Beard Growth and Hair Loss: Is There a Hormonal Link?

You have probably noticed the trend.The man you see is one with a very impressive beard, walking down the road. He looks like a tough logger. But then you look up at his head and he is rocking a completely bald scalp. It is a classic look. It is so common that it seems to be a natural law.

Why do the men with the least hair always have the best beards?

It seems like a joke by nature.Your body decides it cannot keep hair on top of your head, but it goes absolutely wild growing a thick patch on your chin. 

As it turns out, this is not a random coincidence at all. There is a massive, hidden link between the hair on your face and the hair on your head. That secret connection comes straight down to your hormones.

The Master Hormone: Meet DHT

For understanding such an odd contradiction, knowledge about one particular hormone is needed. Dihydrotestosterone is also known as DHT.

DHT is just a specific type of male sex hormone. Your body creates it naturally by taking regular testosterone and turning it into DHT. It is incredibly powerful. DHT turns boys into men during puberty. This helps you get deeper into your voice, build up some muscles as well as even grow some facial and chest in men.

However, DHT has two sides. So, it depends upon where you are touching it. DHT is an amazing product for hair growth and beauty, but it has some bad side effects on skin health.

Why DHT Fuels Your Beard

First, let us take a look at your face. Facial hair follicle response by men is very high. So, they really want more of this thing.

And until puberty occurs, there are no visible hair follicles on the face. Instead, they produce small hairs called vellus hairs which are hard to see. Because there is lots of testosterone and DHT available for you, these hormones help to change them into other forms inside your cells. The follicles wake up. That is when thick, permanent adult hairs finally start growing out of them. They are long, blackish brown in colour as well as rough.

• High DHT Levels: If your body produces a lot of DHT, your facial hair follicles get a massive boost. They are larger, strongest as well as more abundant.
• Follicular Sensitivity: It is not only about having lots of DHT. It is about how sensitive your follicles are to it. High sensitivity means a thicker beard.
• The Growth Cycle: DHT extends the growth phase of facial hair. This allows your beard to grow longer and fuller over time.

So, if you want a thick beard, you must have healthy levels of DHT as well as highly sensitive facial hair receptors. It is the fuel that keeps the beard engine running.

Why DHT Destroys Your Scalp

Now, let us flip the script and look at the top of your head. This is where things get really frustrating for a lot of men. 

The hair follicles of the head and scalp are different from those on your face. DHT acts as a super growth serum for your facial hair, but absolute poison for the hair on top of your head. Male pattern baldness is genetically based and results in increased sensitivity of the hair follicles to DHT. This binding leads to destruction known as miniaturization.

• The Attack: DHT binds to the hair follicles on the top and front of your head.
• The Shrinkage: This hormone forces the follicle to physically shrink and tighten up, choking your hair out.
• The Starvation: Blood Supply of Hair root chokes off. Follicles are unable to obtain nutrients anymore.
• Thinning Hair Loss: With each passing day when you lose some hairs they become smaller, thinner as well as shorter over time.
• The Shutdown: Eventually, the hair roots shrink so much that they cannot even push through the skin anymore. They just go completely to sleep. 

The Great Genetic Paradox: The Hormone Trap

This explains the whole mystery. The exact same hormone is doing two opposite jobs at the exact same time. DHT signals your face to grow hair while signaling your scalp to stop growing hair.

This creates the ultimate bald head and thick beard combo. If you have high levels of DHT and your genetics make your scalp sensitive but your face responsive, you will lose your head hair while growing a massive beard.

It is important to remember that this comes down to genetics, not just hormone volume.

You could have massive amounts of testosterone as well as DHT in your system, but if your scalp follicles lack the genetic receptors to bind with DHT, you will keep a full head of hair and grow a thick beard. Think of guys with heavy hair as well as full beards, then they have perfect genetics. 

Alternatively, in case your body does not respond to the effects of DHT anywhere, you may experience difficulties growing a beard but will have an impeccable hairline for life.

Is It Possible to Have Thick Hair and a Nice Beard?

Certainly yes. Human beings have complicated biology, and genetics play out differently.

The genes of your scalp follicles are different from those of your facial follicles. They do not share the exact same receptor sensitivity.

• Scenario A: High scalp sensitivity, high beard sensitivity. Result: Bald with a great beard.
• Scenario B: Low scalp sensitivity, high beard sensitivity. Result: Full head of hair with a great beard.
• Scenario C: High scalp sensitivity, low beard sensitivity. Result: Balding with a patchy beard.
• Scenario D: Low scalp sensitivity, low beard sensitivity. Result: Full head of hair with little or no growth in beards.  

Just take a look at your male family members to get an idea of your genetic structure.

