Jump to content

DHT and exercise.


Recommended Posts

  • Senior Member

Hey all,

I saw an article the other day that claimed whilst weight-training can increase DHT production, cardio can actually reduce it.

I've seen this echoed before, so I decided to do some research.

The current state of the literature suggests that all exercise, weight, cardio, mid and high intensity, all increase DHT.

Studies have even been conducted which tested low-mid level endurance training, and found a significant relationship between DHT and exercise.

Has anyone heard anything similar? Just thought it was interesting myself, as I had been almost avoiding weights due to believing cardio was better for my mop.

Though, I am unsure as to whether the increase in DHT could accelerate hair-loss or not, as not much research set out to investigate that.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

I actually just mentioned stuff about this on another thread. I'll link it here. I don't know what happens to anyone else, but obviously working out doesn't affect every ones hair in a bad way because there are plenty of bodybuilders with lots of hair. However it does effect mine. I've known for sure since I was about 16 that the hair on my head falls out if I work out, but I've never been able to get anyone to believe me because supposedly exercise helps your hair grow better and look better. Even the dermatologist years ago told me I was wrong because it can't happen. All I have ever hear from anyone, especially women, is that it's normal because I'm a man. Whatever! They weren't around when I was 15 and losing hair!

 

 

Edited by BeHappy

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

So what?  And perhaps it's true.  But if you are exercising for 20 min or 1 hour, the increased amount is negligible in the overall scheme of things.  Best to speak with your PCP and discuss the possibility of a DHT blocker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never heard of or seen any studies that correlate exercise with elevated DHT levels. However that doesn't mean that its not possible in certain individuals. I still think that staying healthy with exercising regularly and having a good balanced diet is more important than potential hair loss. There is also DHT blockers available.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
17 hours ago, Dr. Glenn Charles said:

I still think that staying healthy with exercising regularly and having a good balanced diet is more important than potential hair loss.

 

Easy to say, but when you're a teenager and losing handfulls of hair at a time, the hair matters more than the exercising... at least until you can get the hair problem fixed. That's how my thinking went, anyway. Later, after spending tens of thousands of dollars on hair transplants, it doesn't seem very smart to start doing something that causes the hair to fall out again. Tough decisions.

I always thought it was an immune system response. As if my immune system was attacking the hair follicles thinking they were a foreign substance whenever I'd start sweating. When I was young and had a lot more hair on my head, the hair roots would start stinging really bad and some sort of pus like substance would ooze out. I couldn't even comb my hair or put my hands through my hair because it hurt so much. Then within a few days the stinging pain would go away and I'd start getting hand fulls of hair in my hand by just brushing my hands through my hair.

All I know is if I didn't work out it didn't happen, although my hair was still falling out, it fell out at a much slower pace when I wasn't very active for extended periods.

 

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
2 hours ago, BeHappy said:

 

Easy to say, but when you're a teenager and losing handfulls of hair at a time, the hair matters more than the exercising... at least until you can get the hair problem fixed. That's how my thinking went, anyway. Later, after spending tens of thousands of dollars on hair transplants, it doesn't seem very smart to start doing something that causes the hair to fall out again. Tough decisions.

I always thought it was an immune system response. As if my immune system was attacking the hair follicles thinking they were a foreign substance whenever I'd start sweating. When I was young and had a lot more hair on my head, the hair roots would start stinging really bad and some sort of pus like substance would ooze out. I couldn't even comb my hair or put my hands through my hair because it hurt so much. Then within a few days the stinging pain would go away and I'd start getting hand fulls of hair in my hand by just brushing my hands through my hair.

All I know is if I didn't work out it didn't happen, although my hair was still falling out, it fell out at a much slower pace when I wasn't very active for extended periods.

 

I can understand how dramatic that must have been.  But we are dealing with two types of loss.  The one you see and the one you don't.  The follicle gets tired of producing hair and it goes into a resting phase.  That hair returns.  Hair you don't see, however, is hair loss.

Look closely to the hair in your hairline, just to take an accessible area.  Note the size shaft of each strand.  Some are thick and some are thinner. Those miniaturized hair will continue thinning until the hair dissipates and withers away.

Best thing to do is to get on a medical regimen to halt the loss. But here you need to be careful.  Patients have a tendency to think and say "saw no change, I stopped. The medication was doing nothing for me." The medication is not intended to regrow anything.  Nothing regrows hair.  It can help retain.  So, if you look the same a year from now, the medication did what it was supposed to do.  In a small percentage of patients, there can be enhancement of the miniaturized hair.  If this happens, stay on the medication FTROYL.

The donor area is finite and very limited.  There is not enough hair to allow for a full set of hair in the front, top and back when dealing with an advanced pattern.  It is of utmost importance you keep as much of the native hair as you can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
On 9/10/2019 at 9:05 AM, LaserCap said:

Best thing to do is to get on a medical regimen to halt the loss.

