Does testosterone affect beard growth? There are some schools of thought that suggest it does.
What Will I Learn
Testosterone And Beard Growth
Experts in the filed of evolutionary biology believe that men started to grow facial and body hair to help protect them from the elements.
It is also believed that it helped to add a form of camouflage when they were out hunting to hopefully help them to blend in to the background while stalking prey.
Fast forward to modern day, growing a thick beard is thought to be one of the most masculine things you can do – love the or hate them it certainly makes you look manly.
Can Your Testosterone Levels Effect Beard Growth?
But why can some men grow a thick beard virtually over night while others struggle to get even a few wispy hair strands appear on their chin.?
The Answer Could Be Down To Their Testosterone Production
But is strong beard growth really a sign of good testosterone production?
let’s take a good look into this question and try and come up with some answers.
Related Article: Increase your testosterone naturally by using Testo Prime – a supplement containing 12 ingredients scientifically studied to raise low T
Testosterone Production And Your Masculinity
Testosterone is the primary male hormone.
It is an androgenic, steroid hormone produced by the leidig cells in the testes, a result of a complex series of hormonal events that begin in the brain.
Diet plays an important role. There are certain foods effect natural T levels. Some can increase levels such as oysters for example and some can have the opposite effect and kill testosterone.
How Testosterone Effects Your Body
When a man has peak testosterone levels he is usually strong and confident, his muscles are well formed and strong, he generally has low body fat and has a high libido.
Testosterone has two types of effect on the body:
Androgenic – It increases protein metabolism, and safeguards against protein breakdown, in other words it promotes lean muscle growth and reduced body fat
Anabolic – It develops and maintains the key male characteristics, increases strength, muscle growth, deep voices, body and facial hair and of course sex drive.
During puberty, our testosterone levels increase dramatically, we start to see increased growth of our penis and testes.
We develop strong sexual responses, desire and powerful erections.
Our voice deepens, we develop an ‘adams apple’, we see the appearance of body and facial hair, we grow in height and our muscles and bones strengthen.
This process continues through our teenage years and our twenties.
From the age of 30-35 our natural hormone production starts to reduce, experts tell us that its usually by around 1-2% per year.
At first we do not really notice the effects, but gradually things start to change.
What Does This Mean To Us As We Age?
These most masculine characteristics start to decline, our muscle mass reduces along with our energy and strength.
Our sex drive and the ability to get and keep an erection reduces.
We start to gain extra fat around the belly and our hair can start to become thinner and weaker.
The Significance Of A Beard
Have a think about the most ‘manly’ guy you know, its odds on that he is probably strong, quite dominant and probably has a decent beard.
This is because masculinity and facial hair are proven to go hand in hand.
Studies have shown that the growth of facial hair has both social and evolutionary perception value.
I will explain:
- Strong facial hair growth is a sign of good health and fitness.
- It shows others (particularly potential mates) that you are at your sexual peak.
- It demonstrates manliness and maturity to competitors/enemies.
The Connection Between Beards And Testosterone
Some men can grow a full beard in matter or days while other struggle to produce even a wispy, patchy poor excuse of a beard.
Now this is often simply brushed off as genetics or it ‘runs in the family’ but in fact its down to two key hormones – Testosterone and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
What is Dihydrotestosterone?
DHT is a metabolite of testosterone, it is actually more powerful than testosterone, but it cannot produced unless good levels of testosterone are present.
Testosterone acts a prohormone, along with an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase (5-AR) it promotes the production of DHT.
If you have high levels of testosterone, you will also have good DHT production too
These two hormones are key to many male characteristics, one of which is beard growth.
A study published in the American Psychological Association journal demonstrated that when women judged the attractiveness of men.
They took into account wether the men had facial hair or were clean shaven.
The study concluded that most women found men with full beards were the most attractive.
They claimed that a good beard demonstrated masculinity, confidence, dominance and courage.
The Role Of Testosterone And DHT In Beard Growth
There are a number of areas on your body that are particularly susceptible to the effects of androgen hormones.
These include the genitals, under arms, legs, chest and your face.
Research has shown that both hormones play a complimentary role in the development and growth of body and facial hair:
- Testosterone is responsible for the preparation of hair follicles for hair growth
- DHT promotes linear hair growth
This is why the hair on our faces for instance is different to scalp or body hair.
This is generally thicker, being produced by flatter follicles, this also means that its coarser and usually more curly than scalp hair.
What Happens If My Testosterone Levels Are Lower Than They Should Be?
There is a defined link between men with low testosterone and hair loss.
We have learnt that:
Androgen hormones control hair growth – any reduction in them generally results in some hair loss. It can also cause a loss of muscle tone, strength and sex drive.
Boosting Testosterone Naturally
If you experience any of the symptoms of reduced testosterone, you can slow down and in most cases reverse the decline by eating a healthy diet, taking some exercises and using a good natural testosterone booster.
A good supplement such as Testogen can provide essential nutrients that promote the natural production of testosterone without any of the side effects linked to non natural treatments.
They can:
- Boost muscle and strength
- Increase Energy and Performance
- Reduce Body Fat
- Boost Libido
- Promote all your masculine traits (including in many cases beard growth)
Does Testosterone Affect Beard Growth Summary
If your test levels are high, you will also have good DHT production too.
These two hormones are key to many male characteristics, one of which is beard growth.
So the bottom line is your T levels have a bearing on your beard!
