For centuries, mankind—particularly the “man” part of the word—has been fighting a losing battle against hair loss. Well, it seems like the tide has turned.
Several advances in hair regrowth technologies are ensuring that anyone with a thinning hairline can slow down, stop, or fully replace missing hair using a variety of treatments like minoxidil and finasteride or Turkish hair replacement treatments.
Now we get word that scientists at National Taiwan University have discovered that the secret to hair growth might be hiding in our fat. Specifically, the fat cells surrounding our hair follicles might hold the key to reawakening dormant hair.
The research, published in Cell Metabolism, is built on a weird fact: when skin gets injured or irritated, hair sometimes grows back thicker. That’s been documented for years, both in animals and in rare human cases of hypertrichosis, aka “werewolf syndrome.” The Taiwanese team wanted to know why.
Could Fat Cells Be the Key to Fast Hair Regrowth?
They found that, when skin is damaged, the immune system sends in the body’s cleanup crew, macrophages, to deal with the problem. Those macrophages then tell nearby fat cells (adipocytes) to start releasing fatty acids.
These fatty acids are then absorbed by dormant hair stem cells, which interpret the influx as a wake-up call. Within about 20 days, the shaved and chemically irritated mice were sporting fresh coats of fur.
See if they could skip the whole thing about entering anybody, the researchers tried applying a serum containing the same fatty acids directly to the Misys skin. Turns out it works just as well, triggering hair growth without the need for burns or chemical irritants. The regrown hair looked healthy and grew back quickly, at least in mice.
Researchers around the world conduct lab tests on mice because, even though we look wildly different, humans and mice share many genetic and physiological similarities. That said, the human scalp is a different beast.
Hair follicles go through growth and rest cycles individually, meaning bald spots are a patchwork of follicles that may or may not still be listening for signals. The new method only works on follicles in a resting but still-alive state. Dead follicles are still dead.
Still, the implications are enormous. If these fatty acids can be harnessed safely in humans, it could lead to a topical, non-invasive treatment for hair loss that eschews the need for pills, transplants, and snake-oil serums created by hucksters trying to prey on your desperation.
The researchers are now shifting into the clinical trial phase to find out whether the same biochemical magic can happen on human heads.
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