DHT Hair Loss: What is the relationship between DHT and hair loss?

Hair loss is a pretty common problem for both males and females. While males could exhibit clear signs of balding with defined patches, women could experience overall thinning and loss of scalp hair. The situation is nonetheless equally troublesome for both the sexes and takes a toll on one’s physical appearance as well as socio-psychological state.

DHT and Hair Loss: The Main Cause of Baldness?

While the causes of hair loss could be varied, ranging from stress, poor diet, genetics and the likes; a stark revelation, as it could be, is that about 95% of abnormal human hair loss finds explanation in androgenetic alopecia. The condition is basically a play of hyperactive hormones. Testosterone, a predominantly male hormone, is secreted by both males and females and gets converted into Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) with the aid of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. This DHT then could be accused to be the real culprit behind hair loss.

What Is DHT?

As explained above, DHT or dihydrotestosterone is a biologically active metabolite of the hormone testosterone. The enzyme called 5 alpha-reductase is responsible for bringing about this alteration in the androgens and its metabolism patterns actually determine the extent of hair growth or hair loss in an individual.

How Does DHT Contributes To Hair Loss?

Hair follicles consist of dermal papilla, which divide and differentiate to form new hair follicles and are thereby responsible for hair growth. Hair follicles are also known as dermal papillae and they derive their nutrition from the blood capillaries located on the surface of the skin.  DHT prevents the nutrition from being passed on from these capillaries and hinder the growth of new hair follicles. The obvious outcome is baldness. The process of malnutrition ridden, shrinking hair follicles, is referred to as miniaturization and the DHT is the igniting force for miniaturization. Men, who are genetically pre-disposed in producing more DHT than women, are quite evidently at a greater risk of hair loss.

DHT Hair Loss Treatment

Preventing DHT formation is clearly the solution to counter hair loss and there are a lot of remedial treatments that have spurted in the recent times to relieve the sufferers of their problem. Minoxidil solution is one of the most favored and widely accepted remedy to counter hair loss. Then there are several cosmetic surgeries and hair transplant treatments that have came up. Some even claim to deliver flawless results but are better avoided unless approved by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).