Gravity Causes Baldness in Men

A researcher and plastic surgeon,Dr Emin Tuncay Ustuner,
in Ankara, Turkey, believes gravity pulls down the skin of
the scalp thus causing baldness.The vast majority of men
suffer from male pattern baldness and Dr Ustuner believes
his theory is ‘unparallelled’ in its ability to explain this type
of hair loss.

The answer, he says, is the weight of the scalp on the hair
follicles. In younger men, the scalp has sufficient fat tissue
under the skin, and it is ‘capable of keeping itself well-
hydrated,’ taking the pressure off the hair follicles. But as
a man ages, the skin and underlying fat become thinner,
and the pressure on the hair follicles increases.
Declining levels of the male $*x hormone testosterone
contribute to thinning of this fat, Dr Ustuner explained.
As the amount of cushioning fat decreases, the hair follicle
has to work harder against all the pressure – and needs
more of the hormone for normal growth. To respond to this,
a potent form of the male $*x hormone testosterone, called
dihydrotestosterone (DHT), builds up in the scalp.
The hair growth cycle accelerates in response to DHT, but
it’s not enough to overcome the increased pressure. Over
time, the hair follicle becomes smaller and smaller,
resulting in progressively increasing hair loss.
He believes that individual hair loss patterns are affected
by differences in the shape of the head, reflecting
variations in scalp pressure. The weight of the facial soft
tissues adds to the pressure at the front of the scalp,
contributing to hair loss there.
In contrast, the ears help resist the effects of gravity on the
scalp, lessening hair loss on the sides of the head.