Element 3: Hormones

It is generally agreed that genetics and hormones are the leading factors that decide a person's risk for hair loss. Despite these determining factors there are still actions you can take to minimize their consequence. As previously discussed in an earlier article, hormones play a key role in healthy hair. Here are some additional topics to consider.

Hormone imbalances are a result of glandular malfunction, which inhibits the necessary production of protein required for healthy hair. Over time, in as early as three months, hair loss occurs.

People most affected are those with high hormone fluctuations, for example, teens during puberty or women who are pregnant, taking birth control pills or menopausal. Hormone replacement therapy used to help prevent cancer in women can also have the side effect of hair loss. The aging process naturally brings hormone changes that can lead to hair loss.

Hormones are the chemical messengers of the body. They provide the instructions about which chemicals the body should produce, in what quantities and when. The complete role of hormones is only recently being understood and experts say there is much that is still not known. However very often, in the absence of a more obvious reason, hormone problems are related to thyroid functioning.

The two main types of hormones are androgen and estrogen. When these are available in the improper quantities the entire body chemistry is affected and often hair loss is a symptom.

Most modern medical research leans toward the position that the male hormone, dehydrotestosterone (DHT), which is converted from testosterone, binds to sites on hair follicles and is the primary instigator of hair loss. DHT appears to make the follicles go into their "resting" phase faster which in turn starts to cause the hairs produced by those follicles to become thinner and thinner with each growth cycle. Studies show that while balding men don't have higher than average circulating testosterone levels, they do possess above-average amounts of DHT in the scalp follicles.

This is why then DHT Blockers or Inhibitors are so important in any Hair Loss Treatment Program. Combined with other elements of a holistic treatment plan, DHT produces measurable results as it restores the imbalances responsible for hair loss.

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