Living with thinning hair related to female pattern baldness can be embarrassing and really hit your confidence hard. The culprit behind your hair loss could be DHT, and there are natural ways to block DHT (food is one of them) that may boost your strand count and your self esteem.
There is more information available now than ever before to help you battle DHT with natural solutions and without the use of weird chemicals that have possibly harmful side effects. Let’s look at how to reduce DHT levels in your scalp naturally and review if it will even work to regrow your hair.
What increases DHT in scalp?
Before diving in to how to get DHT out of your scalp, it might be good to talk about what kinds of things increase the amount of DHT in your scalp. Some things may not surprise you, and others might leave your scratching your DHT filled head!
Since DHT is created with testosterone, having high levels of testosterone certainly contributes to higher levels of DHT. You can have your physician check your hormone levels to make sure they are properly balanced, and that testosterone isn’t wreaking havoc on your system.
Drastically decreasing your body fat also increases DHT production. Estrogen is directly linked to the fat stored in your body-the more fat cells you have, the more estrogen your body will produce. Flipping that around, as you decrease your body fat, you’ll be creating less estrogen, and in turn, becoming more testosterone dominant.
Your diet contributes to DHT production as well. There are certain food groups that naturally cause your body to pump out the DHT. Butters, red meats, and potatoes are all major DHT makers (fats and carbs, basically) so restricting how much of these food items are in your daily meals will help.
A new, heavy workout routine might even cause more DHT to accumulate in your scalp. As mentioned above, leaning out lowers your estrogen levels, which can increase testosterone, leading to more DHT. Resistance exercise also works at a skeletal level to boost the enzyme ultimately responsible for converting testosterone to DHT, called Alpha-5 Reductase. Ramping up that conversion enzyme produces more DHT that will ultimately collect in the oils in your hair follicles.
Read: Best DHT Blocker for Women’s hair loss
Can DHT be removed from the scalp?
You can’t remove DHT directly from your scalp. DHT doesn’t technically live there. DHT is formed when testosterone gets converted to DHT. It builds up in sebum (oils) in your scalp and causes hair follicles to become blocked, weaken, and eventually stop producing hair.
You can reduce the amount of DHT that your body creates and use clarifying shampoos and hair mask products that help scrub DHT heavy sebum build up from your hair follicles. This will create a healthy environment for your hair to begin growing again.
Will Reducing DHT regrow hair?
Just like you can’t necessarily remove DHT from your scalp, reducing DHT alone won’t regrow your hair. However, there are natural DHT blockers that keep DHT out of your hair follicles so they can heal and begin producing strong, healthy, new hair. Long term, blocking DHT will help provide the environment needed for thicker, fuller hair. So the answer, really, is yes!
How to block DHT and regrow hair naturally
Blocking DHT doesn’t have to involve medications, creams, chemicals, or expensive treatment sessions. Let’s look at some natural DHT blockers that work to lower your DHT levels and heal your scalp to regrow your hair naturally. They’re easy, inexpensive steps to take to gain control over your DHT related hair loss.
- Up your Zinc – Zinc is found in trace amounts in our bodies already, but boosting your Zinc intake fights the good fight against pesky DHT. Add shellfish, cashews, or swiss cheese to your daily menu to get those levels up.
- Saw Palmetto – Another major DHT blocker, take in Saw Palmetto by eating the whole fruit or grabbing a supplement at your drugstore. Saw Palmetto works against DHT by inhibiting the cellular activity of Alpha-5 Reductase.
- Balance your hormones – You may need a little help from your doctor on this one, but getting familiar with your hormonal system and doing the work to balance it out will go a long way to block DHT and get on your way to regrowing hair. Knowing how much testosterone and estrogen your body is making, and how that needs to change to gain balance will help you choose the best diet and supplement changes to make.
- Bring on the Biotin – We have talked a lot about blocking DHT and it’s building blocks, but it’s important to complete the puzzle to regrow your hair. Biotin rich foods will heal your scalp from the inside, and help create healthy follicles for your new, strong, hair to thrive. Bananas, oily fish, legumes, and bright berries are super yummy, and super rich in this important hair growth aid.
- Green Tea daily – Swap a cup of joe for a cup of this DHT fighter. Green tea is packed with antioxidants that not only block DHT, they also reduce its concentration. Which means it is working to clear out existing DHT from your system and stopping the production of more. If drinking it isn’t your thing, you can also get it in pill form.
If you’re tired of watching your hair fall out, lose its style, and just looking sad, finding a natural DHT blocking regimen could get you on the way to stronger, thicker locks.
From working with your primary care doctor, to changing up your diet, to adding a few supplements in to your daily routine, there are plenty of ways to reduce the DHT level in your scalp naturally.
You should always talk with your physician before making major changes to your habits, just to make sure you are on a healthy, worthwhile path.
Remember, reducing the amount of DHT in your scalp is just part of the process toward regrowing a beautiful and full head of hair. However, it is the best first step you can take!
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