Is DHT Blocker Safe?

DHT Blocker, is it safe?!

Over the years, the DHT blocker has become increasingly popular for men who’ve experienced balding.  This may be because the DHT blockers are relatively less expensive than alternate treatments as hair transplants.  The main function of  a DHT blocker is to fight off dihydrotestosterone (DHT for short), a byproduct produced by the body that chokes off hair follicles causing hair to fall out and preventing new hair from growing back in its place.  The main concern about them is, are they safe?

Before we can answer that question, it is important to understand DHT and how it affects hair growth.  DHT may be thought of as a rogue hormone that clings to the androgen receptors in hair follicles, causing one’s strands of hair to shrink and become less visible.  Androgen receptors (or DHT sensors) tend to become most heavily concentrated at the top of the head.  Doctors can correct this problem by transplanting hair follicles on either side of the head to the top.  The transplant procedure is extremely expensive which is why most balding men consider alternate hair regrowth treatments as a DHT blocker.

The DHT blocker has two primary functions: blocking the production of DHT and preventing DHT from clogging up hair follicles causing miniaturization. Miniaturization is the process that makes hair thinner and less visible.  DHT is initially prevented by blocking an enzyme disabling the growth of the 5-alpha-reductase (5-A-R).  This enzyme, which has two forms: finasteride only and blocked type II, is responsible for converting regular testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.  One well-known example of a DHT blocker is Propecia, a brand name for the generic drug finasteride.    The bad news about finasteride is that it was only partially successful in fighting hair loss.

Poor blood circulation is also an alternate cause to thinning hair.  Blood is necessary for supplying essential nutrients to the roots of the hairs.  If the roots of the hair should be deprived of nutrients, the hair follicles will stop producing hair.  Insufficient blood circulation is cause by deterioration in vascular tissue or tense muscles in the neck or forehead.  The latter chokes off capillaries prohibiting adequate blood flow.  Likewise, stress and DHT can work together to tighten the scalp.

Anyone who has heard of or read about DHT may have the misconception that this androgen is totally harmful and should be eliminated completely.  It’s been known to not only to cause male baldness, but also causes one’s prostate to become enlarged.  Though it has these potential harmful effects, for some it may be best to eliminate it, but for others, it’s best to keep DHT levels under control.

DHT is still beneficial to the body as well.  It is the androgen which carries signals to the brain, the skin, genitals, and most other body tissues. A DHT blocker may just eliminate too much DHT causing a lack of energy and sex drive.  Side effects from other blockers may be tenderness in the chest, growth in beast size for men, or even problems burning fat.  Hence, think twice before you start using a DHT blocker to prevent your hair loss, it might just be not worth it considering the side effects it can cause.

In the next post I’m going to be talking about saw palmetto (a DHT blocker) and its side effects.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 19th, 2011 at 12:12 pm and is filed under dht-blocker-info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.