Testosterone

Everyone is familiar with testosterone. It is the male hormone of choice. It seperates the men from the boys and is responsible for a host of characteristics like sex drive, muscle mass, strength, and coordination just to name a few. Most people never talk about the side effects it has on the skin and hair.

Testosterone causes skin to become more sensitive, even more sensitive than that of a woman. It weakens the skin's natural protective function and makes it more sensitive to irritation through shaving, hair washing, and daily environmental impacts. The skin also regenerates at a slower pace, so it is slower to recover.

• Testosterone damages the skin's natural barrier
• It is more difficult for skin to retain its moisture under the influence of testosterone. Water loss through the skin increases dramatically.
• Testosterone weakens the skin's regenerative ability
• Cell division of skin cells called keratinocytes was significantly reduced.
• Testosterone makes skin permeable
• Skin weakened by testosterone is more easily penetrated by various chemicals as compared to skin unexposed.

If all this wasn't enough, most people already know that testosterone is a precursor to dihydrotestosterone or DHT. Under the influence of 5-alpha reductase, testosterone is transformed into the more powerful hormone DHT. DHT is mainly responsible for burning out hair follicles that are predisposed by genetics, so future hair growth begins to slow.

The total level of testosterone in your body isn't necessarily the culprit. The main culprit is the unbound or free testosterone found floating around in the bloodstream. Testosterone is bound by SHBG(Sex Hormone Binding Globulin), less than 10% is actually unbound to roam, which later may be converted to DHT through the 5-alpha reductase enzyme or to estrogen through the aromatase enzyme. All this biology is natural and isn't necessarily the cause of your hair loss.