Where DHT Comes From
Your body turns a small share of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) using an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase. DHT does useful things: it helped build male features at puberty. Scalp follicles, though, can be born sensitive to it.
What It Does to a Follicle
Each time a sensitive follicle grows a new hair, DHT makes the growing phase a bit shorter and the hair a bit thinner. Over years, thick hairs become fine fuzz, and eventually the follicle stops producing. This is called miniaturization, and it is why thinning is gradual rather than sudden.
Lowering DHT
Finasteride blocks the enzyme that makes DHT and cuts scalp DHT by roughly two thirds. That is enough to stop the shrinking in most men and let follicles recover some thickness. Topical finasteride does the same job mostly on the scalp. Minoxidil does not touch DHT at all; it works on blood flow and the growth cycle, which is why the two are often combined.
Does Lowering DHT Cause Problems?
For most men, no. A small percentage notice lower libido or softer erections, which go away when the medication is stopped. We go over this honestly at the consultation and check in during the first months.
Common Questions
Can you lower DHT naturally?+
Saw palmetto has weak evidence. Nothing over the counter lowers it the way finasteride does.
Does more testosterone mean more hair loss?+
Not directly. It is follicle sensitivity, not the hormone level, that decides. Men on TRT with sensitive follicles can speed up thinning, though, and we discuss that.
Does DHT affect women's hair?+
Yes, though usually less. Spironolactone blocks its effect in women; finasteride is not used in women who could become pregnant.
All treatments are medical services. Every guest is screened, and every treatment is provided only under the clearance, prescription or standing protocol of a licensed medical provider. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis or a promise of results. For an emergency, call 911.