 

I agree with you on this for anyone starting to lose hair today, but as for me I was losing hair many years ago. This was before propecia came out and maybe even before rogaine was available. I did try a bunch of things that were around back in the day, such as Helsinki formula, something called Omexin, and a few other home made treatments I heard about. I didn't want to resort to surgery. I went to a dermatologist who did nothing. My hair loss was very aggressive putting me at about a NW 5 by age 20. I went to two different hair system companies and walked out of one because it was a hairpiece and tried the next one because I didn't know what else to do. I eventually got my first hair transplant at age 22 at a NW 6 hair loss level.

 

 

 

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

Throughout my career I've had the privilege to help thousands of patients, many just like you......If all the native hair is gone, why use medications? So, medications are meant for those who still have something to save.  I do have a question...If you are a class 6, then it means you still have donor.  Have you checked the perimeter?  Does that seem weaker than the rest of it? If so, getting on Finasteride might not be a good idea.  Perhaps you are not demarcating down. If, so - there is nothing to do.

Are you content with the work they did?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

I noticed I started losing hair around the sane time that I started working out. Perhaps it was increased testosterone that converted to DHT.

That said, correlation doesn’t always equal causation.


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I noticed I started losing hair around the sane time that I started working out. Perhaps it was increased testosterone that converted to DHT.

That said, correlation doesn’t always equal causation.

Yes, exercise can and does increase your testosterone levels which can, as a byproduct, result in an increase in DHT levels. However, if you are already taking medication that inhibits DHT like Finasteride, this isn't necessarily an issue.  Having said that, even if you're not on the medication the difference for a healthy younger man is NOT going to suddenly cause you to to bald. You were already headed in that direction and at best natural increases like this MIGHT marginally accelerate the process at worst, not cause it.

Really, you're only going to have to worry about a testosterone bump as a triggering factor for hair loss if you're receiving T therapy, taking steroids, etx. This is also a good time to reiterate what most people here already know, which is that DHT is not the sole cause of hair loss.

Worth noting exercise also increases general circulation which is of course good for hair. 

Additional note: that full head of hair isn't doing you much good if you drop dead because your heart is in crappy condition down the line.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Moderators

I spent some time really researching this. I found Hyperseborrhea. I never heard of that before today.

Hyperseborrhea
Hyperseborrhea or hypersecretion of sebum is simply a scalp problem due to an excessive production of sebum caused by hyperactivity of the sebaceous glands. Immediate symptoms of hyperseborrhea are scalp itchiness and pain. However, a later symptom is hair loss.

 

--- OK. So an excessive production of sebum can cause scalp itchiness, pain and hair loss. So...

 

What causes an excessive production of sebum?
Sebum production is controlled by hormones—specifically, androgens like testosterone. During puberty, the sebaceous glands enlarge and the hormones become more active and produce more sebum. This is why acne is such a hallmark of adolescence. Sebum production increases at puberty up to fivefold in men. The amount of sebum can be increased by testosterone.

 

--- OK. So the amount of sebum can be increased by an increase in testosterone

 

Does weight lifting increase testosterone?
Research has shown that lifting heavier weights is the best form of exercise to boost testosterone. As muscle mass increases, it will trigger the body to produce more testosterone.

 

--- There you have it. Lifting weights increases testosterone. An increase in testosterone can cause excessive sebum production. Excessive sebum production can cause hair loss. I've always known I was right.

 

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
On 9/13/2019 at 4:10 PM, Mycroft said:

that full head of hair isn't doing you much good if you drop dead because your heart is in crappy condition down the line.

 

I agree, but you can stay healthy without weight training. I do a lot of walking with a bit of jogging and some push ups along the way. My blood pressure a few weeks ago was 110/78 and my cholesterol is in the 160s. My BMI is slightly higher than I want it to be and hangs in the 20s and that's at 52 years old and no medication. My numbers have been in that range for years. But as a man I don't want to be skinny. That's for women. I want to be muscular. It's not easy to lift weights regularly when you know it's making your hair fall out and you've already spent tens of thousands of dollars for multiple hair transplants to try to keep your hair and you don't have any available donor left. 

Edited by BeHappy

Al

Forum Moderator

(formerly BeHappy)

I am a forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

Except you entire premise is based on the idea that lifting weights results in a rise of testosterone levels significant enough to cause any excess production of sebum where it was otherwise not occuring. This is not the case.

The increase in testosterone levels from lifting weights is not significant enough to throw you into hormonal imbalance if you didn't already have issues. You're searching for facts to support conclusions instead of drawing conclusions based on facts. This is textbook confirmation bias.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...