Hair loss is predominantly caused by a male androgen hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Men have much more DHT than women, which is why men lose their hair far more than women.
DHT also causes facial and body hair growth. And it’s a potent anabolic hormone, meaning it helps men build muscle mass and drives men to compete.
DHT is a byproduct of the androgen hormone testosterone.
So, the short answer is, some men have very low levels of testosterone and those men are much less likely to lose their hair.
They’re also much less likely to be able to grow full, thick beards and they’re likely to be less muscular and less competitive.
Hold on a second…
Some men (like Brad Pitt) can grow thick beards and still have full thick hair on their heads as they get older.
Above: Brad Pitt has the testosterone that causes thick facial hair and yet he has the hairline of a 15 year old
So what’s going on?
Why do some men seem to have high testosterone levels and still never lose their hair?
There are men like Alec Baldwin who clearly have super dense beard and body hair (due to high volumes of DHT) but still don’t lose the hair on their head.
‘Genetic variation’ is often cited as the explanation for why some men grow thick facial and body hair and still never lose their scalp hair.
This is, to some extent, true but is also a total cop out answer because it doesn’t explain the precise reasons some men are not genetically predisposed to hair loss.
What exactly is different about those guys?
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A new theory as to why some men never lose their hair, even if they have bucket loads of testosterone — it’s not genes
There’s a new mind blowing theory that states a particular type of stress experienced during late teens to early twenties can cause increased inflammation in the scalp, which, when combined with DHT, causes the hair loss.
If a man experiences this particular type of stress and he has high testosterone levels he’s likely to start losing his hair at some point in his twenties, thirties or later.
It’s possible that if you can reduce this inflammation you may be able to have all the benefits of testosterone AND keep your hair (like Brad Pitt and Alec Baldwin).
Strong clinical evidence for this theory
You might think this is a crackpot theory but there are several studies showing that stress related to ‘social rejection’ causes a significant increase in inflammation — and we know that inflammation is directly linked to hair loss.
See How does inflammation cause hair loss
Here’s a quote from one study:
We recruited 124 healthy young adult participants to complete a laboratory-based social stressor while markers of inflammatory activity were obtained from oral fluids. A subset of participants (n = 31) later completed an fMRI session in which their neural responses to social rejection were assessed. As predicted, exposure to the laboratory-based social stressor was associated with significant increases in two markers of inflammatory activity
National Library of Medicine
What exactly do you mean by ‘social rejection stress’? I’ve never been socially rejected!
You’re probably thinking you’ve never been socially rejected so it can’t be the reason for your hair loss.
Let’s understand a bit more what social rejection stress actually means.
You may have never consciously thought about this idea but unless you were the most popular kid in school (like Alec Baldwin and Brad Pitt) you will inevitably have experienced social rejection anxiety in your youth, many many times.
This is something that’s more likely to happen to people with a higher IQ because they have a greater cognitive capacity for social anxieties.
If you grew up on a farm and never went to school, you would likely never experience the social hierarchy of young people competing to be popular and fit in.
But most people do experience this. All the time.
You probably never even thought about it when you were at high school or college or starting a job in an office, but unless you’re at the top of the social hierarchy OR you’re a super geek who has little to no interest in trying to be popular, you will have experienced countless rejection anxieties in your life (practically daily).
Matt Lucas lost his hair at the age of 6 due to inflammatory response
Social rejection stress (as demonstrated in the study linked above) increases inflammatory cytokines. These proteins restrict hair growth — or even completely prevent hair growth in more extreme cases.
Now, combine that with surging DHT levels when you become a young man and it’s goodbye hair.
The more anxiety and the more DHT, the less hair.
What can be done?
Unfortunately this is not an easy problem to solve. It’s not really as simple as taking a pill or applying Minoxidil spray.
You’re not going to want to hear the answer but the answer is this:
You need to be 100% comfortable and honest about your position in the social hierarchy. You need to be yourself. No pretending, no anxiety. Only calmness.
You’ve likely trained your mind to want to compete and be better (increase your status). This is constantly stressing you. It’s completely natural and in some ways a very good thing. You want to better yourself just like most people.
The truth is you’re probably going to have to constantly deal with this stress induced inflammation — unless you want to go and live in a forest on your own, or chemically castrate yourself with Finasteride.
So, what’s the solution?
One possible solution is to use a topical to reduce inflammatory cytokines in your scalp. In addition to that you should practise daily calmness to keep your cortisol hormone low and use a topical that boosts hair growth.
Whatever you decide to do, just remember this:
If you want to keep you hair you need to have low levels of stress-induced inflammation. You can have high levels of DHT and low inflammation and keep your hair (like Brad Pitt). But if you’ve got high levels of DHT and high levels of inflammation, you’re done for.
How to Trigger Rapid Hair Growth
To learn about the method I used to provoke new hair growth and significantly increase hair density, use the link below:
Summary / TLDR
- ‘Social rejection stress’ causes increased inflammation
- Inflammation can cause hair loss
- If you have increased inflammation and normal to high DHT levels, you can wave goodbye to your hairline
- The solution is:
- Practise calmness to reduce stress and therefore reduce inflammation
- Follow an anti-inflammatory diet
- Use a topical anti-inflammatory that reduces inflammatory cytokines and a growth stimulator that increases VEGF
- You could also take Finasteride to reduce DHT, but you’ll have to wave goodbye to you manliness
