Hair Loss DHT – What, Why, How?

Hair loss can be caused by a variety of conditions and circumstances. One of the most widespread and common causes of hair loss in both men and women is DHT hair loss. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly DHT is and how DHT hair loss is caused.

The normal cycle of your hair goes through 3 distinct stages.

These are:

• The Anagen (Growing stage)
• The Catagen (Intermediate stage)
• The Telogen (Resting or shedding stage)

Normal hair growth follows a pattern of growing, preparation and finally regrowth or shedding.

In the normal course of events, the Anagen stage lasts 3 to 5 years. As the hair follicles enter the Catagen stage they prepare for the resting stage. This intermediate stage usually lasts 10 to 15 days.

At the end of the intermediate stage, hair follicles enter the Telogen or resting stage. This resting period usually lasts 3 to 4 months, at the end of which the follicles will grow new hair to replace the old hairs, which fall out.

Hair follicles which are in the Catagen and Telogen stages usually make up about 10% of the total number of follicles on the human scalp and are distributed over the whole scalp. In this normal cycle, bare or bald patches are not visible.

When DHT hair loss however starts to impact your hair follicles, the number of follicles in the Catagen and Telogen phases increases, making bare spots visible. This is directly due to the impact the DHT has on the Dermal Papilla of your hair follicles.

The Dermal Papilla is essentially the stem of the hair follicle. As with any other cells in the human body, the Dermal Papilla splits and regenerates to create more hair follicles. All the nutrients the follicles need to produce hair flow through the Dermal Papilla which lies in direct contact with the blood vessels of the scalp.

Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients all reach your hair via the Dermal Papilla. As DHT collects at the base of the hair follicles, it stops the flow of nutrients to the Dermal Papilla. This reduced flow means the hair follicles spend more time in the Catagen and Telogen stages, less hair is grown in the Anagen stage and lost hair cannot be replaced. This reduces the coverage of healthy, growing hair and eventually leads to bare patches and baldness.

DHT is a derivative of Testosterone – Dihydrotestosterone. As it collects around the Dermal Papilla, it shortens the growing stage and lengthens the resting stage. The result is the same in both cases. Hair loss. Your follicles become unable to replace the hair they shed normally and the percentage of follicles in the Catagen and Telogen stages rises.

DHT also affects the strength of your hair follicles. As the DHT collects around the follicles, these become increasingly smaller and weaker until they are only able to grow very fine, brittle hair. This fine and brittle hair is less visible than normal hair, so even if the number of hairs is the same, the visible effect is obvious. Bare patches and bald spots.

Fighting DHT hair loss is the fundamental component of any effective hair regrowth treatment. Reducing the amount of DHT and the effect this has on your hair follicles, means longer periods of hair growth in the Anagen stage. Reducing the DHT also means less and less follicles in the Catagen and Telogen stages.

All this is very good news for hair loss sufferers. Block the DHT and your hair has a better chance to get back to the normal cycles of growth, shedding and regrowth. Allow the DHT to thrive and learning to live with hair loss will unfortunately become a part of your life.