If DHT is the problem, why are teenagers not balding?

BurningCoals

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Some do :(

I think it's more because the sensitivity of DHT goes up as you age (not 100 % sure if it actually does) and because you are exposed to the effects of DHT for longer as you age, so there is more damage done than when you've only been exposed to it for some years, vs. for multiple decades.
 
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royce gracie

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Some do :(

I think it's more because the sensitivity of DHT goes up as you age (not 100 % sure if it actually does) and because you are exposed to the effects of DHT for longer as you age, so there is more damage done than when you've only been exposed to it for some years, vs. for multiple decades.
This part of androgenic alopecia is still a mystery but it either comes down to increased sensitivity or decreased growth factors on the scalp. I personally favor the latter explanation because it's more in line with aging's effects on the rest of the body. I can't think of any other scenario where the body becomes more sensitive to hormones as we age. Not to mention DHT levels gradually falling along with test. The sensitivity would have to really kick up significantly to match the worsening hair of older men.

Early balders have especially low growth factors and once the DHT starts attacking the battle is very quickly lost. But this is all conjecture, maybe there's a hidden and super complicated reason.
 

Onepiecedatata

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Some do :(

I think it's more because the sensitivity of DHT goes up as you age (not 100 % sure if it actually does) and because you are exposed to the effects of DHT for longer as you age, so there is more damage done than when you've only been exposed to it for some years, vs. for multiple decades.

I do not believe in the sensitivity argument.

If that was the case, then finasteride and dutasteride would not work since they do only block 60-80% of DHT. Theres still a plenty of DHT left in the body. I believe that the amount of DHT you have in your body is more relevant.
 

BurningCoals

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I do not believe in the sensitivity argument.

If that was the case, then finasteride and dutasteride would not work since they do only block 60-80% of DHT. Theres still a plenty of DHT left in the body. I believe that the amount of DHT you have in your body is more relevant.
I said I didn't know if it was 100% true, so I didn't state it as a fact.

I think the latter suggestion is more likely. An 18 year old will not have had time for their hair follicles to be damaged by DHT for nearly as long as a 58 year old for example, so it is more of a cumulative process in most cases.

Although then there are people who get aggressive balding seemingly out of nowhere which is kinda odd.
 

Jpw1999

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Because most don't have sensitivity to DHT yet. But the high DHT + sensitivity to DHT in your teens and 20s will kill your hair fast.
 

DoctorHouse

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Genetics dictate your time it's going to happen. We just base everything on averages. Most people don't gray until 40. Most people don't need bifocals until 40. Most people show diffuse thinning at around 40. Most people tend to get cataracts around 50. And the list goes on and on.
 

JohnSmith21

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Hair also goes through many cycles and the miniaturization process takes multiple hair cycles as the hair gets thinner and thinner. You can start “balding” in your teens and not notice until early - mid twenties
 

INT

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Genetics dictate your time it's going to happen. We just base everything on averages. Most people don't gray until 40. Most people don't need bifocals until 40. Most people show diffuse thinning at around 40. Most people tend to get cataracts around 50. And the list goes on and on.

I think most people get their first grays in their 30’s (especially beard hair)but just like with balding, it just takes quite a long time before most people are considered ‘graying’.
 

TheHawk

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Some do :(

I think it's more because the sensitivity of DHT goes up as you age (not 100 % sure if it actually does) and because you are exposed to the effects of DHT for longer as you age, so there is more damage done than when you've only been exposed to it for some years, vs. for multiple decades.
It does. The eunuchs study proved this.

cellular senescence and a mechanical stress cascade wrecks hair on every man’s head at some point just in varying degrees.
 

Lutherpick

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LOOOL

here's a pic of me when I was 14

The world isn't always fair.
1631974632645.png
 

BurningCoals

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It does. The eunuchs study proved this.

cellular senescence and a mechanical stress cascade wrecks hair on every man’s head at some point just in varying degrees.
I think I read once that there was a eunuch who was injected with testosterone and went bald within 6 months. I wonder how pissed off he was after that.
 

Lutherpick

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14 or 41?
I got to a full-on Norwood 3 by the time I was 17.

I WAS 17 HERE!!

1631977230022.png



I then hopped on the big three a few months after that pic was taken. Somewhere around late 2017.

This is how my hair currently looks, and I am forever grateful. Ofc, I will never get to baseline, but it's better than nothing.
2021

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The point is, there is always going to be that one genetic outlier who is blessed with the slaphead curse. But I am forever grateful for the results, and I always tell people to stay positive in light of these shitty circumstances, as corny as it may sound.
 

xaragedom

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As a teenager you have much higher antioxidants levels in your body, more growth factor, more antifibrotic agents, your body is much more in the antiinflammatory state than when you grow up and probably the most important in my opinion is still having hair stem cells, they are getting fucked since puberty but to a much lesser degree when you are younger then after years of being attacked by dht you no longer have hair stem cells and you are bolder.
 
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