Today on Dnews, we answer one of life’s greatest mysteries: why do people go bald?
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews - and something I guarantee every man watching this has thought
at one point or another - is, am I losing my hair?
Which is totally understandable.
Over a third of all men in America suffer from hair loss, but why is that?
What causes someone to go bald - and is there an evolutionary reason for why it happens?
Well, male pattern baldness is essentially a product of two factors: genetics and hormones.
On the hormone side, you have testosterone - over time, about 5% of all your testosterone
breaks down and gets converted into di-hydro-testosterone - DHT.
All men have some amount of DHT in their bodies, from the moment an egg gets fertilized, until
they die.
And it does different things depending on what stage of life you’re in.
When you’re still in the womb, DHT is what helps form the male genitalia.
But once a man reaches adulthood, it starts to play a role in prostate regulation, and
it can cause the hair follicles to miniaturize.
So men who experience male pattern baldness, likely have a sensitivity to DHT.
That’s the hormone explanation.
But most baldness, especially baldness that happens early on in life - is due to genetics.
And we’ve always been taught that it’s a maternal disorder, right?
So if you’re a guy, and your mom’s father was bald - then you’ll be bald too.
And sometimes, that is the case.
But not always.
Recent research has shown that it’s likely a result of multiple genes, from both your
mother and your father.
But just because they lost their hair quickly, doesn’t necessarily mean you will.
You also have to account for things like stress, medications, diet, smoking, and sleeping habits
- all of which can contribute to hair loss.
Interestingly, the fact that there is some genetic basis for it, does imply that it provides
at least some evolutionary advantage.
The current leading theory is that baldness is a sign of physical and social maturity,
which indicates that he’s past the stage of high sexual activity, and thus less of
a threat to other males.
It also stands to reason that a mature man would be more nurturing to younger groups
- which in turn, would be a selling point for women.
Not to mention the fact that he’d be less likely to seek out other women, and vice versa.
It makes sense when you think about it, but most guys would probably still prefer to have
their hair back.
And unfortunately, once you go bald, the only surefire way to do that - is a hair transplant.
Which isn’t cheap.
But hey - at least it’s your own hair.
What do you guys think about this?
And if you are bald, do you embrace it - or try to hide it?
You can let us your thoughts in the comments below - otherwise, thanks for watching!