DHT Blocking:  A Fool’s Errand
or
“How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Beta-Sist!”

The success of Propecia® rested on the rationale that Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a virulent byproduct of the male sex hormone forged by the binding of 5-Alpha Reductase I and II (5-AR) that for some reason singles out hair follicles genetically predisposed to sensitivity to DHT’s presence—a breakthrough made when the prostate drugs Propecia® and Proscar® were found to be effective blockers of DHT in the prostate gland.  Currently, dutasteride drugs such as Avodart® and Dutagen® are being evaluated by the FDA as even stronger  DHT blockers for hair loss (though many seem to be procuring prescriptions regardless), while scores of desperate souls turn to Saw Palmetto extract (or its refined Beta-sisterol cousin) to either supplement or replace these drugs to lessen their unpleasant sexual side effects.

It is helpful to pause a moment here and consider a very important question:

If Propecia® was as effective as it initially claimed, why has the pool of DHT blockers
expanded so dramatically in the decade since?  Where is the miraculous cure?

The efficacy of DHT blockers rests on a very basic fallacy in the human body. Whatever its murky function, Dihydrotestosterone
IS a hormone and it is secreted to fulfill some preordained function in the body.  Hormones can be replaced or supplemented;
they cannot be suppressed in the long term. The body is a self-regulating machine that will eventually return to homeostasis, or equilibrium.

For example, for whatever reason the body is overproducing X hormone to fill some need.   Therefore, when a block is hit,
the body produces more of the substance in question to balance the equation—consider it akin to maintaining a minimum balance
of $200 in your checking account (bloodstream) by initially depositing  $600 to pay a $400 bill.  After the check has cleared
or the block hit, the $200 balance will still be there regardless of the withdrawal or block.

Anyone who has suddenly stopped using SHAMPOO for a long period of time has seen homeostasis at work.  The oil in their hair overproduces like mad for the first few months before tapering off to a normal level again..., when the body has decided
that the offending agent removing so much of it’s oil secretion is not going to return—aporia, the point of nothingness. The body
attains equilibrium.

Change the substance in question.  DHT, for whatever reason, is viewed as necessary by the body and produced in the appropriate amount.  Block that production and you have not switched off DHT production, but only jacked the need for it way, way up—now twice, three times,  X times as much as is needed to fulfill whatever role the body intended. This DOES happen with hormones. You can’t suppress thyroid hormone, for example, with drugs for this reason—hyperthyroidics frequently have the gland surgically or radiologically altered to serve this end.

In the end,...after a few months’ success and hair growth with a DHT blocker..., perhaps even a few years with something as strong as Propecia®, the body’s DHT levels will resync and your hair loss will progress…unless you are willing to upgrade to Proscar® (another finasteride drug) or one of the potent Dutasteride drugs (marketed as Avodart®, Avidart®, Avolve®, Duagen®, Dutas®, Dutagen®, Duprost®).

“I DON’T CARE, I  WANT TO TRY!”

This is the battle cry of most men who might have taken the time to read this far.  They say that something like seventy percent of the balding populace does absolutely nothing about it, but if you are reading this then you stand with me and want to try.  But in this case trying WILL hurt you.

Marty E. Sawaya, MD, PhD, ARATEC (Alopecia Research & Associated Technologies) Clinics & University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida, USA, recently reported at the European Hair Research Society that

“All scalp biopsies from patients obtained 6 months after finasteride treatment revealed intense upregulation  of AR expression in comparison to pre-treatment biopsies of the same patient, whereas ERs were not  affected, indicating that AR is very sensitive to the affects of 5a-R type II suppression of DHT” (“Androgen  Responsive Genes As They Affect Hair Growth,”:

Nevertheless, I do not aim this discussion at Propecia® users.
You are the hard core hair loss warriors and, if you cared enough to get a
prescription, then it is unlikely that this discussion will change your mind.

     Beta-sisterol is in nuts, avocados, bananas.

Just because monkeys are hairy...and eat Beta-sisterol  rich bananas...
does not mean that YOU taking  Beta-sisterol supplements will regrow hair
on your bald head. Supplements might make your head look like a baboon butt...
so don't monkey around.

Evidence suggests such supplements are addictive...

and may be harmful in other ways as yet unknown.

Don't slip  up and become ADDICTED.

Run a Google search right now for natural hair loss cures (I’ll wait, go ahead.)…"Saw Palmetto extract" An over-the-counter ‘vitamin’ you can pick up virtually anywhere supplements are sold.   Deemed “safe” for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and the favorite of the on-line forum community for doing SOMETHING about hair loss.

Something healthy.  Something safe.

The DHT blocking component of Saw Palmetto, ...Beta-sisterol..., is a naturally occurring phytonutrient found in virtually every plant and legume
on earth.  In and of itself, Beta-sisterol (frequently known by its phonetically shortened form “beta-sist”) is perfectly safe to ingest.  However, as a member of the DHT blocking family, when taken in a concentrated form Beta-sisterol is in league with Propecia® as a potential roadblock for DHT
in your bloodstream.

Blocking DHT, even with something as innocuous as an over-the-counter supplement, will lead to increased hair loss. When the miracle fails...
and you do not regrow mounds of hair..., you will stop  your Saw Palmetto…and remove the roadblock.  A new and improved DHT flood
will course through your system and,... if the science of hair loss is correct..., you will suddenly lose a ton of hair. At least until the levels equal
back out;…if they ever do.

I tried the wonder drug of the internet for six months just to find out:

375 mg Nutraceutical Sciences Institute (NSI) pill  once a day, as recommended by several
other ‘users.’  I never grew a single hair from Beta-sisterol…but I sure lost some when I stopped.

Common parlance from the Propecia® crowd is “I used it for years and it stopped my hair loss.  When I stopped, it suddenly surged
in to where  I SHOULD have been!” But how do you KNOW where you should have been, where your hair loss was going to stop?
I used a light weight blocker and only for six months.  Before that, doing nothing more than keeping SHAMPOO out of my hair for the
first time in my life, my hair stayed pretty much the same for over two years.  In six months, I was destined to lose that much hair?

"Trust Me!"

It is nice to upgrade.  When you get to the airline’s car rental desk and
they bump you up to luxury because your business class reservation got
lost somewhere, it really makes your day.

Someone had to say it:

Dihydrotestosterone’s effect on hair is by no means as clear as many would
hope. Some in fact have argued that DHT is actually GOOD for hair growth.
For more, see the interesting analysis of scalp-hydraulics by Stephen I. Foote at