Testosterone Hair Loss

Disclaimer: This article is not be taken as medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor.

Testosterone is easily associated with men, as half the term “testos” sounds like testes, doesn’t it?  Actually, it was right to give testes the proper credit for it is the “producer” of this sex hormone that promotes the development of sexual characteristics in men.   It is the “alter ego” of estrogen which is prevalent in women.  But both men and women have estrogen and testosterone as well.  Although this time, testosterone has higher levels in men than in women.

Testosterone plays an important role in the reproductive system as it responsible for the normal development and maturity of sperm cells.  A high level of testosterone supports good health in men by reducing the risks of heart attack and high blood pressure.  It can also be induced to cure medical conditions like breast cancer and menorrhagia in women.

Now you may ask, what does testosterone have to do with hair loss?  In women, low level of estrogen or estrogen-deficiency will result to hair loss but in men, hair loss is a consequence of excess testosterone.  A reverse effect, isn’t it?

 These are some of the factors that cause the overproduction of testosterone in men:

• Constant stress – when men are in stress, the adrenals (testosterone and adrenaline) which are responsible for protecting his body from stresses become overactive, thus creating the presence of more testosterone than necessary.

• Overeating fatty foods and red meat also causes the adrenal glands to become more active and again, creates a lot more testosterone.

• Too much exercise – also encourages hyperactivity in adrenal glands.

• Environmental toxins – cause stress and thus require the need for more testosterone.

• Medications such as insulin and some anti-depressants – affects the normal production/functions of the adrenals.

There are also other testosterone-related causes of hair loss such as:

• Dihydrotestosterone or DHT is a highly active compound, natural metabolite or simply a by-product of an excess testosterone.  DHT is useful in the proper division of cells in the prostate. However, it prevents the hair follicles from receiving the necessary proteins, vitamins and minerals to nourish and sustain hair growth and development. If a person has no proper nutrition, it cannot support the DHT inhibitors from preventing hair loss.  

• Androgenetic Alopecia or more commonly known as Male Pattern Baldness – Androgenetic comes from the term Androgen which is a steroid or a male hormone that serves as a partner of testosterone in the development of male sexual characteristics while Alopecia in simple terms means hair loss.

Any changes or abnormalities in the metabolism of the androgen will result in hair loss and thus called Androgenetic Alopecia.

But men should not lose hope should they have this testosterone-related hair loss.  Like estrogen, they are now synthesized in the form of injectable, oral pills, transdermal skin patches/creams or gels.