What is the evolutionary reason behind male baldness?

As our prehistoric ancestors moved north, they lost their skin pigmentation to compensate for the diminishing UVB levels that they found at higher latitude. Baldness would have become an advantage due to the greater capacity to synthesise vitamin D in the skin of the bald pate.

What is the real cause of baldness?

It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging. Anyone can lose hair on their head, but it’s more common in men. Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Hereditary hair loss with age is the most common cause of baldness.

Is baldness an adaptation?

Bald skin was found to sweat more than twice as much as hairy skin. In the light of these results the hypothesis that baldness is a thermoregulatory adaptative process is proposed.

Is baldness related to testosterone?

Testosterone levels are technically irrelevant when it comes to hair loss, because testosterone does not cause hair loss. Such is actually one of the most common hair loss myths. Instead, male pattern baldness is caused by a byproduct of testosterone called Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Is balding evolutionary?

There isn’t an evolutionary advantage or disadvantage in male pattern baldness, it’s just one of those things. Nothing that happens after the usual age of reproduction can act much on evolution, and many things are neutral or disadvantageous.

What causes increased DHT?

The amount of dihydrotestosterone present in the body from day to day depends on the amount of testosterone present. When levels of testosterone increase, more of it is converted to dihydrotestosterone and so levels of dihydrotestosterone therefore also increase as a result.

At what age does hair loss stop?

The stages of progression of hair loss may or may not travel through each of all the stages and the development may stop at any time. Also, as previously stated, after the age of 30-35, hair loss slows down and gradually stabilizes.

How do you prevent genetic baldness?

If you begin to lose hair in a hereditary pattern, you may be able to slow further hair loss by using minoxidil (Rogaine) or finasteride (Propecia). Minoxidil can be used by both men and women, while finasteride usually is used just for men. Minoxidil is a solution, now available over the counter.