Why do women keep their hair so much longer than men? (1 Viewer)

[BertFalasco]

Why do they, I mean, men start to lose their hair, on average, at age 50.
I never see bald women.
-Bert

 

[Kevin Potts]

I saw Sinead O'Connor and I still have nightmares.
You know that really is an interesting question. Unfortunately I don't have a clue for an answer.
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"See the world on the wings of rock and roll"

 

[Alex Spindler]

Because it's the societal norm. Not all cultures over the years have promoted short hair in men and long hair in women, but it certainly seems here to stay (the 80's notwitstanding).

 

[Bill Catherall]

I think he's wondering more about the longevity, not the length.
I've heard that the gene (if there really is a gene) for male pattern baldness is carried by women, but is passed on to their sons, who then pass it on to their daughters, and so on. So if a man is bald, his sons won't be, but his grandsons born through is daughter will be. So if you are worried about loosing your hair don't look at your dad to see if you'll be bald or not...look at your mother's father. Unfortunately, my hair is beginning to look more and more like my mother's father's hair (receding hair line with a bold spot on the top).
But I like the saying, "Some men have perfect heads, the others have it covered with hair."
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Bill

 

[LDfan]

It's been a few years since my biology classes at college but basically in order to be bald you need 2 things:
1. the genetic trait for pattern baldness
2. Testosterone
Pattern baldness is a sex linked trait I believe in which males are the victims.
Testosterone isn't that exact culprit, your body coverts testosterone to another form, de-xxxxtestosterone (can't quite remember the name) via an enzyme. The pill propecia works by blocking that enzyme from converting testosterone to the bad form which kills off hair-folicles.
Women can suffer from some form of hair loss but rarely like we do.
Jeff

 

[Graeme Clark]

If it's passed by women, why would your monther's father have anything to do with it?
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[Lawrence]

The hormone is dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and it is made from testosterone with the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. Medications like Propecia inhibit this enzyme, hopefully leading to hair growth (or stopping hair loss). Interestingly, DHT is also a cause of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) that afflicts most older men leading to urinary frequency.

 

[Mohsen Sadeghi]

Lawrence:
quote: The hormone is dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and it is made from testosterone with the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. Medications like Propecia inhibit this enzyme, hopefully leading to hair growth (or stopping hair loss). Interestingly, DHT is also a cause of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) that afflicts most older men leading to urinary frequency.[/quote]
My question is: how is it that this enzyme does not damage the body hair? Men shave the body hair, kill it with chemicals, etc., and it grows back stronger.
Bill:

I've heard that the gene (if there really is a gene) for male pattern baldness is carried by women, but is passed on to their sons, who then pass it on to their daughters, and so on. So if a man is bald, his sons won't be, but his grandsons born through is daughter will be. So if you are worried about loosing your hair don't look at your dad to see if you'll be bald or not...look at your mother's father. Unfortunately, my hair is beginning to look more and more like my mother's father's hair (receding hair line with a bold spot on the top.

I would hope you were right but unfortunately you are not, at least in my case. I started losing hair very early and now looks like my father, another baldy . My mother's father never lost his hair, neither did his sons.
[Edited last by Mohsen Sadeghi on November 11, 2001 at 10:22 PM]
[Edited last by Mohsen Sadeghi on November 12, 2001 at 05:21 PM]

 

[Jeff]

I lost quite a bit of hair earlier this year and most of it has grown back. (Don't ask, and no it couldn't have been MPB, there is no cure).
Anyway because of that, I spent a lot of time in the alt.baldspot news group. There is a lot of good information there, as well as a lot of bitter people too. You might want to check it out.
BTW, the subject has nothing to do with this thread. It should be changed.
Jeff
[Edited last by Jeff on November 12, 2001 at 06:38 AM]

 

[LDfan]

DHT only seems to effect certain areas on the head, the crown area and the frontal hairline, however the other areas of the head are not really effected by DHT.
When in doubt just take Propecia folks. It's harmless. I haven't had any side effects
Jeff

 

[Bill Catherall]

As to the gene, if what I heard is true, which sounds like it may not be, but assuming it is...it might be linked to the X chromosome. In which case a man cannot pass it on to his sons, but a woman can pass it on to either her sons or daughters. I don't know.
Jeff - Has Propecia been working for you? How long have you been taking it? Do you need a prescription? If so, who writes the prescription? No sexual side effects? How much does it cost? How long does it take, on average, to notice a difference? Am I asking enough questions?
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Bill

 

[LDfan]

Hi Bill,
Been taking it for a little over a year. Any doctor can write you a prescription for it, even your plain old family doctor. Now I wasn't that bad off to start. It's just starting to thin a little bit so that's why I started it. I have noticed a difference and so has my wife. No more thinning in the problem areas.
No sexual side effects either. Nothing, Nadda. That's the one thing everyone is worried about but it's only a 1-2% chance of that happening.
Propecia isn't cheap, approx $45.00 a month. There is a way around it though. Talk to your doctor and have him write a prescription for Proscar. This is the 5mg pill used to treat enlarged prostates(propecia is the exact pill except in 1mg form). Insurance will cover Proscar then you can split the table into 5 parts. Yes you won't have any exact dosage but people told me it works exactly the same with no effects either. Merck makes both Proscar and Propecia. In fact prior to Propecia getting FDA approval many people used Proscar instead.
It does take 3 months for the pills to really start working, about 6 months to see a slight difference and about a year to tell if it's really working for you.
Try it out. If you are one of the 1-2% that gets the side effects, stop taking it and they will disappear within days.
Jeff