# Do men lose hair on lower legs as they age due to use of socks or natural aging? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890 "2010-01-06T11:44:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/22 "2012-01-13T15:03:23Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Then why are my palms so hairy? How’s your eyesight? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/23 "2012-01-13T15:29:47Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > My right butt cheek is bare, my left hairy. I keep my wallet on my right side. Dude. Just…dude. TMI. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/24 "2012-01-13T16:10:48Z")
For me the answer is strictly socks. Noticed it at least by my early 20s and have no health issues. ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/25 "2012-01-13T18:28:56Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > Anyplace that gets regular friction on it can have hair loss. > > My right butt cheek is bare, my left hairy. I keep my wallet on my right side. > > Otherwise, I’ll go with what the rest of the posters have said. Really? I have to go check my husband’s butt cheeks now…😉 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/26 "2012-01-13T18:39:10Z")
In my case it appears to be genetic. My father and one of my brothers have the same pattern of calves being hairy only on the inwards side. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/27 "2012-01-13T19:15:34Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > good lord, you just said that so cavalierly. > > it could be a sign of nothing…could be a sign that you’ve _already died._ Quoted to post out the username/content combo… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/28 "2012-01-13T19:49:15Z")
Do women who regularly wear pantihose/tights lose hair on their entire legs? Or is the hair/hosiery connection a strictly male phenomenon? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/29 "2012-01-13T20:38:09Z")
As long as we’re responding to statements made two years ago: > [@needscoffee](#): > > It has nothing to do with it. I noticed it on older guys many years ago, and had my husband switch to ankle socks when he was in his early 30’s. He’s worn _only_ ankle socks for 20 years now, but, sure enough, all the hair on his lower legs has gone away. It just coincidentally happens to occur at the level at which regular socks would be. **It’s also common for women’s leg hair to get sparser there, too, as well as everywhere else. You lose hair from where you do want it** and gain it where you don’t. Just because you wear calf socks or have diabetes it doesn’t mean those are the causes, any more than hair loss on your head being cause by wearing baseball caps. (My bolding) Do women WANT to have hairy ankles? ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/30 "2012-01-14T17:07:57Z")
I think hair loss on legs, with age, is due to hormone changes. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/31 "2012-01-15T03:37:26Z")
I am not 50+ but I am over 40 and wear socks all the time. I feel extremely uncomfortable when I don’t wear socks (my feet get cold, even in the summer). I’ve been a “socker” all my life. I have very hairy legs, with no noticable hair loss below the sock line. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/32 "2012-01-15T03:43:01Z")
Ever since I was on the swim team in HS I have had jumbo thighs and calfs. The back of my calfs have always rubbed against my pants and have no hair on them. Thighs have some hair but not as much as my arms. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/34 "2012-01-21T17:06:02Z")
I just checked (I am into sockless/shoeless computing) and while there may be less hair on my lower legs than in my youth, I retain moderately hairy feet and toes.\* This suggests I have decent lower extremity circulation even with the ravages of socks, or something like that. \*I come from a long line of hairy men. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/35 "2012-01-21T18:37:29Z")
One thing that no one has mentioned is a decrease in sex hormones. Low estrogen and testosterone will cause the lost of seconday sexual characteristics, such as pubic, axillary, and leg hair. Women lose mammary tissue as well. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/36 "2012-01-21T19:02:30Z")
My legs are quite hairy, right down to the sock line. My arms are quite hairy, right up to the shirt sleeve line. I’m sure it’s a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/37 "2012-01-21T21:37:45Z")
I thought it was from scratching. I seem to be doing much less the last few days having switched from Irish Spring bath soap to cheap Dollar General. Further reports later. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/38 "2012-01-22T14:59:07Z")
Any thoughts here on itchy lower legs? I’ve been seeking an itchy lower leg support group to no avail and feel cast adrift - and then here is this conversation, about socks (I’ve gone to ankle length) and hair loss (I’ve lost most of it in the sock zone including feet) and age (54) and circulation (whenever I am in a group thermal infrared photo, I’m the one with black hands). So, is itchy lower legs, mid-calf to ankles, a correlate of this hair loss??? ---
**Author:** ![Fanster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Fanster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fanster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/39 "2013-06-13T00:51:22Z")
I too started losing hair on my shins and calves at age 39. It started with intense itching on my shins. I basically scratched my hair off. It never grew back. At age 41, I suffered a mild heart attack, which was followed by open heart surgery… quadruple bypass. Losing hair on your lower legs is a sign of poor circulation and possible future heart disease. It can also be the onset of peripheral artery disease, or PAD, which also is related to poor circulation and heart disease. Anyone who loses their hair from the ankle up to midway to the knee on their shins or calves, or both, get it checked out. Hair that is pulled out by friction from socks or pants grows back. Hair that falls out from poor circulation does not grow back. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/40 "2013-06-13T02:32:10Z")
I used to have bare and shiny knees back in the 70s when I wore polyester pants. When I discovered the joy of cotton slacks the knee hair grew back. Also, always wearing cotton socks, too, and no hair loss where they cover the feet and ankles. For some men, the culprit is the type of material that can catch and pull hair. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/41 "2013-06-13T03:00:37Z")
Is there any Vitamin D component to Hair growth? Apart from the friction element on people who always wear long pants as opposed to shorts and the impact on the legs, there’s the bit that legs covered in long pants and feet covered in shoes get little to no sunlight or vitamin D. The question is raised because of some people I know who work mainly outside and wear a singlet all the time. Take the singlet off and the parts usually covered on the back are white and hairless and the parts usually open to the air are tanned and furry. ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890/42 "2013-06-13T06:38:10Z")
Cracking heels, enlarged sternum? Diabetes or MPS - just quessing > **[Mucopolysaccharidosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucopolysaccharidosis)** > > Mucopolysaccharidoses are a group of metabolic disorders caused by the absence or malfunctioning of lysosomal enzymes needed to break down molecules called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). These long chains of sugar carbohydrates occur within the cells that help build bone, cartilage, tendons, corneas, skin and connective tissue. GAGs (formerly called mucopolysaccharides) are also found in the fluids that lubricate joints. > Individuals with mucopolysaccharidosis either do not produce enough of one of t... Avoid sugar for a week and feel the difference. Your hair won’t grow back within a year though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-men-lose-hair-on-lower-legs-as-they-age-due-to-use-of-socks-or-natural-aging/523890.md?page=3)