For men who suffer hairloss due to excessive sweating from the scalp

Yesterday I was working out for most of the day; my scalp remained at a normal temperature because it was sweating heavily in the hot sun. However, later on in the day I noticed that my temples became tender and inflamed. A trickle of sweat went into my eye and it began to sting. I wondered at that point if there was something in the sweat which was causing inflammation in my temples, so I decided to wash my scalp, and lo - the inflammation started to go away.

So, I was certain from that point that there was something within the sweat that was provoking an inflammatory response. I wondered if sodium chloride / salt within sweat was responsible for this, so I started trawling the net and I discovered that sodium chloride does in fact cause inflammation.

Something else I have noticed; when i sweat during exercise, I hardly produce any body sweat (like normal guys do), instead, I sweat primarily from my temples. This may indicate that sweat glands in my back and elsewhere are clogged (possibly with dead skin), and because of this, concentrated levels of sodium chloride are being secreted from my scalp (mainly the temples) and therefore causing a heightened level of inflammation.

When I think about it, I consume far too much salt in my diet, and this is implicated in elevated levels of sodium chloride in sweat and inflammation of vessel walls.

Here is a pubmed study on sodium chloride and inflammation:

"Although there is increasing clinical evidence that high salt intake contributes to cardiovascular events and deaths seemingly independent of hypertension, the molecular mechanism for increased atherogenesis remains unclear. Vessel wall inflammation secondary to proinflammatory cytokines is one mechanism for atherogenesis. The role of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 in cytokine production such as IL-1, TNF-alpha, and IL-8 are well established. The link between inflammation and salt intake likely includes p38 MAPK as hyperosmolar sodium chloride triggers phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and stimulates gene expression and synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines. Hence a possible link of high salt intake, inflammation, and atherogenesis may be one molecular mechanism for the association of high salt intake and cardiovascular events."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19573005

This is interesting, because i too (and probably many more) sweat primarily at the temples, but i dont think its because other pores are clogged. i think for some reason it just occurrs at the temples.

some other related observations (make of them wat u will)

i do not have agressive mpb, but i am slowly but surely receding at the temples (and its gone beyond a mature hairline. (island is forming)

around the same time balding started (around 17-18) i got really bad seborraic dermititis behind the hairline, and im sure if i stopped using various natural and chemical anti-fungals , that it would return. theres a connection here im sure, something to do with the malezzia furfur yeast feeding on the oil or sebum released from the temples.
it seems to thrive in the temples where sweating, and oil and sebum release is concentrated.

smoking makes this release of oil etc at the temples worse. times ive been a smoker its been much worse, for e.g. hair is oily and recession is highlighted after half a day, as opposed to a full day. theres some connection here to toxic load of the sweat. Alcohol also has this effect. now ive stopped smoking and drinking, the sweat from my temples doesnt wreck my hairstyle for 24 hrs.

however I dont really buy the toxic load effects hair argument, because it doesnt account for why men bald and why females (generally dont) however there is a connection there somewhere, because i sweat from my temples, get dermititis at the temples (fungal overgrowth), recede at the temples, and its worse with toxic burden.

my questions:

why do we sweat from the temples and nowhere else?

why does the fungi or yeasts thrive in these conditions. Is it just because theres lots of salt, or the sweat goes rank, and then fungi feeds on the bacteria? or is it because excess sugars and toxins are excreted there and the fungi feed on that?

do females sweat primarily from the temples? could this be the reason men bald and women dont?

Is the DHT released in our sweat or sebum, causing localised miniturization?

could salt supplementation somehow rectify this, or even using deordorant to block the oil glands with aluminium?


this is a good subject and is definately related to mpb, but i dont know how, because just inhibiting fungal growth here doesnt stop the recession. I definately feel theres potential for a treatment here, other than topical dht blockers. perhaps something to stop us sweating, or divert it somewhere else.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2935346/

"Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is emerging as a physiological neuromodulator as well as a smooth muscle relaxant. We submit the first evidence that blood H2S levels are significantly lower in fasting blood obtained from type 2 diabetes patients compared with age-matched healthy subjects, and in streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats compared with control Sprague–Dawley rats. We further observed that supplementation with H2S or an endogenous precursor of H2S (l-cysteine) in culture medium prevents IL-8 and MCP-1 secretion in high-glucose–treated human U937 monocytes. These first observations led to the hypothesis that lower blood H2S levels may contribute to the vascular inflammation seen in diabetes. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 12, 1333–1338.

