testosterone and curly hair?

[LanaBanana]

I'm 28, and over the last year my hair has gone from mostly straight, with lots of frizz when it rains to pretty curly all the time. When I got it cut last week the hair stylist told me that increased testosterone levels from getting older can cause curly hair. Is this true??? I know I've got higher levels of testosterone pulsing through me because I've had those darn chin hairs popping out! Ugh!

[mshultz]

No- depends on genetic factors, and an individual's follicular sesitivity to the metabolites of testosterone.

Men who are particularly follicularly sensitive are often balding, but have a lot of body hair...

Good point. I never paid much attention to body hair on men, until Dr. Gott commented about the correlation between body hair and baldness. I have a full head of hair, and not much body hair.

[Badwoollyhair]

This is correct. When menopausal women begin estrogen only therapy they often find that those pesky chin hairs go away. The only thing that changed was the increase of estrogen.

Would you say maybe that by having estrogen therapy for menopause would help with the curly hair? I am menopausal and my hair has gone wild.

Any suggestions? Please :stone

[lpnflorida]

I found the below information when doing a search of what causes hair to change texture. Aside from the usual things we all know such as hormone changes, thyroid conditions, chemo. I found the below.. who the heck knows, maybe this person is onto something..lol

With little scientific evidence available about how hormones and genetics cause these texture changes, Jonathan Torch, creator of Curly Hair Solutions and founder of Toronto's Curly Hair Institute, has come up with his own theory.

He believes changes in the muscles at the base of every follicle are the key to the changes in hair texture that take place over time. These muscular changes, he says, often come during puberty, chemotherapy or menopause, when hormones and medications may affect the muscle tone.

Sometimes these changes can be extreme, says Torch, who has witnessed many a client go from curly to straight and straight to curly."I can't prove anything medically," he says. "But I have a philosophy that genetically, the muscles are changing. And this changes the shape of the follicle."

[hadcurls]

with puberty my straight hair went curly and stayed that way until about 40 when I was pre menopausal and the curls started to loosen. By menopause my hair was almost straight and I had lost my underarm hair. I was found to have very low testosterone levels and used testosterone cream as a supplement. My hair regained some of its curl but my underarm hair did not return. If I stop using the cream my hair goes straight again. I have normal levels of estrogen as any estrogen supplements give me sore breasts. I also use progesterone cream on my body and minoxidil on my scalp. I am in my 60s and was pleased to find these posts as it has confirmed what I thought but not why it happens.

[RNperdiem, RN]

I am also from a family where hair changes texture at puberty. Lots of mixed race B/W people have hair that does go from straight/wavy/loosely curled hair to tight curls after puberty.

I don't know about menopause or anything, except that hair tends to turn gray too.