Men often complain of receding hairline, pattern baldness, hair thinning, and overall hair loss situations when they reach their early thirties. Some may experience it even before this specific age, causing them psychological problems like low self-esteem and lack of confidence personality. However, science and research studies have successfully found out some of the primary reasons behind these issues.

Around 95% of men go through androgenetic alopecia, leading to pattern hair loss caused by high dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It’s a sex hormone, activating distinguishable male characteristics like body hair, muscle mass, deeper and octave voice, and development of male genitals. Even if it does contribute to the male sex drive, do you know what the drawback is? Hair loss. Yes, DHT male pattern baldness is a genuine concept which predicts that by the age of 50, almost half the male population experience hair loss because of this androgen.

If you want to gain further information about the subject, we’ve broken it into sub-topic for better understanding. Let’s have a look:

Stages of Hair Loss

Science has already made us aware that from 100,000 hairs on our scalp, we lose around a hundred every day. The skin of our head is naturally designed in a way to shed and regrow hair constantly. Let’s have a look at the three stages of this ongoing cycle.

1. Anagen

For about two to six years, the hair on your scalp remains in the stage of growth known as Anagen. The time length varies for the hair on your head, your face, and other regions. It is why not all of them grow at the same pace – for instance; your eyebrows don’t grow as fast as your scalp hair.

2. Catagen

It is a short phase of less than a month, and about three weeks, where your hair stops growing. It is a repetitive time that comes into your life every few months. During this era, your hair may detach from the blood supply because of irregular circulations. However, it’s as natural as it could be, so there’s nothing to worry about.

3. Telogen

It is the stage that is the most problematic – the season of hair fall. It’s the resting phase when the hair follicles are inactive for three months before the hair starts to fall. If 80% of your hair is in the Anagen stage, around 20% are in your Telogen stage. Once this phase is completed, the cycle continues again.

However, the issue starts when your hair goes through the process of follicular miniaturization – the shortening of the hair-growing phase due to high levels of DHT. The hormone shrinks down the hair follicles and makes the hair thinner, bringing you closer to DHT male pattern baldness. So, how can you identify high DHT before it costs you losing your hair?

Symptoms of High DHT

Undoubtedly, you can control high DHT, and the hair loss can be reversed only when treated timely. So it’s best to acknowledge symptoms of a high level of DHT. Let’s have a look at some of them:

· Acne

A common issue found in male teenagers is acne, which makes them quite self-conscious and is often related to puberty. However, it is the first sign of high DHT. Dihydrotestosterone increases the level of androgens in the body, which leads to an increase in oil production. It clogs the pores on the skin, which causes acne.

· Receding Hairline

One of the early signs of DHT male pattern baldness is receding hairline in men. A high level of testosterone leads to shrinking hair follicles until they are so dry that they start falling off. Male scalps usually fail in getting to grow them back, especially in the front of the head. Several research projects have indicated that androgenetic alopecia is directly related to the DHT level. The higher the DHT, the more chances you facing a receding hairline.

· Hair Loss at the Crown

High DHT causes more hair loss in areas where there is more hair, so males often experience it on the top of their head, the crown, or the sides, their temples. It is the very next symptom of high DHT and often comes right after the receding hairline. Gradually, the hair loss expands from the temples to the vertex scalp, and once the two ends meet, the hairless portion of the head makes a horseshoe shape. It’s a familiar pattern of baldness found in males due to high levels of DHT.

 

How to Reduce DHT?

Once you’ve addressed these symptoms, there’s a chance for you to reverse the process of hair loss. Science and medicine have made immense progress in this area, and today, we have several options that can help us reduce DHT.

· Hair Transplant

Surgical hair transplants let you keep the hair on your head but just replacing them from the more hairy part to the hairless portion. We have established that hair on the crown of your head, or the temples, are more prone to falling out due to high levels of DHT. On the other hand, the hair at the back of your head is more resilient, and surgeons use them by plucking them out and moving them to areas of baldness. It’s expensive but a long-lasting solution.

· Medications

Minoxidil is a type of medicinal hair foam that helps your scalp and hair follicles to activate and regrow the lost hair. It helps in broadening the blood vessels and clearing them up, so that blood flow resumes regularly. Doctors recommend using it twice a day for better results. And even though it doesn’t directly impact DHT levels, using finasteride will lead to even more effective results.

 

Conclusion

Medicinal drugs are usually the best option to block high levels and rush of DHT in your body. But you have to be timely about it. It would be best if you started using anti-DHT shampoos and meds in the early stages of hair loss, such as receding hairline, pattern baldness, and hair thinning, and other signs. However, if you don’t want to compromise and face side effects, go with more natural hair loss treatments.