Hair Loss from Weight Lifting?
Dear Dr. Rassman,
I am a 24 year old male medical student. I have had a very gradually receding hairline for the past 2-3, but just recently (past 6-8 months) I noticed the shedding of hair has increased and my hair is thinning in the front. This realization really is depressing because I didn’ think I would start REALLY balding until I was well in my 30s. At least thats been the pattern in my immediate family. I have an appointment with the dermatologist in a month to pinpoint it to male pattern baldness and not something else just to make sure. Anyways, my question to you is whether or not there is a correlation between weight lifting and hairloss?
Working out, especially with heavy weights, will increase your testosterone levels. So the natural assumption would be that increased testosterone levels = increased DHT production = more hair loss. I personally have been a big fan of whey protein supplements, glutamine, and creatine to boost my gains in the gym. My parents always warned me against taking these saying it was “unnatural” and would have consequences in the long run, and now I’m wondering if they might have been right after all. I’ve had a protein shake(30 grams whey protein) and maybe 5 grams of glutamine maybe 3-5 times a week for the past 4-5 years. This is very coincident with the time that my hairline started to gradually recede.
I’m starting to wonder now whether my dedication to weight training and diet actually hastened the hair loss process. For now, I am discontinuing all forms of supplements including protein drinks and glutamine. Doing this will obviously cut my gains in the gym, but as long as I can save my hair for now I don’t care what it takes. What is your opinion on this???
What you are suggesting is logical, but there is no proof to it. Since you are 24 years old and at the peak of the early balding process when genetics generally tend to kick in, it may be coincidental with your training process. Realistically, if you have genetic hair loss you should have a diagnosis made, then probably treat it with Propecia, which should stop the hair loss impact of DHT reasonably well. As a medical student you should approach this process the correct way.
I have been a bodybuilder for 40 years. While I am bald, I doubt if weightlifting has much to do with my baldness (except maybe for speeding it up a bit). There are bald guys and guys at the gym with full heads of hair that have all been training for comparable periods of years. Look at any bodybuilding event on TV. There are both bald and non-bald men competing and both types are hard trainers.
I am experiencing the same things that you are. I have only been working out for 6 months now, and was originally taking a pro-amino protein shake with 45 grams or protien per serving and I also took creatine monohydrate for a short period of time as well. I noticed my hair beginning to shed and thought that it may just [at the time since it was the end of a semester at college] be the stresses of school. But than came the summer a time when i had very little stress but still was shedding, it seemed to be in patterns of maybe 3 to 4 weeks then slow down for a week or 2 than speed up again. It seems that everytime I would work out especially when im in the gym for more than an hour at a clip the shedding is really bad for the following week or so. Also just to inform everyone who is going to say that its male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness does not run in my family both of my grandfathers had full heads of hair even into there late 70’s and my father has a full head of hair, two of my uncles have mild balding but nothing much.
i think its nothing to do with the whey protien,as i am taking it from last 2 years ,my hair is same as before.
I came to this blog page, searching for correlation between whey, creatine monohydrate, skimmed milk powder and hair loss. I have taken 100% gold standard (OPTIMUM NUTRITION product) whey + creatine monohydrate + skimmed milk together in a mix (of around 45 mg protein). My hair started receding in a 3 weeks time. I am almost bald now. In turn i have got good muscles. I don’t know what to do now.
I m using whey protein,i wud like to know if its safe?and no hair loss probs?
I’m 34, and I’ve being lifting heavy weights for years. My hair is fine and is still the same as it was when I was younger. I started taking Whey protein a few months back and I noticed it’s greatly improved my hair making it look thicker and healthier. I had it shaved and it grew back really quickly that I went from being a skinhead to really needing a hair cut in a matter of weeks. I would say to anyone who’s worried about Whey and hair loss that they’ve nothing to worry about as it should actually make it look better. I cannot say the same for steroids and creatine though.
I bought the dr max powers anabolic stack from the Vitamin Shopppe and paid 90 dollars for it!! only to realize i could buy it online for half that price!! WTF
First off at that price its amazing, second this really works. After ther first two days of using it i was able to do more reps and gained a lot of energy. Also the soarness in my muscles were decreased even though i was lifting more and doing more reps.
Yeah propecia causes impotence, skip the website’s advice