Testosterone is a male hormone, or androgen, found in the bodies of both men and women. In certain conditions, testosterone transforms into another hormone called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. Women are highly sensitive to the presence of DHT, and even small amounts of the hormone in a woman's hair follicles can trigger the onset of significant hair loss.
Testosterone Basics
If you are female, you produce most of your body's testosterone supplies in your ovaries, according to Medline Plus. On average, this output equals one-tenth or less of the testosterone levels found in men. For a long time, scientists believed that testosterone was the main trigger in the development of male and female pattern baldness, formally known as androgenetic alopecia, the American Hair Loss Association reports. They now believe, however, that conversion of testosterone to DHT is largely responsible.
Testosterone and DHT
Testosterone transforms into DHT when it comes in contact with an enzyme in your hair follicles called Type 2 5-alpha reductase, according to the American Hair Loss Association. Once it forms in your follicles, DHT achieves its hair-depleting effects by shrinking these follicles and diminishing or eliminating their ability to support normal hair growth. Women are particularly sensitive to the effects of DHT, and even at low levels it can produce the classic thinning of head hair associated with female pattern baldness.
Testosterone Levels
Normally, women have testosterone levels that range from 30 to 95 ng/dL of blood, Medline Plus reports. You can develop some degree of DHT-related female pattern baldness even if your blood levels of testosterone fall at the low end of this range, the American Hair Loss Association explains. In addition, you can experience an increase in balding symptoms if your testosterone levels move from the low end of the normal range to the high end. If you have an unusual sensitivity to DHT, you can also develop a degree of hair loss associated with rising testosterone even when your levels of the hormone don't change.
Hormone Imbalance
You can also develop DHT-related hair loss if your testosterone levels remain the same and your normal levels of female hormones drop, the American Hair Loss Association notes. The underlying source of hair loss in these circumstances is the alteration of your normal hormone balance. In many cases, this shift in balance occurs at the onset of menopause, when women naturally experience a decline in their levels of estrogen and other hormones.
Considerations
MayoClinic.com lists a number of additional potential reasons for changes in your hormonal balance, including abnormalities in the function of your thyroid gland, childbirth and discontinuing use of oral birth control products. Hair loss associated with these causes is usually temporary. In addition to testosterone- and DHT-related changes, MedlinePlus lists additional factors in the development of female pattern baldness that include advancing age and a history of this kind of baldness in your family. Consult your doctor for more information on testosterone and DHT in women.
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