There was a time where when you started losing hair (at least in my situation), where the optimistic reason and excuse for it was “Oh it’s because you have too much testosterone” which for men might be a compliment and for women, it might not, but either way, the underlying problem was still there.
Then I saw a YouTube where a supposed expert claimed the opposite was true and that having good testosterone levels actually improves hair growth.
What is the answer!? Well after having researched this, the answer is unfortunately a bit more complicated than a and we will explore everything we can about what testosterone is and how it affects our hair and overall body.
Let’s start off by exploring what it is, what it does, and only then, we may understand how it affects our hair and if it helps it grow or fall out:
What is testosterone?
Testosterone is a steroid hormone found in both men and women that the male body uses to develop secondary sexual development and sperm.
It can be found mostly in the testicles of the male but it is also present in much smaller amounts in the adrenal track and the ovaries in females. This hormone increases during the beginning of puberty and starts to drop off as we reach our thirties.
How does it affect your health?
Too much or too little of this hormone can have different effects on your body.
Low Levels:
- Low or decreased self-esteem.
- Hair loss (ah hah!).
- Muscle mass loss.
- Loss of energy.
- Loss of sex drive.
- Depression.
So as of now, we can conclude that MORE testosterone = better hair growth.
Elevated Levels:
- Early puberty in boys
- Women may start to develop male characteristics like more facial hair.
High Levels:
- Cancer.
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
- Adrenal gland disorder.
So, the black and white simple answer is no, healthy levels of testosterone will not cause you to lose your hair BUT low levels will and under very strict circumstances, where it’s in EXTREMELY high levels, it also will, and that comes with it’s own set of health problems as you just saw…
But if we take it a step further, we can find out why testosterone even affects the loss of hair (since in every level, there is some affect on it happening). What is the link between hair growth and testosterone?
The answer is: Dihydrotestosterone or DHT for short.
What is DHT?
There exists an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase which mixes with testosterone and creates DHT in men. It is also created by mixing testosterone with DHEA in women.
DHT is part of the makeup of skin, hair follicles, and is also found in the prostate. If DHT levels are found to be too high in humans, loss of hair is quite possible in both men and women so again, it’s another case of how high the levels are.
Now that we have determined both testosterone and its counterpart DHT can cause hair loss lets explore how we can use these very hormones to do just the opposite, grow hair.
Yeah, I know, a bit confusing but stay with us and we will clear it all up!
Can testosterone actually make your hair grow?
When it’s in the right levels depending on your gender, the answer is yes, it’s POSSIBLE. When it is basically in the right levels, testosterone can stimulate the body to produce more healthier hair meaning if you’re low in it, you need to do things to get more testosterone and if it’s very high for you, naturally you need to reduce the level of it, to maintain a good balance.
So to summarize, too much DHT, which is created by testosterone in men, and too much DHEA in women can cause hair loss in both sexes and at the same time too little of these in your system can actually slow down hair growth and damage the hair you do have.
How to use this information (finding that best approach):
First you should find out what your actual testosterone levels are and that can be done with a simple blood test but the costs for this are a bit expensive when in most cases a home test kit will be more than adequate to get the job done and this is the route we recommend for finding out your numbers.
Based on the numbers you get, you’ll be able to conclude whether your testosterone levels are too high or too low, and then adequately decide on which protocol to follow. So what are the numbers to look for?
The Mayo Clinic recommends your numbers to be…
- For men between 250 and 1100 nd/gl and…
- For women between 8 and 60 nd/gl.
So armed with the above information pick up a test kit and find out your numbers and adjust your protocol accordingly.
If you find your numbers are low (what to do)…
Then a supplement may be just what you need to either stop losing your hair or even growing new hair! One of the BEST supplements to take is biotin like the one we recommend here. That and a healthy diet like this can REALLY help improve the body’s testosterone production.
There are many supplements available that have a steroid called delta-7 stearine in them and this steroid actually blocks the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme which causes the creation of DHT and DHEA which in turn causes the hair loss.
Another option is DHT blocking shampoos, like the one listed here. Think of it this way, as you increase your testosterone, naturally DHT production amps up, which means you need to block it, while keeping the benefits of testosterone there. A DHT blocking shampoo will help in this regard.
If your numbers are too high (what to do)…
You will probably need to speak to a doctor and change your lifestyle/diet to better normalize your testosterone levels. This will also cause hair loss to happen (due to more DHT production) but using the same ideas for proper dieting and DHT blocking shampoos, you should be able to stabilize your high levels, but a doctor will be able to help you figure out a protocol to follow for this.
Summary
We have explored everything involving testosterone and how it affects your hair and health and we hope this information is useful to you!
Remember, the best way to approach this is to make sure you have the proper amounts of these hormones in your system and if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms consider a supplement plan!
Also, remember careful and gentle hair care combined with a good healthy diet will go a long way to healthy hair.
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments
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