What is the role of sebum in hair loss?
Sebum is a bit of a double edged sword in many ways. Too much sebum can block pores in the skin and lead to acne (which is why acne is more common in men) and with sebum comes an increased level of DHT which is essentially the most common cause of hair loss.
Sebum is the oily liquid covering the skin surface. Recently, a group of Japanese researcher reported a correlation between excessive sebum in the scalp and hair loss. Excessive sebum often accompanying thinning hair is attributed to an enlargement of the sebaceous gland. They believed excessive sebum causes a high level of 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and pore clogging, leading to malnutrition of the hair root and a shift into the resting (telogen) phase. Although this condition could be hereditary, they believe diet is a more likely cause. The researchers note that Japanese hair was thick and healthy, with a small gland and little scalp oil, until large amounts of animal fat crept into their diet after WWII. This change has led to a significant height increase in the Japanese population, but it has also resulted in more Japanese men losing hair. To some extent, their observation makes sense: problems with greasy hair have of
