What’s testosterone got to do with beard growth?
Testosterone doesn’t just keep your fertility in check, your sex drive accelerating at 6th gear, and your muscles pumped. Yes, peak testosterone levels build strong, confident men with low body fat and high libido, but they also maintain male characteristics.
Think about it. Before puberty, you’ve got testosterone, but not a whole lot. When your testosterone levels increase dramatically during puberty, your penis and testes increase in size, you all have spontaneous erections and wet dreams. Puberty was also the time during which your voice got deeper, Adam’s apple popped up, you started growing, and your body and face started sprouting hair. That process typically continues into your twenties. Then all of a sudden, you hit your early thirties, and your hormone production starts to crash. Okay…it doesn’t necessarily crash, but it does steadily decrease by 1-2% per year. And it doesn’t stop.
Uh-oh! That suck!
What happens when your testosterone levels decline? Your masculine characteristics or your manhood go with them, including your muscle mass, energy, and strength. You can say goodbye to your sex drive and hello to belly fat. Your hair starts to thin out and become weak. And erections? Fuhgeddaboudit!
Now let’s get back to beards.
Think about the most ‘manly’ guy you know. Is he strong? Confident? And, has a beard to die for? That’s because somewhere along the way, beard became a significant indicator of masculinity. Studies have even proved it! So even though scientists think that beard came about as an evolutionary attempt to protect men from the elements and help them blend into the background while stalking prey, facial hair has taken on social and evolutionary value.
#1 Social fact: Thick luscious facial hair growth is a sign of optimal health and fitness.
#2 Social fact: People see a beard and think “he’s hot” and signify that you are at your sexual peak.
#3 Social fact: Enemies and competitors are leary of a man with a beard.
A study in the American Psychological Association journal suggested that when women judge the attractiveness of men, they take into account whether a man has facial hair or is clean-shaven. Which one did women respond to more? You guessed it. Most women in the study found men with full beards more attractive. They said that a hearty beard exhibited confidence, masculinity, dominance, and courage.
Okay, okay, okay. You already know this, or you wouldn’t be here trying to figure out how to get your beard on.
It doesn’t just run in the family.
Has somebody told you, “don’t worry about it, man, it runs in the family?” Well, that may be true, but poor beard growth is linked to two key hormones – Testosterone and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Never heard of DHT? It seems odd that we don’t hear about DHT very often because it is more powerful than Testosterone. It’s a metabolite of testosterone— kind of like testosterone’s uber-kid- and it cannot be produced without good levels of testosterone. We won’t get into all the details here. What’s important is that high levels of testosterone= high DHT production.
Research has shown that both DHT and testosterone work together in the development and growth of the body and facial hair. They act as a tag team: Testosterone prepares your hair follicles to grow hair, and DHT promotes linear hair growth.
Why you do not have a manly beard?
So, basically, we’ve gone through all of this to get back to the simple answer. Crappy beard? Low-T.
No worries. You’ve got this. And we’ve got your beard…we mean, your back.
Symptoms of reduced testosterone can often be reversed by eating a healthy diet, exercising, and optimizing your hormone levels. You’ve probably already got the first two down. We got you covered for the third one. We know Hormone be Optimization inside and out, so if your beard resembles a long-abandoned golf course, contact us for a consultation. We’ll get you what you need to be the manly man that we know you are.
