I guess that goes for eyebrows and other body hair in general, but it seems like hair loss with age is very specifically only on top of the head and nowhere else.

  • Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net
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    4 days ago

    So that’s the reason as guys age we end up hairer on our bodies and end up walking around like bald gorillas.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      4 days ago

      There’s also studies showing everyone (at least in the study areas) thinks it’s goofy unless you shave the sides to match, so that’s interesting. Either one of those two facts are wrong, or cavemen were dexterous enough to get the job done with a piece of flint.

  • YarrMatey@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    4 days ago

    My understanding is it is hormonal and governed by androgens, testosterone, and DHT. Depending on a man’s levels and how sensitive their follicles are, it will affect how their scalp or beard grows. It can also be genetic/inherited and they are more likely to bald as they get older. Medication is usually aimed at hormonal causes and combined with something like minoxidil, which is a vasodilator.

    Women also go through something similar, except the beard part for most women.

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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    4 days ago

    As a very bald man, let me assure you, hair does not merely keep growing other places. The exact same hormones make it start coming out of unexpected places like weeds in a sidewalk. So cool. /s

    As to why hair follicles work backwards specifically on the very top of genetically predisposed individuals, I can’t say. There’s a lot of information on the Wikipedia, but probably more to go. I know it’s still an active area of medical research. Especially active, even, because it’s an old white/asian guy problem (usually).

      • BlueSquid0741@lemmy.sdf.org
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        3 days ago

        Not the guy you asked but that is a decent question.

        My hair thinned massively between ages 21-23, and when I was 24 I’d had enough and finished the rest off with a razor.

        21-22 I could get away with it, but by 24 it was ridiculous and nothing could hide it short of always wearing a hat.

  • Altima NEO@lemmy.zip
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    4 days ago

    Something about it being different kinds of hair. Facial hair trend to be more “pubic”, with it’s coarseness and waviness. If anything, as men get older, that kind of hair grows more vigorously.