Hair and Hormones
Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:43 am
I remember reading, some time ago, a short article describing how doctors had studied "war eunuchs" who had lost their testes as a result of injuries in World War I. Apparently, this was the first war in which significant numbers of soldiers survived after their organs were shot off or blown off, or had to be removed because of significant damage to them. Anyway, it was mentioned in the article that the individuals who had lost their gonads, typically experienced a change in the distribution of pubic hair. After the testes were gone, the pubic hair had a "delta" distribution, similar to that of an adult woman, rather than the irregularly rounded distribution typical of men.
This raises some interesting questions, if it's an accurate observation, since the shape of the distribution of pubic hair can be measured and quantified, to some extent, while other physical effects of orchiectomy tend to be more difficult to analyze in an objective way (the increase in subcutaneous fat and change in penis size, possibly being exceptions.) One question which would be interesting to investigate, is whether, if there is indeed a change in distribution of pubic hair as the level of hormones in the body changes, that change is the sort of thing which develops gradually--or if some threshhold level is reached, and then the change in distribution occurs rapidly. That wouldn't necessarily indicate that a similar "threshhold level" might apply to other physical and psychological changes which occur with changes in hormone levels, but it would suggest a possibility of that kind. Of course, the development of a "delta shape" probably comes about because of the effects of estrogen, so perhaps someone's natural level of that hormone would affect how and when a change of pubic hair distribution might occur. I'm assuming that someone who is reducing his testosterone level with androcur or other pharmaceuticals, would also experience a change in pubic hair distribution--and, since people do experiment with different hormone levels when they're using drugs of that kind, perhaps someone has noticed how the distribution of pubic hair changes, with different dosages.
There are of course other differences in hair distribution between men and women--there are typical differences in the hairline from the temples to the top of the forehead, between the two sexes. I would guess that, in eunuchs who had their orchiectomies before puberty, the hairline would tend to be similar to that of a woman. But has anyone who had an orchiectomy after puberty, experienced a similar change? The difference is subtle, and perhaps might not be noticed except by comparing before and after photographs. Or perhaps the hairline is something which is set at puberty, and isn't changed by hormonal factors afterward--except that it recedes in most men and some women.
Although it isn't mentioned in the FAQs on this website, I think I've read in some of the posts here, that some people have noticed a difference in the characteristics of individual hair strands on different parts of the body, in the period after orchiectomy. Is this a typical effect of hormonal changes, or does it occur for some and not for others?
I would suspect that other glands besides the testes and ovaries affect the character of hair growth on the body, but I can't remember reading anything about that.
This raises some interesting questions, if it's an accurate observation, since the shape of the distribution of pubic hair can be measured and quantified, to some extent, while other physical effects of orchiectomy tend to be more difficult to analyze in an objective way (the increase in subcutaneous fat and change in penis size, possibly being exceptions.) One question which would be interesting to investigate, is whether, if there is indeed a change in distribution of pubic hair as the level of hormones in the body changes, that change is the sort of thing which develops gradually--or if some threshhold level is reached, and then the change in distribution occurs rapidly. That wouldn't necessarily indicate that a similar "threshhold level" might apply to other physical and psychological changes which occur with changes in hormone levels, but it would suggest a possibility of that kind. Of course, the development of a "delta shape" probably comes about because of the effects of estrogen, so perhaps someone's natural level of that hormone would affect how and when a change of pubic hair distribution might occur. I'm assuming that someone who is reducing his testosterone level with androcur or other pharmaceuticals, would also experience a change in pubic hair distribution--and, since people do experiment with different hormone levels when they're using drugs of that kind, perhaps someone has noticed how the distribution of pubic hair changes, with different dosages.
There are of course other differences in hair distribution between men and women--there are typical differences in the hairline from the temples to the top of the forehead, between the two sexes. I would guess that, in eunuchs who had their orchiectomies before puberty, the hairline would tend to be similar to that of a woman. But has anyone who had an orchiectomy after puberty, experienced a similar change? The difference is subtle, and perhaps might not be noticed except by comparing before and after photographs. Or perhaps the hairline is something which is set at puberty, and isn't changed by hormonal factors afterward--except that it recedes in most men and some women.
Although it isn't mentioned in the FAQs on this website, I think I've read in some of the posts here, that some people have noticed a difference in the characteristics of individual hair strands on different parts of the body, in the period after orchiectomy. Is this a typical effect of hormonal changes, or does it occur for some and not for others?
I would suspect that other glands besides the testes and ovaries affect the character of hair growth on the body, but I can't remember reading anything about that.
