Testosterone Boosters and Hair Growth
Lot’s of guys lose their hair, it is just natural.
However, is there a link to supplements that can stimulate more testosterone production and hair loss?
We do the research to find out.
LAST UPDATED: by Ben in March 2019.
Author: Nicola is an amateur competitive athlete with many accolades spanning different disciplines.
Testosterone and Hair Loss – What’s The Truth?
Are your testosterone levels really linked to your rate of hair loss – and can you do anything about it?
A lot people have heard that a man’s testosterone levels are linked to hair loss and baldness, but is it due to low test, or high test?
Why do some men go bald and others keep their hair, apparently regardless of their ability to build muscle?
Is the ability to build muscle in the gym linked to your chances of going bald?
Hormone Link
Let’s look at the link between testosterone and hair loss. It’s not as simple as you’ve been led to believe!
Many men (and women!) think that male baldness is linked to high levels of testosterone, and this has led to the common belief that bald men are more manly and virile.
In fact, this line of thought goes back to 1960 when James B. Hamilton at Yale compared hair loss in 21 men who had been medically castrated, with men of the same age who had not.
His findings led him to believe that higher testosterone levels correlated with male pattern baldness. [1]
Well, it’s not quite that simple.
Test levels are linked to hair loss, but not in the way you think.
But don’t let your manly self confidence be crushed.
Read on to understand the true hormonal links between a man’s test levels and his hair…
There are different forms of hair loss but the only one linked in any way to testosterone levels is male pattern baldness – or “androgenic alopecia”.
This official name tells us that it is linked to the androgen hormones – including testosterone.
Hair loss usually happens over a period of time. As the hair follicles shrink, new hairs grow back finer, and eventually there is no new hair growth (and the follicles are no longer active).
‘Researchers continue to investigate the connection between androgenetic alopecia and other medical conditions… They believe that some of these disorders may be associated with elevated androgen levels, which may help explain why they tend to occur with androgen-related hair loss.’ [2]
Furthermore, androgenic alopecia is the most common form of hair loss which affects both men and women according to the evidence that we find from a study of men in Northeastern Germany. [3]
Statistics also state that over half of all men over the age of 50 years will experience hair loss due to androgenetic alopecia. [4]
Is Testosterone Behind Hair Loss?
To understand the link between test and baldness, we need to understand the different forms of testosterone in the body.
Free testosterone is not bound to proteins, and is most available when your body needs it. Some test can be bound to the protein albumin.
But most test is bound to SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin) and is not free testosterone.
Then we have DHT (dihydrotestosterone) – an endogenous androgen sex steroid and hormone – which your body creates from testosterone.
DHT is more potent than testosterone and your body mostly uses it in the prostate, skin, and… in the hair follicles.
So why do some men go bald when others retain a full head of hair?
Male pattern baldness is largely down to the sensitivity of your hair follicles to your body’s DHT.
And, this sensitivity is due to a certain gene which causes hair follicles to interact with hormones.
More sensitive hair follicle receptors will be triggered by small amounts of DHT. Whereas less sensitive receptors could be exposed to larger amounts of DHT and not be affected. [5]
In 2010, scientists looked at sections of scalp with and without hair to try and understand more about the mechanisms of baldness.
They found that all the follicles still had stem cells, but the stem cells in bald areas didn’t progress on to progenitor cells. [6]
If science can ever find a way to trigger growth, this could be a “cure” for male pattern baldness.
How Does It Happen?
Male pattern baldness – as dictated by DHT levels and your hair follicles’ sensitivity to it – starts on the top of the head and then moves down over the sides in that male patterns baldness shape.
Oddly, the follicles on the chin are unaffected by DHT, which is why men don’t lose their beards even if they go completely bald.
So It’s Not Down To Testosterone?
Baldness and hair loss can be (partly) linked to test levels, but it’s not as easy as that.
You really need to look at your levels of DHT plus your body’s sensitivity to the hormone. Put those two factors together and you will have a better insight into your own hair loss.
Look at the men in your family: male pattern baldness at a genetic level can be easily traced through the generations.
Male pattern baldness and hair loss doesn’t necessarily mean you have higher levels of testosterone – not free testosterone, anyway.
So there’s no scientific link between baldness and virility (but you don’t need to tell anyone that!).
In fact, recently published research is categorically stating that there’s no direct link to total testosterone or androgen concentrations.
But rather, it is probably down to a possible sensitivity or androgen receptor density. [7]
>> READ: The most effective and powerful legal test boosters rated!
Hormonal Hair Loss In Women
Female Pattern Hair Loss is mainly genetic and hair loss is attributed to many genes.
There’s no current decisive data or evidence that would strongly link androgen levels with female baldness.
In Addition and contrary to that thought the majority of women with pattern baldness have normal androgen levels.
Scientific studies and theories have conflicting viewpoints of estrogen’s role in hair growth and loss. [8]
As a result, the absolute role of hormones and female pattern baldness is not certain. [9]
Prevention and Treatment
If your hair loss is truly linked to your testosterone levels, remember that it is a genetic issue.
It is not directly linked to testosterone levels as such, but how sensitive your body is to the androgen receptors. [10]
That means there are no treatments, supplements, or lifestyle changes you can make which will halt male pattern baldness for you (unless you can go back in time and choose different parents).
Some hair loss experts offer treatments and drug interventions, including topical minoxidil and oral finasteride.
However, it’s important to know that such treatments can only reducing the progression and may encourage partial re-growth of hair. [11]
Conclusion
Baldness is really down to genetics passed down from family members rather than a clean cut and shut association with testosterone levels.
Your genes may make you more sensitive to hormones which can result in accelerated baldness.
However, there is no direct link that just because you start using a test booster that you will become bald.
Maby people will use them and suffer no baldness because of their genetics.
Our advice? Embrace the look, and keep your body healthy – an impressive physique will always trump a great head of hair anyway!
References
[1] http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v5p247y1981-82.pdf
[2] https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/androgenetic-alopecia#genes
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5817427/
[4] Sinclair R, Torkamani N, Jones L. Androgenetic alopecia: new insights into the pathogenesis and mechanism of hair loss. F1000Res. 2015;4(F1000 Faculty Rev):585. doi:10.12688/f1000research.6401.1
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4174066/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5504091/
[7] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2617871
[8] https://www.dermnetnz.org/topics/female-pattern-hair-loss/
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5419033/
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2218699/
Article by:
