loss at some point in their lives, many of them during and after menopause. Our providers can help you determine underlying causes of hair thinning during menopause and help you find personalized treatment plans to help you feel better.
Hormone replacement treatment can help improve your quality of life during menopause.
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How Testosterone And Androgens Regulate Hair Growth
The hair follicles contain unique genetic codes . These codes regulate when, on which body part the hair will grow or fall, and what triggers will cause that. These genetic codes decide which part of the body will be androgen sensitive. In other words, even if your androgen levels are normal, androgen sensitivity may cause hair loss.
DHT or dihydrotestosterone, an androgen and a byproduct of testosterone through the enzyme 5-alpha reductase, causes hair loss .
A rise in androgen levels during pregnancy may also cause telogen effluvium in postpartum women. During pregnancy, there is a variation in androgen, estrogen, and prolactin levels. . After the delivery and when the placenta is removed, these hormone levels normalize. Such drastic changes in the hormone levels, coupled with stress , cause postpartum hair loss, which is noticed a few weeks after delivery.
Hyperandrogenism in women also impacts their skin and hair growth. Androgen imbalance, especially testosterone production, can cause hirsutism in women. This condition is marked by excessive hair growth in a male-like pattern.
Other than the hair growth, androgens can also affect the entire hair cycle. Scroll further to understand how.
How Trt Can Contribute To Breast Enlargement
When you look at the chemical composition and structure of testosterone and estrogen, it is easy to see that the two molecules are very similar. Both consist of four interconnected rings and both have a similar mode of transport within the body.
An interesting aspect of testosterone is that it is naturally converted into estrogen through molecules known as aromatase. Aromatase is an enzyme that initiates the aromatization of testosterone which results in the formation of estrogen.
TRT comes into play with this because the therapy directly increases the amount of circulating testosterone. With more testosterone, aromatase is able to increase estrogen through the aromatization of testosterone.
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Can Dht Cause Mbp
The short answer: yes. High levels of DHT have long since been connected to male pattern baldness and is found to be mostly genetic, to boot. If you have family members with premature bald spots, itâs more than likely this is the cause of your problem.
Common signs of male pattern baldness show a gradual shrinking from the hairline. The classic âbald spotâ is a surefire sign genetics are working their magic and shrinking down follicle growth to a trickle. The reason DHT can cause both hair growth and hair loss depends on its quantity and how commonly it travels throughout the bloodstream.
While you may be tempted to try hair loss shampoos at your local grocery store, theyâre not always adequate due to the unique nature of hormonal imbalances. Sometimes this tricky hormone can reach areas itâs not meant to, such as your hair follicles, and shrink them down until theyâre no longer producing the hair you want.
Dutasteride Does Not Protect Hair From Testosterone
I would have kept using Dutasteride if it worked the way I predicted it was going to work in 2017 before the experiment, but it didn’t inhibit my systemic Testosterone at all from inducing androgenic activity at the hair follicle.
I self-administered a dosage that pushed my Testosterone levels up to about 2000 ng/dL on purpose.
I already know Im severely prone to hair loss at that dosage with no protection, and I had to test the true extent of Testosterones own androgenic activity with DHT totally taken care of to know for sure what was going on in the body and to confirm my suspicions.
I didn’t use a topical anti-androgen for the entire year because I didn’t want to skew my experiment results and because I still thought that perhaps I was just experiencing a prolonged shedding phase, and once it concluded then massive regrowth would occur.
It never did, and Testosterones lack of anabolic selectivity in the body was revealed and quite obvious once you take into account that my facial hair, body hair and hair loss was nearly unaltered in contrast to what a slightly lower level of Testosterone in my body with DHT present would induce.
While Dutasteride and exogenous Testosterone therapy may be sufficient for many men in the short-term, ultimately hair loss will still be occurring, just at a less expedited rate than if DHT was present, and for those who are very sensitive to Testosterone, it may make things worse .
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Does Trt Cream Cause Hairloss
My hair grew so fast on TRT I would find lots of hairs all over my keyboard, for awhile I thought I was going to lose some hair, but my hair kept getting fuller, especially my beard.For all we know your hair will get thicker and fuller on TRT, you could always go to a a website and run your DNA and find out if if have the particular gene for DHT related hair loss. You would want to confirm beforehand that the proper test is included in the testing.I have heard Dr. Rob Kominiarek talk about how dental x rays reduce pituitary function for up to 6 months!
There’s no such thing like DHT hairloss. Whoever tells you that is just misinformed.If that was true, finasteride would have regrown hairs in everyone.I also feel that you’re really over thinking about hairloss and that will destroy your life in the long run..
