question on aging and androgens

abcdefg

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I know this has been discussed as nearly everything really has at one time or another. The basic theory is androgens cause a complex sequence of events to lead to hair miniaturizing. It also goes that androgens supposedly cause increased body hair/facial hair developement of secondary sexual characteristics and that type of thing. If as men age our androgen levels decline naturally in general, why does hairloss increase and body hair increase? That doesnt make any sense and seems to kind of contradict the androgen theory. If you would argue sensitivity to the remaining androgens increases or receptor sites change somehow then what causes that to happen?
 

Bryan

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abcdefg said:
If as men age our androgen levels decline naturally in general, why does hairloss increase and body hair increase? That doesnt make any sense and seems to kind of contradict the androgen theory.

The damage to hair follicles from androgens is probably cumulative, and happens over a period of time (as in years). Also, the sensitivity to androgens increases over a period of time, too. It doesn't just suddenly appear overnight.

abcdefg said:
If you would argue sensitivity to the remaining androgens increases or receptor sites change somehow then what causes that to happen?

Nobody knows the reason for that yet.
 

abcdefg

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One more question. If androgens levels drop as we age and body hair is supposedly fueled by androgens then why do men generally get more hair as they get older if androgens decline? That seems to be contradictory also. I had an unusually low amount of facial and body hair in high school and had no hairloss and ive gradually been slowly getting more body hair and my head hair seems to be thinning slowly as well. Im not even a Norwood 2 but it does seem like for me atleast they do match up unless its just a coincidence.
 

Norsk

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Because the body hairs only need androgens to get activated. Once they start growing, they grow forever.
 

abcdefg

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Do we know androgens trigger body hair growth as a sure thing or is this just a guess? There are other androgens besides just dht do any others like testosterone affect body hair growth or trigger it?
 
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