As men, even just the thought of losing our hair can send a shiver down our spine. Especially when we have done something to potentially cause hair loss. As we get older, hair loss can often be a natural part of life. But of course, we’d all rather avoid losing our locks.
But what about when you’re pushing yourself in the gym, looking to gain muscle and enhance your athletic performance? Can a rush human growth hormone actually cause hair loss?
We take a closer look at human growth hormone (HGH), which is naturally produced in your body.
What is HGH (human growth hormone)?
Human growth hormone is naturally produced by our bodies, however, our supplies can start to dwindle as we get older. It comes as no surprise that as we age, we start to lose hair follicles, resulting in hair loss and, often, a dreaded bald spot.
This growth hormone is most prominent during childhood, supporting healthy tissue, organ and bone growth. Produced by the pituitary gland, human growth hormone is totally natural to us. However, some do choose to supplement growth hormone for other effects.
Growth hormone deficiency
It’s relatively unusual to come across someone who receives synthetic human growth hormone therapy, unless they truly have a growth hormone deficiency. Put simply, growth hormone isn’t prescribed easily, and especially not for men looking for a fast way to build muscle.
Synthetic human growth hormone was developed in 1985, having been approved for very specific use in both adults and children. This was the case where there may be concern about a child’s growth. Short stature could be the result of a number of medical conditions, including:
- Turner’s syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects a girl’s development
- Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which leads to poor muscle tone, low sex hormone levels and constant feels of hunger
- Children born small for gestational age
- Human growth hormone deficiency
- Chronic kidney disease
In adults, meanwhile, use of synthetic growth hormone include:
- Human growth hormone deficiency
- Short bowel syndrome
- Muscle-wasting diseases
What else is human growth hormone used for?
However, like many medications and synthetic drugs, growth hormone has quickly found its way into bodybuilding circles, for its effects on building muscle mass.
Other benefits of growth hormone include:
- Increased energy levels – With many athletes looking to human growth hormone for muscle growth and energy in endurance sport
- Age prevention – Many men seek treatments such as growth hormone therapy as a form of hair loss treatment
- Increased bone density
- Reduced body fat
- Increased exercise capacity
How can hormones affect hair growth?
Androgenic alopecia is caused by a combination of genetic and hormonal factors. A major role in this is dihydrotestosterone (DHT). When DHT levels are elevated, it can lead to hair loss, starting with a receding hairline and centroparietal thinning. The men suffering from androgenic alopecia have high levels of testosterone, but also high levels of 5-α reductase.
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During childhood, and then puberty, our bodies experience a spike in growth hormone – before gradually slowing with age. Androgens are also known as the hair growth hormones since they are the main regulators of the process after puberty.
Fighting back against hair loss
We all want increased hair growth, right? There’s nothing worse than looking in the mirror and feeling as though your once-thick, silky locks are starting to thin.
Hair loss can be caused by number of factors, including hormone deficiencies,vitamin deficiencies and some medical conditions. Whatever the reason may be, nobody wants thin hair, do they?
Human hair growth is a tricky subject, and there’s often no definitive answer as to why some of us experience hair loss sooner, or quicker than others. But either way, we all wanna promote hair growth, don’t we!
Does HGH cause hair loss?
At present, there is no evidence to suggest that normal human growth hormone levels can cause hair loss.
Androgens such as DHT stimulate IGF-1 expression in body hair, but reduce its secretion in your hair follicles, leading to hair loss.Human growth hormone, however, does not have the same negative effects since it triggers IGF-1 production in the liver, stimulating body hair growth and hair follicle growth.
While there is nothing to suggest that human growth hormone levels might lead to sparse hair growth, low growth hormone might increase the negative impact of DHT – with studies showing links between low growth hormone levels and hair loss.
During growth hormone therapy, men led men to experience a reduction in DHT levels. With the lowering of DHT being the main target of mow hair loss treatment.
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What about HGH hair growth?
Insulin Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) is an anabolic hormone that is the main mediator of the HGH effects. It is proven to stimulate hair follicle growth, reducing hair loss and follicle cell deaths.
Since our natural growth hormone levels can reduce as we get older, and this is when we’re most likely to experience hair loss – it would be easy to assume that HGH and hair growth go hand in hand.
In some cases, HGH or human growth hormone therapy has been an effective method of restoring and maintaining hair growth. For some men, they have seen HGH therapy effectively restore hair follicles and growth, while repairing skin elasticity and improving energy restoration.
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However, at present, there is little scientific evidence to support hair follicle growth characteristics in response to HGH therapy.
Does HGH thicken hair?
In answer to the popular question, ‘does HGH help hair growth?’, the answer is, in some cases, HGH has been effective in restoring and maintaining hair growth.
HGH and hair growth: Are there side effects?
Typically, side effects of human growth hormone (HGH) appear with the use of synthetic HGH injections. Since growth hormone therapy is only medically (and therefore, legally) used to treat certain conditions – such as muscle wastage – any other illicit uses aren’t regulated.
Some of the possible side effects of excess growth hormone injections can include:
- Nerve, muscle, or joint pain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Fluid retention in the arms and legs
- High cholesterol levels
- Growth of cancerous tumors
- An increased risk of heart disease and diabetes
- Mood changes, dependency, and withdrawal
- Numb and tingling skin
- An enlarged heart
Steroids and hair loss/hair growth
For those of you seeking to use anabolic steroids to reduce body fat and enhance muscle growth, you may even experience hair growth during a steroid cycle, such as Deca Durabolin. However, it’s worth noting that steroids such as Deca Durabolin do tend to have some pretty (aka, very) horrendous side effects. So we’re not quite sure that a little extra hair growth is worth it (it isn’t).
Performance enhancer, testosterone enanthate – is one of the most popular beginner bodybuilding steroids, however, unlike Deca Durabolin, it can actually lead to hair loss and thin hair.
Anavar is another popular anabolic steroid, which can also lead to hair loss and thinning. So if you’re thinking of trying out your first steroid cycle and you’re worried about hair loss, I’d think again. The same applies to Dianabol.
How to prevent hair loss
Various foods and supplements can act as 5-α reductase inhibitors. There are a variety of foods and lifestyle choices you can make to improve hair follicle growth and reduce the risk of hair loss. For example, switching from coffee to black or green tea as your main source of caffeine.
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The polyphenols of black tea – theaflavins are powerful 5-α reductase inhibitors.
It’s all about inhibiting 5-α reductase activity. Foods that help here are:
- Flax seeds
- Walnuts
- Fatty fish
- Liquid vegetable oils
An unhealthy habit to avoid, especially in relation to hair loss, is smoking.
How to naturally increase growth hormone levels
If you’re looking to increase growth hormone levels naturally, avoiding risky HGH therapy, we’ve got a few tips to get you started.
- Lose body fat
- Try intermittent fasting
- Take an arginine supplement
- Reduce your sugar intake
- Try a GABA supplement
Our low-carb formula IBUTALEAN is packed with essential nutrients that form the building blocks for maximizing lean muscle and fat burn. With the power to increase your HGH levels, IBUTALEAN helps to reduce soreness and accelerate healing time.
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