# Can steroids make your head bigger? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2006, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737 "2006-05-22T12:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/1 "2006-05-22T12:58:39Z")
I don’t want a debate on steroids in baseball. I have my own opinions on who did or did not do what. One of the things that gets thrown out there regarding certain sluggers (ok, Bonds) is “look at how big his head is!” I have little doubt they can make your muscles bigger, and cause you to hit more home runs, but I doubt they can increase the size of your skull. Have any studies been done, or photographic evidence presented which suggests that they can actually make your head bigger? Speculation is invited as to how this thing might have started. Maybe it puffs up your face a bit? ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/2 "2006-05-22T13:08:15Z")
I don’t have any evidence but I think it does. Just take a look at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s head, or the guy who plays the brother on deathrow in the tv-show “Prison Break”. I have only seen those types of heads on body-builders that take steroids. Now it might be that people with heads like that are more predisposed to take steroids to make their body fit their head, but somehow I don’t think that’s very likely. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/3 "2006-05-22T13:13:42Z")
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) can make bone plates grow, leading users to have enlarged hands, feet, and I think head bones. I am not sure anabolic steroids have the same effect. I suspect Barry Bonds took HGH (WAG, and I have no evidence – but it is very popular among athletes/steroid users because it leads to lean muscle growth). ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/4 "2006-05-22T13:13:46Z")
I started a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=363685) on the subject a couple months ago. Have a look. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/5 "2006-05-22T13:16:17Z")
[http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/growth\_hormone/sample.html](http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/growth_hormone/sample.html) > [@](#): > > Excess GH can lead to acromegaly, marked not by bone lengthening but by bone thickening and widening. Although symptoms such as skin thickening, sweating, fatigue, headaches, and joint pain can be subtle at first, they can lead to enlarged hands and feet, enlarged facial bones, carpal tunnel syndrome, and abnormally enlarged internal organs. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/6 "2006-05-22T13:21:29Z")
If you want to see the effects of excess HGH, do a search for some recent photos of Ronnie Coleman. I’m not linking to anything; it’s better that way. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/7 "2006-05-22T13:22:27Z")
[http://espanol.geocities.com/bjarteaga2004/img/barry\_bonds.JPG](http://espanol.geocities.com/bjarteaga2004/img/barry_bonds.JPG) vs. > **[Home | Photo File](https://photofile.com/)** ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/8 "2006-05-22T16:47:29Z")
Cool. Between this and my intended test abuse, I can finally fulfill my life-long goals of turning into Bonk. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/9 "2006-05-22T17:54:27Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > Cool. Between this and my intended test abuse, I can finally fulfill my life-long goals of turning into Bonk. [Ken Caminiti](http://www.chron.com/content/news/photos/04/10/11/kcaminiti/photo1.html) Look at the progression over the years. You can’t really get a sense of the head growth, but just look at the difference in the facial structure. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/10 "2006-05-22T18:00:39Z")
> [@DxZero](#): > > … but just look at the difference in the facial structure. I don’t see any gross changes beyond what you would expect with age. Weight gain accounts for much of that. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/11 "2006-05-22T18:08:52Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > I don’t see any gross changes beyond what you would expect with age. Weight gain accounts for much of that. Except that was only over a period of about 5 years. I’ll try to find some immediate before and after photos. I don’t know that these do it enough justice. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/12 "2006-05-22T18:25:42Z")
> [@DxZero](#): > > Except that was only over a period of about 5 years. > > I’ll try to find some immediate before and after photos. I don’t know that these do it enough justice. [Caminiti in 1989](http://www.astroland.net/caminiti89lennox.jpg) [Caminiti in 1990](http://www.stu-man.com/90ud/122caminiti.jpg) [Caminiti in 1991](http://www.grandstandsports.com/images/14693.jpg) Versus [Caminiti in 1996](http://www.bodybuildingreviews.net/frontpages/caminiti3.jpg) [Caminiti in 1996 or 1997](http://photos.signonsandiego.com/gallery1.5/albums/cammy/bat_break.jpg) [Caminiti in 1998](http://cache.gettyimages.com/comp/327839.jpg?x=x&dasite=MS_GINS&ef=2&ev=1&dareq=E2399169AC85D6DED668817180942506E54FAB60F42A51F3) There’s was a lot more going on there than simple weight gain. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/13 "2006-05-22T18:39:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Can steroids make your head bigger? No, that’s _politics_ you’re thinking of. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/14 "2006-05-22T18:56:33Z")
I don’t see any huge differences in Caminiti, and he was an \*acknowledged \*steroid user, right? I’ve seen these before-and-after comparisons for Bonds and others, but to me it’s hard to separate out the effects of aging, plus some overall weight gain, plus different facial hair, etc. I never see a smoking gun, and it does seem to me that people are trying to read too much these pictures. I mean, would people think of Barry Bonds as a steroid user if he merely bulked up and hit a lot of home runs? I don’t think so – it’s the third-party evidence in his case that’s led to all the bad press. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-steroids-make-your-head-bigger/357737/15 "2006-05-22T18:58:21Z")
Supposedly [Cory Everson](http://www.coryeverson.com/index.cfm?pk=view&cd=PHOTO&cdid=302578&pid=302568&imid=215&pn=4) had facial plastic surgery to remove excess bone growth from her eyebrows, jaw and cheekbones.