The DHT Pathway
The enzyme that turns testosterone into the hormone wrecking your hairline. Meet 5-alpha-reductase.
Grounded in the research on Dihydrotestosterone
What is DHT actually?
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is an androgen. Your body makes it from testosterone via the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, which strips a double bond off the steroid ring. That tiny tweak makes DHT roughly 3-5x more potent at the androgen receptor than testosterone itself. It binds tighter and dissociates slower, so it dominates wherever it shows up: prostate, skin, and scalp follicles.
So it's just stronger testosterone?
Functionally for hair and prostate, yes. DHT is the heavy hitter for 'developmental' androgen jobs: external genitalia in utero, prostate growth, body/facial hair, sebaceous glands. Testosterone handles muscle, voice, libido. 5-alpha-reductase has three isoenzyme types: type 1 (skin, sebaceous glands), type 2 (prostate, hair follicles, genitals), type 3. Type 2 is the one men obsess over because it's the scalp one.