I worry about dumb things sometimes and I've been wondering about this one, and I've tried looking online but all I can find is about head hair. My question about body hair is, as a male what are my odds of taking after my father or mothers side of the family? Right now at 21 I do have some body hair (chest) but not an extreme amount, I am really hoping that I avoid the back hair gene, because my dad has it, that is a gene from his side of the family, actually when I find a hair on the back of my neck I panic and get rid of it, but really that is all. I heard something about how guys will have the head hair of there mother's dad, that might be an old wife's tale, even though I hope it's true because that is good news for me. But I don't know about body hair I don't really know what to expect, if I have hair where I don't want it, I will get rid of it but I just don't want an uphill battle. Does anyone know more about this?
I'm always so full of good news about hair issues. We used to think that baldness was linked to the X chromosome, so men would inherit it from their mothers (a male gets an Y from the father and an X from the mother). The research shows that there's multiple genetic markers that cause baldness. So, you can also get it from your father's side of the family, too. The trigger is testosterone, or specifically dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which is why over 50% of men will experience at least some hair loss after puberty. You read that right- the statistics say that 50-70% of men lose hair from their head as they get older. About 25% will have significant hair loss to the point of balding. There's three basic patterns of hair loss: Loss from the forehead backward which usually results in loss of hair along the top of the head (aka "receding hairline"), Loss of hair on the crown at the very top/back of the head (the "bald spot") and Loss all over the head due to hormone imbalance, allergy, chemical/radiation exposure, traction (those baseball caps!) and other causes Don't get too freaked out about body hair in places that you don't want it. Getting rid of hair, temporarily or permanently, is the easy part. When you lose hair, it's a lot more of a challenge. The key is that if you start noticing hair loss in your 20s to 30s, talk to your family doctor or a dermatologist. After some basic tests, they can rule out treatable causes like thyroid imbalance or hypogonadism. If it does look like you're one of the guys in that 25% that has significant hair loss, then you can try topical medication like Rogaine or oral medication like finesteride (Propecia). The key is to begin the treatment early when the hair loss begins.
I didn't really word this question specifically, I was actually wondering more about excess body hair, not losing it, because I really don't want to be that hairy. Do all these statistics have to do with growing too?
You can trust that your hair genes all will (most likely) come from your mother's father, but could come from your mother's mother's father too. It's X-linked I believe.
Body hair is largely determined by heredity and ethnicity. It is a dominant trait, so if the males on one side of your family have lots of body hair, your chances of having body hair is increased. Baldness has several different genetic triggers but most seem to be dominant traits that require testosterone to be expressed. The irony seems to be that men who have the baldness gene also seem to have the gene that triggers increased body hair and both are dominant traits.
My twin brother and father are gross hairy ALL OVER. I, however, have almost no body hair at all. And I haven't started hrt yet. I'd say it's kind of based on who you look like. I look a LOT like my mother, but my brother looks almost exactly like my father did at his age.
It's not a direct correlation- one doesn't cause the other. It's more that the same ethnic groups that have lots of body hair are also the same ethnic groups that have genetic predisposition to male pattern baldness. There are exceptions- guys like actors Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck had very hairy bodies but still had full heads of hair. As I mentioned in the post, your best gauge of how much body hair and how much hair loss you'll have is to look at the older male relatives on both sides of your family.
I think it's weird because, I have blond leg hair, which I'm not that hairy, and almost no arm hair, and I have brown hair on my head.
The way that body hair works is that it starts as blond. As testosterone continues to act upon it, it will grow more coarse and it will darken.
I'm only 19 and I'm sort of a gorilla man, even got some back hair already :X even stranger that my brother is not hairy, my dad is not hairy either. Probably a long lost gene popping up from somewhere. I'll probably end up getting laser eventually, but for now it's maintainable with a beard trimmer. I tried using a razor once but the aftermath was not comfortable.
I know little about the genetics, but I can tell you my dad is EXTREMELY hairy, and I am naturally practically hairless on my chest and back.
