Role of Dehydroepiandrosterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate for the Maintenance of Axillary Hair in Women

    January 1993 in “ Hormone and Metabolic Research ”
    Fujiki Ishihara, Masaki Komatsu, Takashi Yamada, Toru Aizawa, Kenichiro Ichikawa, Nobuyuki Takasu, Ichiro Komiya
    TLDR DHEA and DHEA-S help maintain underarm hair in older women.
    The study investigated the relationship between sex hormones and axillary hair in 177 normal women aged 16 to 76 years. It found that while both menstrual cycles and axillary hair were present in women under 50, the presence of axillary hair decreased with age, with 36% and 25% of women in their 70s and 80s, respectively, having axillary hair. Serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) were significantly higher in women with axillary hair after age 50, suggesting that these weak adrenal androgens, rather than testosterone, were important for maintaining axillary hair in older women.
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