• Can naturally high testosterone levels trigger androgenetic alopecia

Can naturally high testosterone levels trigger androgenetic alopecia

High testosterone levels can trigger androgenetic alopecia if the individual is genetically susceptible, but people can develop androgenetic alopecia even when free testosterone levels are at normal levels or below. It is not the production of testosterone that is the sole cause of androgenetic alopecia. Many other factors come in to play such as;

• Concentration of low and high potency androgens in the blood stream
• Concentration of enzymes in the hair follicles that can convert low potency hormones (testosterone) to high potency hormones (dihydrotestosterone)
• Hair follicles that are androgen independent or androgen dependent
• Androgen dependent hair follicles that respond with proliferation or with miniaturization and inactivity
• Number of androgen receptors in androgen dependent hair follicles
• Sensitivity of androgen receptors in androgen dependent hair follicles
• Nature and concentration of factors induced by androgen receptor binding
• Androgen antagonist activity (such as sex hormone binding globulin)
• The rate of androgen metabolism/breakdown and removal from the system