Relationship Between Estrogen, SHBG, and Testosterone

[dehoha]

I had a blood test two months ago for total T, DHEA, and Estradiol (main form of estrogen).
All three levels came normal, but all three of them were on the low end, especially estrogen.
Is there any clear cut answer on if estrogen is bad for hair loss?
I've seen so many different opinions on this subject and never understood what is good.

Some people say that estrogen is good for stopping hair loss because females are less likely to lose hair due to higher estrogen level.
Some people say that it's different for men and women. Men need more T while women need more E.
Some people say that estrogen that's bound to SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) functions similarly to DHT -> more hair loss.
Some people say balance between T level and E level is the key.

I am so confused which one is true. In my honest opinion, estrogen is needed even for men and balance seems to be the key.
Apparently, SHBG, estrogen, and T all interact with each other, and one dominance can severely impair the hormonal function.

Does anybody have insight or research that backs up what effect estrogen has on hair loss? How about other two components?
Your response would be greatly appreciated.

 

[recedingyt]

I did a fair amount of research into this a while back and it seems pretty clear to me that estrogen is beneficial to your hair, but it's not necessarily the most important factor, or even close to it.

http://www.follacure.com/t/estrogenB
http://www.4shared.com/web/preview/pdf/lINNJXv_

The relationship between the different hormones is the tricky part. I don't think higher levels of estrogen by itself will really help with hair loss. I had all of my levels checked before starting HRT (I am trans) and I was on the low end normal ranges of testosterone and the high end for estrogen (actually really quite high, not far from a cis female). I found this odd because I expected to find high levels of testosterone considering my extremely aggressive male pattern baldness combined with my natural ability to build muscle and retain it without much effort at all.

I wish there was more out there about this but I think it's a lot more complicated than we tend to believe.

 

[dehoha]

I did a fair amount of research into this a while back and it seems pretty clear to me that estrogen is beneficial to your hair, but it's not necessarily the most important factor, or even close to it.

http://www.follacure.com/t/estrogenB
http://www.4shared.com/web/preview/pdf/lINNJXv_

The relationship between the different hormones is the tricky part. I don't think higher levels of estrogen by itself will really help with hair loss. I had all of my levels checked before starting HRT (I am trans) and I was on the low end normal ranges of testosterone and the high end for estrogen (actually really quite high, not far from a cis female). I found this odd because I expected to find high levels of testosterone considering my extremely aggressive male pattern baldness combined with my natural ability to build muscle and retain it without much effort at all.

I wish there was more out there about this but I think it's a lot more complicated than we tend to believe.

Thanks for the response recedingyt. I was really hoping that hormone was the missing piece to hair loss puzzle and the answer wouldn't be complicated. The only reason why I suspected hormone balance to be the culprit was because my mother is going through severe hair loss after menopause. Also, I have some inexplicable thyroid issue that is affecting my hormone level. Unfortunately, hormone seems to be the only one part of the puzzle, not the final answer.

 

[diablodh]

There is a relation between hormone levels and ratios of T/E and hair loss.
There are two important conversions of Testosterone in male body to DHT and to Estrogen.
The most important part is to keep Testosterone estrogen ratio in range of 30-40 and estrogen levels in range of 20-30.
Estrogen range is 7-64
Testosterone range 270-1100
Assuming your estrogen is in range of 20-30 than you need min 600-900 testosterone. If your estrogen is above 50 your body could not produce enough Testosterone to keep the balance. Then it resorts to DHT it's natural way of controlling estrogen levels.

 

[Nadester]

Just the fact that diablodh won't be able to post is a bliss to me
@recedingyt
Think the high estrogen could be contributing to your hairloss??

 

[Norwood-null-by-2021]

There is a relation between hormone levels and ratios of T/E and hair loss.
There are two important conversions of Testosterone in male body to DHT and to Estrogen.
The most important part is to keep Testosterone estrogen ratio in range of 30-40 and estrogen levels in range of 20-30.
Estrogen range is 7-64
Testosterone range 270-1100
Assuming your estrogen is in range of 20-30 than you need min 600-900 testosterone. If your estrogen is above 50 your body could not produce enough Testosterone to keep the balance. Then it resorts to DHT it's natural way of controlling estrogen levels.

Objection! It looks like estrogen is very good for hair.
The more estrogen and the less testosterone, the better for your hair.
Transgender regimes do just that and it works.
Accordingly, one cannot assume that a certain ratio of T to E2 is required.

Low serum estradiol levels in subjects with arterial calcification - PubMed

The relationship between arterial calcification and serum estradiol levels was studied in 72 postmenopausal female and 59 male subjects. In both sexes, subjects with iliac artery calcification had rather lower serum estradiol levels (8.4 +/- 1.4 pg/ml in the females, and 19.2 +/- 2.5 pg/ml in...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov