Keanu has become a meme lately as ‘the nicest guy in the world’. If you haven’t seen the viral post about him, the summary is apparently he gives away money, rides the subway and is generally a nice guy who had a tough childhood and lost some close friends.
Well, that stress doesn’t seem to have had a significant impact on his hair. So…
What’s the secret to Keanu’s good hair?
Many men of Keanu’s age have little to no hair left on their heads. So why does Keanu Reeves have the hair of a man in his twenties when he is now nearly 60 years old?
The answer is actually very complex.
Hair loss is caused predominantly by an androgen hormone called DHT. That’s why men lose their hair far more often than women — because men have way more DHT than women.
So, does that mean Keanu has very low DHT levels for a man?
Not necessarily.
One of the characteristics of high DHT levels is a thick beard and Keanu has relatively thick facial hair.
So why does Keanu Reeves have relatively high DHT levels and relatively low hair loss levels?
There are a number of explanations for this. One is that the androgen receptors in his scalp are less sensitive to the effects of DHT compared to most men, purely due to genetics. This is like a genetic encoding in the cells. Some men’s androgen receptors are unfortunately genetically coded to be more sensitive to the effects of DHT in their scalps and as a result, they lose their hair faster.
Are low DHT levels as a young man the reason for Keanu’s thick hair now?
Interestingly, looking back at pictures of Keanu as a young man, he has a smooth face, with very little facial hair (similar to a woman). This is almost certainly related to lower levels of male androgen hormones and that might be the key to his thick hair.
Nick Cage’s super dense beard hair as a youngster explains his rapid hair loss when he reached his thirties
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Whats the best shampoo for hair loss? If you’re unlucky like Nicholas Cage and you have crazy amounts of DHT in your early twenties, resulting in facial hair like Pluto from Popeye, you can say goodbye to your hair when you reach your thirties — as Nick did.
Keanu was lucky to escape this fate and I suspect that’s why he’s held onto most of his hair.
