DHT blockers can help grow hair faster by preventing them from entering the hair follicle and blocking DHT production.
As mentioned earlier, these substances attach themselves to the same receptors that DHT binds to in order to stop them from being produced. Once DHT is prevented from binding to these receptors, hair follicle miniaturization stops.
It’s important to understand that most of the hair loss effects occur in the anagen stage. That means that once you develop traction alopecia or any other type of balding pattern, it could take years or even decades for your hair to start growing again.
There are different ways to combat hair loss. One is by taking a medication that blocks DHT, the hormone causing your hair follicles to shrink.
Studies show that such medications are an effective way of preventing future loss as well as kickstarting healthy regrowth for patients. The reason behind this is because there are other factors that affect the process of natural hair growth such as genetics, hormonal issues, and stress in addition to DHT blockage.
Studies show that the presence of DHT is not necessary for hair loss to occur, which means that even if you properly block DHT production in your scalp and manage to grow a few more strands of healthy hair, it might still fall out eventually.
The good news about DHT blockers is that they are known to promote growth in hair follicles that have already been damaged by DHT but are still in the anagen stage.
It’s a well-known fact that the effects of these substances can take months and even years to show up so before you spend too much money on it or anything else for your hair growth, understand what could come from it first.
How Long Does It Take For DHT To Cause Baldness?
It is not going to happen overnight. You need to understand the phases through which your hair goes.
The hair grows on your head and remains in a certain stage of growth until the next conversion happens – which doesn’t always happen right away. The following are the four key stages that explain how hair cells work: the anagen phase, catagen phase, telogen phase, & exogen phase.
These represent different levels of the cell production process through which all cells go eventually.
The Anagen Phase
This is the growth stage and can last between two and six years. There are approximately 100,000 hairs on your head at any one time. During this phase, up to 90 percent of follicles are growing hair.
This is when new hairs sprout and grow. Hair can grow between half an inch and one inch every month. The average hair grows about a quarter of an inch per month.
Catagen Phase
It lasts only for a few weeks. During this time the hair shaft moves downward from its follicle into the dermal papilla under the skin surface, where it becomes cornified like a fingernail or spike
It’s in this stage that you shed most of your hair, as it’s being pushed out of the follicle. The hair will stay where it is until new growth (anagen) pushes it out of its resting place.
Telogen Phase
This stage usually lasts for around three months but can be as short as two weeks, depending on genetics and age. In this phase hairs ‘rest’. They stay in the follicle until they eventually fall out, usually 80-100 hairs per day which explains why some men start losing their hair at around 30 years old.
If your hair is at the end of its growth cycle it will fall out in 3–4 months’ time instead and are replaced by new hairs growing from below. Eventually, these too drop out, making room for new ones. This cycle keeps repeating itself throughout our lives.
Exogen Phase
Old hair is shed during an exogen phase. It is pushed out by another growing in its place. Each one of these new hairs pushes the old one out, which is why you are always shedding hairs.
After a few days or weeks, the new hair stops and moves into what’s called the ‘resting’ (telogen) stage. It stays there until anagen starts again and pushes it on to be replaced by another one coming through from below.
Do DHT Blockers Actually Work?
DHT blockers are a more effective way to combat hair loss than many other types of remedies out there. Not only does it slows down the process that causes hair loss, but studies also show that DHT blockers can be effective at halting or even reversing male pattern baldness.
One study by the American Academy of Dermatology found that finasteride is effective at DHT blocking. Another study, this one published by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, showed that up to 83% of men taking finasteride 1mg preserved their original hair follicle counts and 66% experienced some regrowth.
Androgenic alopecia is a genetic condition that predisposes hair loss in genetically predisposed individuals. It is characterized by a progressive miniaturization of hair follicles on the scalp, often spreading to other areas such as the beard, eyebrows, or even the pubic area.
What Does The Research Say About Male Baldness?
Researchers have found that men who start losing their hair at 30 years old will lose between 50% and 85% of their remaining hair by 60 years old. Unfortunately, research also claims that once someone goes bald, that’s it! You can’t recover your hair.
DHT plays a big role in the balding process. This chemical is a byproduct of testosterone, which is produced in men and women at puberty.
Baldness runs strongly in families and could be passed down from either side of the family (inherited). Balding may also run with certain ethnic groups: Dutch people are usually completely bald by middle age; so are South Asians; while Irish people tend to go fully grey instead.
Can You Naturally Reduce The Production Of DHT?
Not everyone will want a prescription to block DHT. However, some potential natural treatments have big reputations among guys with male pattern hair loss.
Biotin, pumpkin seed oil, green tea, and saw palmetto are the most popular natural DHT blockers. You can add these naturally through a controlled diet. Although they’ve been given a lot of hype from consumers, clinical evidence suggests mixed results.