Is Facial Hair A Sign Of Poor Health?

[Gadsie]

Many people think of beards as "high testosterone" "strong" etc., and my common sense always thought the same, but my day to day observations are actually quite different. Guys with a lot of beard growth often have bad skin/generally look unhealthy. Not to mention strong beard growth and balding often go hand in hand. Beardless guys (who have very little growth of facial hair) often look younger ("duh", no but apart from the fact they don't have a beard, everything else about them looks younger and healthier.


I myself have quite a lot of beard growth at a young age (19 now, started at like 16), and I also look older than my age, even shaven (although since peating people estimate my age lower and lower). I also have hair on my chest when I don't shave, and this is also an area where I often have a little bit of acne or irritation, strengthening my believe that body hair is a sign of poort health.

Of course this is purely anecdotal, but I still believe this may be true. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[TheHound]

been "peating" for over two years now and my beard has only gotten thicker. skin has improved a lot too

I started with receding and thinning hair which seems to have stopped and texture is quite a bit better now so I'm not sure

 

[DaveFoster]

Body hair is probably a sign of poor health.

 

[Gadsie]

Body hair is probably a sign of poor health.

Why do you think so?

 

[DaveFoster]

Why do you think so?

Stress can cause growth of body hair and loss of hair on the head. I find I get increased hair growth on my arms when I'm stressed.

 

[member 2106]

Body hair is probably a sign of poor health.

Then I'm f****ed.

 

[Gadsie]

Then I'm f****ed.

It's just an idea, but it just looks like it. A lot of completely bald guys (if they're under say 35), have a sickly pale look and very dark, kinda gross looking hair all over their body.

 

[Amazoniac]

Body Hair (or Lack Thereof) In Males

 

[Mufasa]

Ray Peat doesn't seem to have much facial hair, but it makes me think he is a bit low on testosterone, maybe has done a bit too much progesterone/pregnenolone?

I find my facial hair look healthy.
http://i.imgur.com/N1GE99F.png

 

[Ukall]

I also think the same. For instance, I am 5 years younger than my brother, and he has less beard and no body hair. Everybody says I am the oldest between us two. His skin remains the same, he seems to not age. In my case, my skin is way worse than his, my face looks heavier (older) and I'm younger chronologically.

It's just an idea, but it just looks like it. A lot of completely bald guys (if they're under say 35), have a sickly pale look and very dark, kinda gross looking hair all over their body.

I also find indeed interesting how mostly bald guys have tons of beard and body hair. However there are always still some exceptions though...

And those people that instead of loosing hair, they start to grow even more hair on places like the middle of the forehead, on the nose (on the pores outside), ears... What does this mean?

 

[Mufasa]

I also think the same. For instance, I am 5 years younger than my brother, and he has less beard and no body hair. Everybody says I am the oldest between us two. His skin remains the same, he seems to not age. In my case, my skin is way worse than his, my face looks heavier (older) and I'm younger chronologically.

I also find indeed interesting how mostly bald guys have tons of beard and body hair. However there are always still some exceptions though...

And those people that instead of loosing hair, they start to grow even more hair on places like the middle of the forehead, on the nose (on the pores outside), ears... What does this mean?

I think that those younger looking guys with little facial body hair, justin bieber kind of types, may have very high progesterone naturally (or for whatever reason). Progesterone is very protective. I think it also make you act and look more feminine.

 

[Ukall]

I think it also make you act and look more feminine.

Ahah, Justin Bieber is indeed a good example.
People with darker skin also tend to have less body hair overall. More progesterone too? Or it is indeed their genetics that made them like this (having more progesterone?) on a evolutionary perspective?


@Mufasa And do you have any clue what is going on in these people?
"And those people that instead of loosing hair, they start to grow even more hair on places like the middle of the forehead, on the nose (on the pores outside), ears... What does this mean?"

 

[member 2106]

Feel free to use me as observational fodder. I'm 29, much hairier than average (including facial hair), although the hair on my head is slowly thinning, and I've had a litany of health problems, including anxiety, although I'm far from being terribly unhealthy - yet. I'm in naturally good shape, and have quite a strong constitution. A bit like my dad really, who looks good for his age, and seems to be in decent health, despite being mostly bald on top.

 

[Brian]

I have very thick hair on my head, legs, and forearms no matter my state of health throughout my life. The hair on my head seems to be very resilient to stress even when the rest of my body internally was a mess. Not much hair on my torso. I tend to think these are ancestral adaptations to cold. Genetic, epigenetic, something else?

I don't have a thick beard, which I attribute to not having much DHT throughout teenage years. My weak beard has always made me look a bit younger than I am. I think I may have had some copper dysregulation and/or zinc deficiency during those years keeping dht production lower. Also some vitamin d deficiency and being mostly sedentary.

Being a male without much dht is not great, but not having much progesterone is probably equally bad if not worse for wellbeing. Both are worth optimizing.

 

[tca300]

My skin is great, and I feel great. Male hormones cause facial hair, I dont understand the confusion in that. Many men who are bald but have beards/look unhealthy because high estrogen can over stimulate the adreanals to pump out large quantities of androgens, when ideally their thyroid should have been behind androgen synthesis, which is why elderly women tend to start to grow facial hair. Also how can you judge Ray as to how much facial hair he has, when he shaves???? This thread is really bizarre.

 

[Tenacity]

ITT people who've never heard of razors.

 

[Gadsie]

ITT people who've never heard of razors.

That makes observation difficult ofcourse. But 100% of the most handsome guys I know simply have no beard growth. And a lot of the ugly, prematurely aged guys I know have very fast beard and body hair growth.

 

[Tenacity]

That makes observation difficult ofcourse. But 100% of the most handsome guys I know simply have no beard growth. And a lot of the ugly, prematurely aged guys I know have very fast beard and body hair growth.

I don't really buy that. Essentially what you're saying is that there is a positive correlation between health, attractiveness, good head hair and slow beard growth simultaneously, and I'm struggling to see the link there.

There are also plenty of attractive men with beards and a full head of hair.

 

[Mufasa]

That makes observation difficult ofcourse. But 100% of the most handsome guys I know simply have no beard growth. And a lot of the ugly, prematurely aged guys I know have very fast beard and body hair growth.

What you find attractive is of course really subjective. But I know for a fact that many girls and gays love full beards.

 

[Diokine]

Under the influence of testosterone, males will take more chances and generally expend more energy towards development of the environment and acquisition of resources. Many times this involves fighting and recovery from injury. This frame can be applied to cellular physiology - cells under the influence of androgens will work towards the higher goal of supporting these endeavors. They will "grow" at the expense of the most efficient energetic framework, but they will be very adapted towards high performance. Without some kind of balance, this could be ultimately a fatal adaptation. Estrogen is the balance, and works to "throttle" the cell. Primitively that is the mechanism of estrogen, to prevent the excessive chemical reduction that occurs when a cell is excited. It is a protective measure and we could not survive as organisms without it. So a male with a lot of testosterone will require the action of estrogen to balance it. The environment created by a lot of androgens, with the balance of estrogen, will encourage the growth of body hair - and hair is a protective adaptation. It protects against cold, mechanical injury, etc. And so I think that hair represents a certain robustness in a male - he ultimately will be harder to kill, and that is a very attractive trait.