[Eli5] Why do people get bald on the back or front of their head rather than their face, chest or genitals?
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Male pattern baldness is linked to a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), as well as genetics.
The amount of DHT in your system affects both hair growth and hair loss. DHT is partly responsible for you starting to get more body hair and a beard during puberty.
Oddly enough more DHT in your system is damaging to the hair folics on the top of your head causing them to shrink and eventually stop producing hair all together.
But at the same time DHT stimulates hair growth on your chest, back, armpits, etc.
So the same hormone that makes you bald, also causes you to get hairier as you get older.
Exactly why we have 2 different kinds of hair follicles, and why the sensitive ones are mostly on the top of your head we don’t know.
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