Could Androgen Hormones Be the Missing Link in Curing Hair Loss?

For most men and women the thought of losing their hair is scarier than a socialite having to drive a cab to pick up lunch money. For this reason the hair care isle at your local super store is filled with products that claim to make a persons hair look fuller and more vibrant. But if there isn't anything left on top even the best shampoos, conditioners, and hair regrowth products won't do you a bit of good.

In this article titled "Could Androgen Hormones Be The Missing Link in Hair Loss" we will briefly cover hair loss (balding) and then get right to the point concerning androgen hormones.

Would you believe the average person starts with 100,000 scalp hair perfectly placed to give them the look of having a full head of hair? Each day a person loses between 75 and 150 hairs most of which are replaced through the natural replacement cycle. As a person ages the number of hairs lost tends to outnumber the hairs replaced thus leading to moderate balding.

But in over 60% of men and 20% of women things don't go quite so smoothly. The culprit is (you guessed it) androgen hormones. Yes ladies you have androgen hormones too but just in much more smaller amounts.

Androgen hormones are produced by the testicles in men and the adrenal glands and ovaries in women. They are also the primary factor in a condition known as androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness) which is responsible for over eight out of ten cases of balding or thinning. The three merry musketeers that perform the hair removal are affectionately known as testosterone, androsteinedione, and dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is the merry leader of this group and getting him to leave those follicles alone is much like asking your dog to love all neighborhood cats.

When excess amounts of DHT are produced and find its way deep into the hair follicle hair appearance and abundance begin to change. The hair follicles are effectively strangled leading the hair to appear finer and shorter. The overabundance of dihydrotestosterone also shortens the hair replacement cycle thus leading to and acceleration in the balding process.

Could DHT be the cure for hair loss? While androgenetic alopecia is responsible for most balding and thinning it is not responsible for all cases, thus the answer is no. But if you asked whether finding a way to control and moderate DHT could cure most cases of hair loss the answer would be yes. The problem lies in the fact that dihydrotestosterone is an import developmental hormone thus eliminating it completely would not be feasible. So the key is balancing its presence while keeping it away from scalp hair follicles. It is my belief that sometime not in the so distant future this will become a reality but until then answer will have to be found elsewhere.

What Next? If you are one of the millions of men and women suffering from balding and thinning caused by androgenetic alopecia there are a number of excellent hair regrowth options available specifically formulated to block DHT that are worth investigating. Additionally, the longer you wait the harder it will be to reverse the condition so time is of the essence.