If you look up famous BJJ black belts, you will notice that many of them have receding hairlines and some of them are completely bald. This may make you wonder whether BJJ causes baldness. Alternatively, you may have recently adopted BJJ and noticed that around the same time, you started losing hair.
BJJ does not cause hair loss, though men suffering from male pattern baldness may experience an acceleration in hair loss due to an increase in testosterone. There are solutions for this, including hair loss prevention topicals.
In this article, we will discuss what male pattern baldness is and how to know if you have it. You will also learn about possible prevention strategies and cures on the market.
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What Is Male Pattern Baldness?
Male pattern baldness is a condition where men lose hair as a result of an increase in testosterone. When one suffers from male pattern baldness, the pores in certain areas of his head shrink in response to an increase in testosterone in the blood. Male pattern baldness is not a rare condition, and a majority of the men have it.
However, hair loss is relatively slow, and it can take up to the age of fifty for one to be significantly bald. However, men involved in combat sports like BJJ or those who lift weights experience a spike in their testosterone levels, which can accelerate hair loss.
Signs of Male Pattern Baldness
Before one hops on a remedy or a prevention strategy for hair loss that is associated with male pattern baldness, he must rule out hair loss due to stress, poor nutrition, and weak hair. There are a few signs that indicate male pattern baldness.
Bald Uncles.
Male pattern baldness is most prominent in men because men have higher levels of testosterone than women, but it is hereditary from the mother’s side. In other words, a bald father is less likely to pass on the condition to his kids, but his sister, who also carries the condition (as a dormant trait), is more likely to pass on the condition to her children.
Though not a hundred percent guarantee, either way, you can look at your mother’s male siblings and see if they have male pattern baldness. IF they have heads full of hair, the chances that you have male pattern baldness become astronomically low. On the other hand, if you notice a clear pattern of premature baldness in all of your mom’s brothers, you are likely to have inherited the condition as well.
Baldness Around Puberty
Regardless of how much of your hair you retain, if you started losing a significant amount of your hair during puberty or shortly after, the chances are that the pores from which your hair grows are reacting adversely to the increase in testosterone in your blood. On the other hand, if you made it to the age of twenty-one without any significant hair loss, there could be other factors causing you to lose your hair.
Retaining Hair at the Back of the Head and the Sides
Male pattern baldness rarely affects the entire head. It usually impacts that crown and the front of the head. So if your hairline is receding or the scalp at the middle of your head is becoming visible, chances are you have male pattern baldness. But if you notice hair easily falling from the back of your head or the sides, you have weak hair, and it has little to do with male pattern baldness.
Lack of Other Factors
One can lose hair to stress, bad weather, and weak nutrition. If these factors exist, you can never be sure that you have male pattern baldness. So make sure that you have observed your hair health and are not constantly stressed.
How to Stop Male Pattern Baldness
If you have gone through the above and concluded that you indeed have male pattern baldness, you may be interested in stopping hair loss before you go completely bald. There are two ways to stop male pattern baldness.
Finasteride pills help reduce male pattern baldness but also impact the testosterone content in your body. As a result, you may experience lower libido. Furthermore, if you work out, you may notice your muscle growth slows down significantly as your overall testosterone levels drop. Finasteride is the kind of solution men would take if their male pattern baldness was accelerated by unnatural levels of testosterone.
For athletes, high testosterone is normal, and taking these pills will likely compromise athletic performance. Those working out may need more protein than they usually take to get the same results as before taking Finasteride.
The second way to combat hair loss is with a Minoxidil foam. This is a topical treatment, and by applying the foam or liquid to the area where the hair is thinning, you can prevent hair loss. Of course, this, too, like any medication, has its side effects but since it does not reduce the general level of testosterone in your blood, lack of libido is not among its publicly listed or proven side effects.
Can Hair Transplants Work to Prevent Male Pattern Baldness?
There are two types of hair transplants, and both are effective at covering the impact of a hair transplant. The first method of hair transplant involves taking a strip of hair from the back of one’s head and transplanting it over the bald region.
The hair is then grown out and over the scar left at the donor area. The other form of hair transplant involves taking individual grafts and placing the pores on to the bald region where the har then grows out normally.
In both transplants, the surgeons rely on the fact that the male pattern baldness does not affect the pores at the back of the head. You can notice that most people lose hair at the front and around the middle of their head while retaining hair at the sides and the back of their head. That’s exactly because of the areas not affected by male pattern baldness.
However, this area varies from person to person, and how well a transplant can cover the bald region depends on how much of the area is impacted by the baldness and how much of it is immune to the condition.
What Is SMP in Hair Loss?
If you are involved in combat sports and have a mild case of male pattern baldness, you will experience some thinning of the hair, after which the hair loss will stop. SMP stands for Scalp Micropigmentation and refers to the semi-permanent makeup solution for thinning hair.
An SMP specialist creates small hair tattoos on your scalp to create a darker scalp that is covered by your hair. This reduces the ‘shiny’ effect of baldness and covers the scalp underneath. People get SMP done in addition to getting a buzzcut to give a cohesive, intentionally trimmed look.
Will Stopping BJJ Help Stop My Hair Loss?
If your hair loss has coincided with your adoption of interest in BJJ, you may wonder whether you can stop BJJ and retain your hair. There is no causal link established between BJJ and hair loss, and it is unlikely that your continuation or discontinuation will have any effect on your hair.
Final Thoughts – Does BJJ Cause Hair Loss?
If you are interested in martial arts, chances are you have higher amounts of testosterone. In a majority of the men, higher testosterone leads to hair loss because of a condition known as male pattern baldness. Therefore it is likely that your hair loss coincides with your adoption of BJJ, but it is not BJJ that is causing you to lose your hair.