Different Forms Of Testosterone
Testosterone exists in your body in different forms. Theres free testosterone that isnt bound to proteins in your body. This is the form of testosterone most available to act within the body.
Testosterone can also be bound to albumin, a protein in the blood. Most testosterone is bound to sex hormone-binding globulin protein and isnt active. If you have a low level of SHBG, you may have a high level of free testosterone in your bloodstream.
Dihydrotestosterone is made from testosterone by an enzyme. DHT is five times more potent than testosterone. DHT is primarily used by the body in the prostate, skin, and hair follicles.
Male pattern baldness has a distinctive shape. The front hairline recedes, especially at the sides, forming an M shape. This is frontal baldness. The crown of the head, also known as the vertex, becomes bald as well. Eventually the two areas join into a U shape. MPB can even extend to chest hair, which can thin as you age. Oddly enough, hair in different locations on the body can react differently to hormonal changes. For instance, facial hair growth can improve while other areas become bald.
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Can Low Testosterone Level Cause Hair Loss
Low testosterone and hair loss have a connection. Mostly, it affects the thinning or loss of male hair. This includes facial and body hair loss in males. Any hormonal imbalance in our body can directly affect our hair growth cycle. Therefore, when there is a rapid fall of the free testosterone in our blood, it affects our hair growth and usually leads to baldness in front and crown region.
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Some doctors recommend testosterone boosters to treat the deficiency of the hormone. Though, testosterone boosters can be addictive and might have unwanted side effects .
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Can You Reverse Or Slow Down Dht In Men
Absolutely. Medical advancements have improved significantly and are now able to target patientsâ individual needs instead of a one-size-fits-all approach. Slowing down the impact of too high or too low levels of DHT is easy with the aid of a DHT blocker.
While DHT isnât exactly the same as testosterone, it is similar enough it can be blocked much the same with products like Biotine or Rogaine. Consider putting down the over-the-counter shampoos and reaching out to your doctor for a proper prescription. Youâll receive a more accurate diagnosis that gets to the root of your hair loss.
When used consistently and correctly, a DHT blocker can take a minimum of three months and a maximum of six to seven to show results. While your hair is unlikely to look the same as it did a few decades ago, targeting the hormonal imbalance will slow down hair loss, improve hair thickness, and promote more even coverage significantly.
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How To Reduce Dht Levels
The obvious target for reducing DHT levels is blocking the 5- reductase enzyme which converts testosterone.
One of the most popular 5- reductase inhibitors used for treating alopecia is Finasteride. A trial in more than 3000 patients found it to be effective in 87% of the cases.
Different plant foods and herbs contain polyphenols and phytoestrogens, which are also known to inhibit the 5- reductase to various degrees. Examples are green and black tea, black pepper, curcumin, saw palmetto, etc.
Studies report that unsaturated fatty acids and vitamin B2 might also reduce the activity of the enzyme.
Reverse Trt Hair Loss
Schedule a hair loss evaluation with the Hair Transplant Institute of Miami if your hair appears to be getting thinner or finer while undergoing TRT. Our team is comprised of South Floridas finest hair transplant surgeons, nurses, microscopists, and technicians. We understand the challenges that hair loss presents to personal, social, and professional life, and we are here to help make a difference.
Learn more about hair loss evaluations online, or call our Institute directly at 1-877-443-9070.
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Truth: Testosterone And Baldness Link To The Prostate
It sounds sad, but the primary hormone that causes male pattern baldness has a link to the prostate. To further understand the process, we need to look more in-depth at DHT, the testosterone byproduct we mentioned earlier.
DHT production comes from two sources.
The first is its production from a hormone called Dehydroepiandrosterone or DHEA. This is a more common source in women and gets its use as an anti-aging and sex drive supplement.
The primary source of this in men is the transformation of testosterone. The enzyme 5-alpha reductase facilitates the change from DHEA to DHT. Through a complicated process, DHT is in the skin, hair follicles, and prostate.
DHT handles the healthy development of the prostate throughout our lives. Too much DHT can result in an enlarged prostate.
Hair Loss From Testosterone Use
Many men who have started testosterone therapy have reported that they have started to lose their hair. The increased testosterone can contribute to male pattern hair loss by triggering the genetically predisposed hair follicles on the scalp to fall out.
Since we know male pattern baldness is primarily driven by DHT , the active form of testosterone, if you pump in extra testosterone into the body, you are going to get more DHT and therefore more stimulation on your hair follicles. Interestingly, DHT signals some hair to fall out and some to grow .
It should be noted that not all men lose their hair when they undergo the therapy. It has been suggested that men who are genetically predisposed to hair loss and male pattern baldness are the most susceptible.
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