Its an age-old rumour, but do men with no hair have higher testosterone levels and are therefore more virile than their fully-haired counterparts?
The reason for this belief is easy to understand. Hair loss is caused by dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dihydrotestosterone is derived from testosterone, and testosterone is clearly associated with sexual activity. So less hair means more DHT, meaning more testosterone, meaning more sexually active, right?
Well, no actually. The extent of male pattern baldness is not an indicator of testosterone levels.
There are many different factors that affect the strength of a mans libido, so of course it would be unrealistic to make a blanket statement that bald men are more virile. In fact, testosterone levels actually have very little bearing on the virility of men, except in cases where testosterone levels are exceptionally low.
In other words, if you are losing your hair it is unlikely to be caused by an overspill of male hormones. Conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone seems unaffected by the quantity of testosterone available, however counter-intuitive that may seem. Primary causes are the same as always – genetics, age, stress, your environment and any medical conditions.
