:( All my old hippy friends have hair

Why am I losing it? They are much older than me too some of them, 30s and 40s, and their hair looks totally fine to me

Was it my bad diet and stressing? Because like, this is why I get confused, because people on places like HLT are so adamant that lifestyle makes no difference, and yet the evidence truly is all around us. I could go in a health food shop in town and even the old men have a fair bit of hair, then you go in a fish and chip shop and they're all bald lol

I dunno ._. I guess I'm feeling a bit bummed about it at the moment, because it's not very nice when all you did was made a little mistake unknowingly (in my case stress and junk food) and you end up paying for it for years

Actually, I guess I should just be happy that sites like IH are out here to help me and help me to understand why what happened happened, and what I should do to correct it.

My plan at the mo is to quick fix it by lowering DHT and use the IH regimen in the background to fix my health - I am so grateful for that regimen, I really think it's a godsend certainly for people like me who just messed up a bit, you know?

Oh, question though for CS or someone with a lot of knowledge in this - why is it that hair loss seems to begin so fast? Is it all in the mind, because so many people say it started very very suddenly, and if it's the gradual transition of DHT from anti to pro-inflammatory or something similar to that then wouldn't it take time? Did I just blast my insulin and cortisol levels so high that my body at it's slightly older age (only 24, but you know, not a teen or anything) reacted like this?

Ugh man.. sorry I guess I'm venting a bit, I think it's amazing in modern culture how much we downplay the confidence hit that hair loss can bring for a guy, it may be common but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant

Ok, sorry, hehe, I hope everyone is having a very pleasant Wednesday evening, and I will speak to you later

Hoppi

Hoppipolla - Everyone who loses their hair begin at different ages and attrition rates.

We know for instance that DKK-1 is upregulated in balding scalps when signalled by DHT. Non-balding can have little or no expression of DKK-1 in their scalps despite DHT, so they are lucky.

During times of hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar) there will be an upswing in DKK-1 expression.

The health of our thyroid, liver, kidneys and adrenal glands, balance of intestinal microflora is influential over hormone stability. So for us balding prone, we will suffer an attack at an earlier age, but ultimately 80% of all men will bald eventually, as hair follicle senescence or its biological aging will arrive on its normal course.

MPB prone have premature senescence, probably due to the DKK-1 factor and/or TGF-beta, which both happen to be governed by the thyroid either directly or indirectly.

Heavy metals, or problems with oral pathology will accelerate senescence even more than diet.

That's really fascinating thank you

It's weird like, the more I live and the more I see, the more it seems to fit and make sense.

I mean, I don't know about very young people who lose hair in their teens, as this does seem to either suggest particularly genetically prone follicles, or some kind of hormonal imbalance (DHT or T levels). Hypothyroidism does seem to at least sometimes play a role too..

I do get the feeling though that's it people around my age (22-28, say) who are the most likely to have actually done it to themselves through particularly poor diet/lifestyle, as it is then that accumulated things such as insulin resistance etc seem to take their toll

Oh, CS, I'm sorry but I have one other further question which feels quite important - what do you personally think probably caused my sudden skin thinning at the same time I started losing hair? I mean, to be honest it's only a guess that the two happened at the same time, but it certainly feels/felt that way. My skin thinned rapidly in a week, and then I'm sure it was around then and after I noticed hair thinning and hairline recession. There's nothing else really important to note, other than the sheer amount of junk food I was eating prior to that - I was taking in a fair amount of sugar and also stressing as I have a habit of doing ._.

My diet was high carb as well.

Other than that nothing huge, my light-headedness (and sometimes fainting) has increased though, as I may have mentioned before. I actually fainted at least once around that time, and occasionally get bouts of light-headedness, I have since I was in primary school.

There is one thing I don't get though, which is why, let's say perhaps that it is thyroid or something (which would explain why cold extremities etc).. then it's a bit odd that I am so thin and seem to burn energy so fast, like my high carb diets almost seem like they just keep me going. Ugh my body is probably so far out of whack lol, like I said in my first post I am so glad I've got the IH regimen and things to help me out of this pit I've probably dug my health into! heh

Are there any supplements that reduce DKK-1?

Hey Hoppipolla,

Cut out the junk food, sugar & try some supplements for stress, like Ashwaganda. If your skin feels weird or abnormally thin, try taking Hyaluronic Acid & Vitamin D3.

And relax, man. As frantic as you might feel, remind yourself to just breeeeathe & mellow out. Slow down. Live life on your terms.

Anyway, best wishes & keep educating yourself.