Table Of Content
- How we reviewed this article:
- DHT Blockers: What are They and How Do They Work?
- A note about sex and gender
- Are there any risks to using DHT blockers?
- Female-pattern baldness
- How Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) Causes Hair Loss
- What is baldness?
- Best for Dry Scalps: Mielle Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil

In the type of patchy hair loss known as alopecia areata, hair loss occurs suddenly and usually starts with one or more circular bald patches that may overlap. But there’s another hormone that’s actually even more powerful in certain ways, and that’s DHT or dihydrotestosterone. If your hair loss is due to a medical condition, the cost of a wig might be covered by insurance.
How we reviewed this article:
If Curology is right for you, we’ll pair you with a licensed dermatology provider who can answer your questions and create your personalized Hair Formulaᴿˣ to help you meet your hair goals. Surgical procedures to treat baldness are not usually covered by insurance. Adding zinc-rich foods such as oysters to your daily diet should be the first step to get your required dose of this mineral.
DHT Blockers: What are They and How Do They Work?
DHT-induced prostate growth can sometimes be treated with drugs that reduce DHT concentrations such as finasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor. Most DHT and testosterone in the body are bound to proteins, such as albumin and sex hormone-binding globulin in the blood. With DHT, less than 1% of the hormone in the blood is circulating freely. This is slightly lower than the amount of free versus bound testosterone. In the body, the enzyme 5-alpha reductase converts testosterone to DHT.
A note about sex and gender
With some conditions, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), hair may regrow without treatment within a year. A hair transplant is a surgical procedure that moves healthy hair follicles from one part of the body to balding areas. It comes as a lotion, liquid or foam and should be massaged into thinning or balding areas of the scalp. Although Minoxidil doesn’t target DHT directly, it works by increasing blood and nutrients to the hair follicles. This boost in nourishment helps strengthen existing hair and encourages new growth.
Are there any risks to using DHT blockers?
Juggling the demands of everyday life, work, and personal challenges can take its toll. While most people recognise the mental and emotional strain of prolonged stress, not everyone realises its physical manifestations. Chronic stress can disrupt the hair growth cycle, leading to increased hair shedding. And some people may even develop trichotillomania — a hair-pulling disorder linked to stress and anxiety.
Female-pattern baldness

An androgen is a sex hormone that contributes to the development of what are thought of as “male” sex characteristics, such as body hair. When our bodies experience stress, this can cause a can cause an increasedamount of hair to enter the shedding phase causing a reduction in the hairs densitymonths later. Read our dedicated article tolearn more and how to combat stress-related hair loss. Contrary to popular belief, this type of hair loss can be inherited from either parentor both parents. Read all about hair loss in women over 40 here, including the symptom’s causes, management, and treatment options to finally enjoy luscious locks once again. This local DHT production stimulates normal prostate activity but also commonly leads to prostate growth.
How Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) Causes Hair Loss
However, if you’ve noticed more strands falling out of your head than normal, you may be experiencing alopecia, the medical term for hair loss. Common diagnoses include androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, telogen effluvium, and lymphocytic scarring alopecia, Agbai tells USA TODAY. Also, the structure of the scalp has to be given due consideration during the evaluation of hair loss area in relation to the shape of the cranium. Galea aponeurotica is a tough nonelastic structure and there are dense, nonelastic fibrous attachments between the galea and the skin of the scalp. Downward pull in the vertical direction on the skin of the back of the head is opposed by these nonelastic fibrous attachments.
What is baldness?
DHT can also make it take longer for your follicles to grow new hairs once old hairs fall out. During fetal development, a specific and unique environment of hormones results in male or female differentiation of sexual anatomy. In males, DHT acts with other hormones (including testosterone) to block the formation of the female anatomy and to promote the development of the male anatomy. DHT (dihydrotestosterone) is a hormone that plays a key role in the sexual development of people assigned male at birth (AMAB). More specifically, DHT is an androgen — a hormone that stimulates the development of male characteristics. Women may also experience hair loss due to androgenetic alopecia.
Best for Dry Scalps: Mielle Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil
The information in our articles is NOT intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. Nevertheless, these medications can have negative side effects, such as breast swelling and tenderness, irregular menstruation, headaches, and decreased libido, which must be taken into consideration. Another study in men observed similar results, suggesting that consuming soy protein — whether it’s low or high in isoflavones — may lower DHT levels. Onions contain the antioxidant quercetin, which has been shown to block DHT production in preclinical studies. Further research is needed to learn whether these benefits apply to humans as well.

There were around 4.2 million NHS prescriptions for the drug in 2023, which suggests around 350,000 a month were taking the daily 5mg pill for an enlarged prostate. Sexual dysfunction should also be discussed with a doctor if symptoms develop. It has also ordered suppliers of finasteride to now include a patient alert card in packs of the drug to raise awareness of the risks. High levels of DHT may cause some positive alteration in certain parts of the body, while leading to negative ones in others.
However, scientists know DHT can cause hair follicles to miniaturize and change the growth phases the hair is in. Androgenic alopecia is often called male-pattern baldness because it affects men much more than women. This increased prevalence among males can be explained by the simple fact that men have much higher levels of androgens (DHT) than women.
Foods to Lower Testosterone in Women With PCOS - Verywell Health
Foods to Lower Testosterone in Women With PCOS.
Posted: Sun, 21 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Fat tissue and fibrous bands between the skin and galea of the scalp in a hypothetical case wherein the back of the calvarium is vertical and straight are depicted. If a person reacts to a DHT-blocking shampoo or prescription product, they need to stop using it and contact a doctor. If someone’s skin reacts to an ingredient in the shampoo, they may experience symptoms of an allergic skin reaction, such as an itchy, red or discolored rash, burning, blistered skin, and hives. Please note that the writer of this article has not tried these products.