Do Native Americans Go Bald? Facts Explained


Native American go bald

Seeing a Native American with a full beard is rare, but not impossible. Even rarer is seeing a Native American that is bald. I personally have never seen a Native American without hair.

Do Native Americans go bald? Theoretically, it is hard for Native Americans to go bald. They have more copies of the androgen receptors, which causes baldness when DHT binds into them. More copies of androgen receptors mean less sensitivity to DHT. However, Native Americans can go bald from other causes of hair loss.

Read on to find out what makes it hard for Native Americans to suffer from baldness caused by testosterone or androgenic alopecia. If you want to learn more about whether Native Americans can grow a beard, read this post we wrote hereOpens in a new tab..

Native Americans and baldness

There are two most common types of baldness in men and women. These are known as male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness respectively, as discussed in this articleOpens in a new tab..

The two forms of baldness are caused by genes and the effect of an androgenic hormone called DHT.

According to this studyOpens in a new tab., male pattern baldness is the most common form of baldness amongst men, while based on this studyOpens in a new tab., about two-thirds of women normally experience hair loss after menopause.

Now that we have explained how serious baldness can be, we will take a look at why it is rare for Native Americans to go bald as compared to other ethnicities.

Reasons for Native Americans not going bald

Low levels DHT hormone

While doing research for our article, based on whether Native Americans can grow a beard, we did not find any research focused solely on that topic.

However, based on what causes beard growth, we were able to find research that helped us answer that question best way possible.

We will use the same knowledge to explain why, theoretically, it is rare to find Native Americans who go bald.

Based on this research published here, Native Americans share genetic ancestry with people from Eastern Asia. Fast forward, bearing in mind that we already know that baldness is caused by genes and DHT.

We did research to find out whether there is a correlation between the two factors among the Native Americans and East Asians.

Further researchOpens in a new tab. has shown that Eastern Asian men have the same testosterone levels as male Caucasians.

However, they have low levels of the 5-alpha reductase enzyme shown by this study published hereOpens in a new tab..

An enzyme that converts testosterone into its more potent form called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). A hormone that causes baldness by cutting off blood supply to the scalp hair follicles over time, leading to the reduced hair growth phase, thinning hair, and eventually hair loss.

How does this affect Native Americans you may ask. Since the two ethnicities share genetic ancestry, we can conclude that Native Americans have low levels of the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, hence low levels of the DHT hormone in their bodies, a hormone that causes baldness.

Low sensitivity of androgen receptors

East Asian men struggle to grow a full beard though not all of them. During our research, for reasons behind it, we found that these men tend to have more copies of the androgen receptor genes shown in this studyOpens in a new tab..

Well, what does this have to do with baldness?

First of all, androgen receptors are the sites where DHT binds to stimulate beard growth.

At the same time, when DHT binds to androgen receptors in your scalp, it causes hair loss (androgenic alopecia).

More copies of the androgen receptor gene translate to the low sensitivity of the receptors to DHT.

What this means is that these men have low levels of DHT levels in their body, and even better their genes are not responsive to DHT.

As mentioned earlier, since Native Americans and East Asians share the same genetic ancestry, we can also conclude the same reason that makes east Asian men less bald translates to the Native Americans.

While our article was based on available information, more research is needed to clearly support these claims.

However, through inter ethnicity marriages, you can find Native Americans who have bald heads. But it can be rare to find a 100% Native American who is bald.

Conclusion

Well, we have done our best to use the information available to explain why it is rare to see a Native American who is bald. This article did not in any way mean disrespecting the culture of anyone. We love and respect cultural diversity.

Ben

Hi, I'm Ben! When I embarked on my beard-growing journey, I had lots of questions. Now having successfully grown a beard, I launched this blog to share the answers I discovered through extensive research. Alongside beard tips, I also offer insights on maintaining and growing dreadlocks, as well as general advice on looking your best. I'm all about helping others look and feel great!

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