The Side Effects of Hair Loss Solutions on Beards 

Given the strong connection with hormones, treating hair loss can at times affect your beards as well. This is a massive point that many guys overlook when they start trying to save their hairline.

The most popular medical treatments for male pattern baldness are DHT blockers. The most famous one is an oral medication called Finasteride.

5 Alpha Reductase converts testosterone to DHT, so this thing does that job for you. To lower levels of DHT within you, finasteride helps protect against hair loss by preventing shrinkage at the roots. Highly effective for preventing hair loss from scalp.

However, keep in mind how DHT affects your face. It builds your beard. It blocks DHT everywhere, which can hurt your beard growth. 

Potential Facial Hair Changes from DHT Blockers

• Slow growth: Slow growth means your beard may take much more time to grow back out.
• Textural changes: Hair may be softer, finer as well as less coarse at times.
• Density Loss: Density loss due to beard hair growth stops so your beards may look thinner over time.

However if you have an old mature beard then a DHT blocker will not make much of an impact on its loss. Follicle has been formed before now. However, if you're a young guy in your early twenties who has not yet grown his beard much longer than an adult's and needs some help getting more of it done through medication for testosterone deficiency commonly called DHT. Before you go ahead, weigh all of them together.

Comparative Analysis: Scalp Hair and Facial Hair

To see the stark differences clearly, let us look at how these two types of hair stack up against each other under the influence of hormones.

Myths About Testosterone, Beard Growth and Baldness

Because this topic is so popular in gym culture and online forums, tons of misinformation exists. Let us debunk the biggest myths surrounding testosterone and hair.

Myth 1: Bald Men Have More Testosterone

This is a huge misconception. People think bald guys are overflowing with raw testosterone.

Science shows that bald men usually have the exact same levels of testosterone as guys with full heads of hair. The difference is not the amount of hormone in the blood. It is not the amount of hormones in your bloodstream. Rather, it is the level of sensitivity of your hair follicles to DHT.

Myth 2: No Facial Hair Growth Means Low Levels of Testosterone

Nothing could be further from the truth. You could have extremely high testosterone levels and still have a very smooth face.

If the follicles in your face cannot produce hair because of the lack of proper hormone receptors, that is what you get. That does not mean anything in relation to your masculinity, strength, and overall state of health. It is purely genetic.

Myth 3: Shaving Your Facial Hair Makes It Grow Thicker

This classic myth has been passed down for generations. Shaving does absolutely nothing to change the hormonal biology of your hair root.

While shaving, one cuts the hair near the surface of the skin.It can also be noted that the hair follicle is naturally larger at the root as opposed to the smaller end. Due to the sharpness and darker color, the growing hair looks thicker. But it does not increase density or alter your follicle chemistry.

How to Optimize Both Your Hair and Your Beard

Can you balance the scales? Are you able to give attention to your scalp at the same time maximizing your facial hair? It’s very difficult to do this, but it is possible.

Topical Treatment for Male Baldness Without Affecting the Beard: Topicals like topical Minoxidil and Finasteride could be taken into consideration. The application of this product on my head reduces absorption through blood vessels. It helps maintain healthy facial hair by keeping its levels of androgenetic aldehyde balanced.

• Feed Your Hair From Within: The beard and the scalp require nutrition. You need to increase consumption of biotin, vitamins A, C, D and E, iron as well as zinc. Good health helps your hair grow properly and efficiently.
• Inflamed Scalp Care: Make sure that you have a healthy scalp. shampoo with best shampoo for hair fall such as tinfal anti hair fall shampoo, as it is considered as one of the best shampoo for hair growth, it helps to reduce the inflammation in the scalp, it completely blocks DHT, that is the main troublemaker behind your hair follicles getting smaller and weaker. 
• Use Beard Oil: It is important that you take care of your beard from outside. It is essential to keep the skin underneath your beard moisturized by using good quality oils.

Embracing the Bald with a Beard Look

If your genetics have already decided that your scalp hair is heading for the exit, do not panic. Bald head with beard hairstyle is a very masculine style that is very popular today.

A well groomed as well as sharp beard frames a bald head perfectly. It adds structure to your jawline, balances your facial proportions as well as projects massive confidence.

If you are fighting a losing battle against your genetics, sometimes the best move is to shave your head, lean into your hormones as well as grow the best beard you possibly can.

Summary: The Biological Balance

In short, my hair growth is linked through hormones between my head and beard. The DHT causes facial hair growth and male pattern baldness.

Genes influence our reaction of an individual towards hormones. However, knowing about genetics helps us make more informed decisions. Choose good options for treating hair loss such as, Keep your beard neat, clean as well as looking its best. 

Stop stressing about the weird ways your body distributes hair. Clean up your diet, manage your style as well as rock whatever hair configuration nature handed you.