Recent studies have shown that genetic deletion of the CSE enzyme in mice markedly reduces H2S levels in the serum, heart, aorta, and other tissues, and that mice lacking CSE display pronounced hypertension and diminished endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation (29). These studies suggest that H2S is a physiological neuromodulator, vasodilator, and regulator of blood pressure (1, 2, 13, 18, 29).

This study examined the hypothesis that diabetes is associated with reduced blood levels of H2S. We determined blood levels of H2S in type 2 diabetes patients and in a rat model of diabetes. In addition, the effect of H2S and LC, an endogenous precursor of H2S, on HG-induced secretion of IL-8 and MCP-1 in cultured U937 monocytic cells was examined."

Sweat that burns the eyes is indicative of increased salt content. I wasn't aware of salt as a pathway of inflammation, but that is interesting. Might elaborate on the connection between hair loss and poor kidney function. Per the study I posted, poor kidney function is often correlated with diabetics. Blood osmolarity is a complex thing, but it looks as though H2S acts like a buffer to endothelial inflammation and hypoxia. It would help protect against this inflammation. Increased uric acid is also something that creates vascular inflammation. I think increasing our consumption of cysteine as either NAC or through increased consumption of garlic should help immensely. Sulfur containing compounds have shown improvement in several markers of endothelial function in diabetics, hypertensives, and in coronary artery disease.

"why do we sweat from the temples and nowhere else?"

^^We do sweat from different areas, but it seems (in my case) that I sweat primarily from the temples when my body temperature is raised beyond the normal temp of 98F. Some guys sweat profusely from the palms or the back, as opposed to the head. It may be that there is a higher number of sweat glands in specific areas of the body, and as a result perspiration occurs more there.

"why does the fungi or yeasts thrive in these conditions. Is it just because theres lots of salt, or the sweat goes rank, and then fungi feeds on the bacteria? or is it because excess sugars and toxins are excreted there and the fungi feed on that?"

^^Possibly, or that they feed on the waxy esters within sebum.

"do females sweat primarily from the temples? could this be the reason men bald and women dont?"

^^Due to hormonal differences women sweat less than men do. Elevated testosterone / DHT levels are implicated in higher sweat production.

"Is the DHT released in our sweat or sebum, causing localised miniturization?"

^^I don't know about that, but i do know that the hormone causes higher sweat and sebum production. I created a thread the other day about how much my scalp inflamed in the hot sun because it had a film of coconut oil over it which prevented it from sweating (the coconut oil was covering the sweat glands); immense heat built up and my scalp began to burn. I have also observed that if I allow excess sebum to build up in my scalp, the very same inflammatory process occurs. This is either caused by sebum covering sweat glands and preventing heat from being released or oleic acids contained within sebum are causing inflammation. Either way, it's not good to allow too much of the stuff to build up on the scalp.

"could salt supplementation somehow rectify this, or even using deordorant to block the oil glands with aluminium?"

^^I don't know. I know sebum is necessary to maintain the acid mantle upon the skin, not to mention preventing it from becoming too dry and tight, and preventing hair from becoming too dry and brittle, but I personally wash my scalp with soap, as I find that this removes excess sebum and sodium chloride, and this prevents inflammation.

BTW I don't want to raise any hopes here, but i recently shaved my hair short and I have noticed a row of hairs on both temples which I am convinced was not there before. This hair is terminal, yet thinner than the pre-existing hairs, so I will keep monitoring to see if any more hairs grow.

Just thought I'd provide an update on this topic: I have to say, I am really glad that I discovered the link between sodium chloride production and inflammation because now I know why I'd begin losing hair after working out excessively.

Since i started washing my scalp shortly after a workout, all of the sodium chloride residue is being cleared away and no inflammation or hairloss has resulted at all.

I've been working out everyday and my fitness levels and appearance have greatly improved.

The extra oxygen / nutrient delivery to the scalp can only be a good thing.