Yo

[guile85]

Hi

My name is Guy Groomes and Ive had for the past year or something minimal hairloss. Been under a ton of stress about an 8 at minimum on a scale from 1-10. Also I wasnt eating very good, lots of protein vary rarely ate vegatables or fruit. Its about at a NW 2 and where it has receded it looks like telogen effluvium where there is hair still there their just less dense. My mom was noticing alot of hairfall collecting in my bathroom about 6 months ago. Now i just started taking a hair skin and nail vitamin and getting atleast one salad in per day. Plenty of fruit and good protein. Is it possible this hairloss was diet/stress related or a symptom of MPB. My dad and mom both have full heads of hair, my dads 52 and moms 47. My mom gets a little telogen effluvium from time to time, scalp with show through the top of her hair. Also i was looking in the mirror and there is a few red bumps on my scalp almost looks like a pimple without the head. Should i try rogaine? or just continue with vitamins and diet and see if that helps?

[Spex]

Everyone initially hopes their hairloss is just related to stress... However 95% of hair loss in men is a result of DHT.


MBP and DHT
DHT is Dihydrotestosterone. It is produced by metabolism of the hormone testosterone and is formed in the adrenal gland, hair follicles, prostate glands and testes. DHT is a naturally occurring hormone, all men have it, but in genetically predisposed men, it can cause MPB. We need DHT for the formation of the male specific characteristics such as development of the body hair, development of the facial hair, depth of voice etc. However after puberty, an abundance of DHT is no longer needed. For most men an excess of DHT causes no problem. If, however, you are genetically predisposed to MPB, then it does.

The current theory is that DHT binds to the hair follicles, then enters cells preventing ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase from functioning, RNA is key to protein synthesis. In plain English, this means if hair cells cannot create protein then hair will not grow and eventually will die.
DHT occurs as the result of a metabolic process where an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase (5AR) converts testosterone into DHT. Basically: Testosterone in hair follicles + 5AR = DHT = bad news! Studies confirm that men showing signs of baldness have increased activity of 5AR in their scalps. And an excess of sebum in the scalp can encourage the production of 5AR, which is why keeping sebum levels under control is vital. It follows therefore that if we can stop 5AR from working we can reduce DHT levels and prevent MPB from developing.

There are some contentious issues here as there are two types of 5AR, Type I and Type II. Nobody is 100% sure exactly how much each enzyme contributes to the DHT production that leads to baldness. The Type I enzyme is commonly found in the glands in the skin in close proximity to hair follicles, Type II is found in the dermal papillae of hair follicles, both types are found in other places around the body too.

There are products - DHT Blockers – which can inhibit production of DHT and hence reduce its capacity to damage the hair follicle. There are many topical DHT blockers and inhibitors that are easily available in the open market under different brand names, being manufactured and marketed by different companies. We will look at these in detail in the next chapter.

Drugs to block 5AR have been available for a while. Finasteride (sold as Propecia) blocks the type II 5AR reducing DHT levels by up to 60% to 70%. This has seen about one in three users grow new hair on the crown of their heads. A Type I 5AR blocker named MK386 was tested and the results showed there was no hair re-growth in the patients who undertook the trial. It would seem clear that it is the Type II enzyme which is the problem, but another drug called Dutasteride (sold as Avodart) blocks both Type I and II.

What is interesting is that Dutasteride has been shown to be more effective than Finasteride, even despite the fact that Type I 5AR inhibition was shown to be next to useless for hair loss.

Current thinking is that the total androgenic load is a significant factor that can contribute to baldness. By using Dutasteride you reduce both forms of the enzyme, reducing total levels of DHT to a lower level than with just Finasteride, resulting in a lower total androgenic load. Either way it still appears Type II enzyme (in the hair follicle cell) is the main culprit, with the possibility of Type I having a smaller more limited affect. Also the fact that Type I isn’t located directly in hair cells whereas Type II is may well be a factor too ie. serum DHT levels have a minimal effect on balding compared to follicular DHT.

So it’s simple, take a load of Dutasteride and Bob’s your Uncle, right? Not quite, you should be aware that the full functions of DHT are not completely understood, for example deficiency in DHT has been linked with a risk of Alzheimer’s disease and it plays important roles in the development of male characteristics such as muscle growth and keeping other hormones such as estrogen in check. The long term implications of blocking DHT are not fully known. Another significant factor to consider is once you start taking the drugs you will more than likely need to take them for the rest of your life if you want to keep your hair, which is far from ideal.
So there is much to think about before you rush off and purchase one of the DHT Blockers. And before you start taking any drug at all, you need to understand Male Pattern Baldness and its measurement the Norwood Scale, because where you are on that scale will determine the combination of treatments that will work best for you.

[guile85]

probably at a 2.3 on the Norwood scale. Also im growing new hair in my cowlick on the top back of my head. I can feel little short hair sprots and on my widows peak and around where i lost my hair if i pull it back there is tons of 1-2 inch hairs poppin out. I was having anxiety panic attacks over the last year, trouble sleeping at night, I would wake up after a few hours. Im 26 years old and wear my hair pretty long. Over the top of my head there is little spikey hairs sticking out farther forward then the cowlick. I know about DHT usually the hair thats lost or going away starts turning blondish which is what happened on my temples. Not on the top of my head though.

[guile85]

Before i moved recently we had extremely chlorinated water. It was so bad that if you put the water in a cup it was dark grey and chalky. My hair would never come clean even right after washing it still looked greasy. And my skin was very dry and itched alot. Ive thought about it and pretty sure there are a number of factors other than MPB causing it. Diet,stress, super chlorinated water. Im not in denial, it just makes sense

[SBTRKT]

Get on finasteride or dutasteride.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

How old are you? Even though your parents have good hair is there any aunts, uncles, or grandparents with history of hair loss.

[guile85]

26, my dads brother started losing a good amount of hair late 40s and my moms brother is pretty much bald. My dads dad went bald but not til his 50's and thats pretty much it

[guile85]

also i might add that i was job hopping alot before the stress and also recently lost my job

[guile85]

did notice the other day looking in the mirror that my scalp seems to have scaly looking patches. Not real bad looking but its starting to itch pretty good after a shower. My scalp was also pretty red looking. No dandruff though

[guile85]

I was looking at old pictures and my grandpa in his late fourtys maybe early 50s had a quite a bit worse then mine hairline. I can only really look at the front though so its hard to tell. Probably would be a good idea to get on the duta whatever, what do we know about the side effects?

[guile85]

Got my haircut and today after a shower noticed a few white flakes in my hair. Also a little itchy up top. Im wondering if maybe i have a mild case of seborric dermatitis? How often you recommend using an anti dandruff shampoo, should i begin immediatley, or see a doctor first?