Last updated on June 28, 2024
Question:
Hello Minister,
I am a 16-year-old male who is at stage 3.7, according to your calculator. I am quite late to puberty, having only noticed terminal pubic hair last year. However, according to many people I know, I have had a growth spurt in the past year. At early 15, I was 168 cm (5’6), and currently, I am 175 cm (5’9). Around the same time I had my growth spurt, I began to ejaculate semen. I saw on a medical website that boys typically begin to produce semen after their peak growth rate. Is this true?
However, I am mainly concerned about my voice. I would desperately like my voice to change as I often get made fun of for my childlike voice, which has not changed. I also have a very childlike figure with a baby face. I asked my father when his voice changed, and he said that he could not remember, but it was “around 17.” Will I follow the same pattern as him? Are there any patterns in growth that will determine when my voice will change?
Thank you!
Answer:
Noticeable pubic hair usually appears midway through stage 2. You then started your growth spurt about six months later, so I think the calculator gave you a slightly higher estimate than I would expect. Ejaculations can start anywhere from the middle of stage 2 to the middle of stage 4. Therefore, only about half of all boys start after their peak growth rate.
The voice changes during stage 4. You might notice a slight lowering in stage 3, but the most noticeable change will be in stage 4. Since you are roughly mid-stage 3, you will probably have to wait a year or so for your voice to change. While boys roughly follow the pattern of their fathers, each person has a different mixture of genes, so many things will be different.
Question:
Thank you for responding to my question!
I would just like to add that recently, my penis length has shot up. It went from 13 to 15 cm in the span of about a month or two. I also notice sparse, thin hairs about half a cm under my arms. Does this mean that my testosterone is increasing? How much testosterone do I need to develop male secondary sex characteristics like a deep voice, body hair, facial hair, etc? Or does it only matter if the body is exposed to testosterone for a certain amount of time? I don’t really understand.
Thank you!
Answer:
Your testosterone level is quite low during childhood, but it dramatically changes when you reach puberty. Puberty is defined as the point in time when your testosterone level shoots up. This happens about a year before you see any external signs of changes. The graph makes the changes look smooth, but the initial years of changing hormone levels bounce around as the body learns to regulate its testosterone production. After your growth finishes, your hormone level settles down and remains basically the same for the rest of your life.
You don’t have any control over this process. It is merely how your body was designed and how it operates.
The changes that take you from a boy’s body to a man’s body occur over an eight-year period. You are about halfway through the changes. See Development Stages for details.
Question:
Does this mean I’m moving closer to stage 4? If not, then how long do you estimate it will take? Also, why does testosterone only change your body when you’re developing, in comparison to when an adult male takes testosterone?
Sorry for all the questions. I’m just eager to know!
Thank you so much for your help so far.
Answer:
You are moving closer to stage 4 just as you are moving closer to being 20 years old. You can’t help but make progress because that is how the male body is designed.
As I mentioned before, I believe you received an estimate from the calculator that was too high. Since I can’t see you, I can’t give an accurate estimate. However, your description matches someone in early stage 3. Let’s assume you are at 3.2. Since each stage lasts about two years, you have 1.5 years before approaching stage 4.
Testosterone regulates your sex drive, bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass, and the production of red blood cells and sperm. It is intimately involved in almost everything that makes a male a male. “It is essential to the development of male growth and masculine characteristics” [Howard E. LeWine, M.D., “Testosterone: What it is and how it affects your health,” Harvard Health Publishing, 22 June 2023]. In reality, it doesn’t cause your development, but rather, your development causes your body to start producing testosterone, which shapes how your body develops.
The cause of development is regulated by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which are in the brain. The pituitary gland is the “master gland” that tells other glands what to do. The hypothalamus is an area of the brain that normally produces hormones that control your body temperature, heart rate, hunger, and mood. At puberty, the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus interact, causing hormones to be released that initiate growth. One of the first to respond is the testes, which begin to produce testosterone. Eventually, these growth hormones cease to be produced. However, your body continues to produce testosterone, which is essential for the male body to function properly.
Question:
I sincerely thank you for your answers – they have really helped!
I would like to add one final thing. A few weeks ago, I noticed some white hair (I’m unsure if it is white or clear, given that my skin is darker) showing up in the corners of my upper lips. However, one side has about six hairs, while the other only has about two. Is this normal?
Thanks.
Answer:
Your skin is covered with very fine, nearly transparent hairs called vellus hairs. These hairs transform into terminal hairs in various areas of the male body. Terminal hairs are thicker, longer, and have color. During the transformation, the vellus hairs get longer and thicker. Coloring doesn’t appear until a bit later. All the hairs do not transform at once. Therefore, what you are seeing is the beginning of a mustache forming. It will take a year or more for enough hairs to change to form a nice thick mustache, but it is starting, which is another indication that you are in early stage 3.