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While we don't want to take away from the idea that bald is beautiful, it's a common complaint for many men (and women) that losing their luscious locks isn't exactly a desired physical attribute.
Still, it works for the likes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Stanley Tucci, and we doubt Amazon's Jeff Bezos is that bothered because he's one of the richest men in the world.
For those who are still desperate to cling to those last few follicles, scientists in Taiwan have supposedly discovered a miracle serum that can regrow hair in just 20 days.
Even though there are hair transplants to bring back your barnet, and being bald is nothing to worry about when you can attend bald-only movie screenings, researchers at National Taiwan University have developed a rub-on serum that stimulates hair regrowth in mice.
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The serum apparently stimulated fat cells in the skin of the subject mice, which then caused hair follicles to regrow. Apparently containing fatty acids that don't irritate the skin, the serum has even been tested by the study author, Professor Sung–Jan Lin, who applied it to his legs.
Speaking to New Scientist, Lin explained: "I personally applied these fatty acids, dissolved in alcohol, on my thighs for three weeks and I found it promoted hair regrowth."
The team already knew that injury or irritation to the skin can promote excessive hair growth in that area, with the process being known as hypertrichosis. What's unique about the serum is that it’s said to create the same effect but without discomfort.
Humans have lost most of their hair as we've evolved over the years, although we've kept an 'important regenerative capacity', which could be surprisingly easy to reactivate.
In a paper that was published in Cell Metabolism, Lin and the team outline how they purposefully induced eczema on both male and female shaved mice, applying an irritant called sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).
10 to 11 days later, these areas started sprouting new hair follicles, and despite being just a fraction of a millimeter wide, it was a promising start.
On shaved control mice that didn't have eczema or the SDS applied, there was no regrowth. The irritant apparently causes immune cells to move into a layer of fat just beneath the skin. In turn, this signals fat cells to release fatty acids that are then absorbed by the stem cells of follicles.
As the paper states: "These results demonstrate that skin injury not only induces tissue inflammation but also stimulates hair regeneration."
The next step was to create fatty acid serums that didn't contain an irritant, moving the experiment to the likes of oleic acids and palmitoleic acids.
These were similarly effective in promoting regrowth, with the team now patenting the serum with plans to test different doses on the scalps of humans.
Hoping that it could soon be available to us members of the general public as an over-the-counter product, the team concluded: "Supported by our experimental results, demonstrating hair growth activation upon topical application of monounsaturated fatty acids, their natural existence and established safety profile suggest considerable potential for treating hair loss conditions in the future."
The only problem is, there's no word on what this 'miracle' serum could cost or when it would be available. We imagine it would cost a pretty penny to give people their flowing follicles back.
