Less head hair, more body hair...connection?

[Aquamarine]

27 now, have been thinning on my head and I can now count the hairs left on my forehead :/ Have been on minoxidil, first once a day, now twice a day for a few months. but no obvious shedding :/

but i've also noticed random body hair on shoulders, and also base of the spine... it feels like I want my precious follicles on my head, not in silly places.. Is this fairly common?

 

[Vlatch]

Side effect of minoxidil. It can also be a sign of high DHT. Basically DHT increases body hair growth and decreases scalp hair growth.

 

[corvidae]

When minoxidil was being tested at first, it was being tested as a blood pressure pill. The side effect they noticed; people's hair all over their body grew thicker and faster.
One side effect listed in the little pamphlet is increased hair gain on other parts of the body. It seems it can still have a similar effect.

 

[glevie]

I have wondered about this connection myself

 

[maher]

Its not the minoxidil, ffs.. You don't have hair growing on your shoulders coz of minoxidil. It's damn DHT powered hair. Face it- you have two fronts to fight now.

 

[Dorasz]

a simple bit of research and you could figure this one out yourself! Dht, which is a potent metabolite of testosterone, is responsible for the formation of secondary male sex characteristics. An example of one of these body hair. However, as part of this process, dht can also result in some individuals in the progressive decline of the hair follicles on the scalp. it could be deduced that your dht levels may have increased (im not sure how much they change after puberty).
Em, it's unlikely to be a side effect of minoxidil as I doubt you are rubbing it into your shoulders/back! minoxidil is only being applied locally-the side effects are referring to when you take it systemically i.e orally

 

[corvidae]

a simple bit of research and you could figure this one out yourself! Dht, which is a potent metabolite of testosterone, is responsible for the formation of secondary male sex characteristics. An example of one of these body hair. However, as part of this process, dht can also result in some individuals in the progressive decline of the hair follicles on the scalp. it could be deduced that your dht levels may have increased (im not sure how much they change after puberty).
Em, it's unlikely to be a side effect of minoxidil as I doubt you are rubbing it into your shoulders/back! minoxidil is only being applied locally-the side effects are referring to when you take it systemically i.e orally

this always made me curious. I thought this was popular perception.
I researched it some more, and it seemed to suggest that those who go bald and grow more body hair / facial hair are actually just more sensitive to testosterone
then my doctor told me it has absolutely nothing to do with any of that. So no clue.