A recent study published last December in the journal of sciences from the United States revealed that the best way to avoid baldness is to prevent hair loss in the first place. This may seem contradictory however, the major discovery is a very thin, previously unknown muscle that surrounds the hair follicles and is called the dermal sheath.
In the life cycle of each human hair, is a new capillary rod is created by the cells called the dermal papilla. These specialized cells start at the base of the growing hair follicles but move slowly upwards to the stem cells at the end of the follicle.
“These stem cells receive signals from nearby dermal papilla cells to start the next phase of growth and create a new hair shaft, while the previous hair shaft is lost,” the researchers said in a press release. However, this link between cells is sometimes broken, which could play a role in hair loss. One question that has long puzzled researchers is “how cells from the dermal papilla go back to stem cells?”
By working with mice, “we found an answer to how it works by discovering that the dermal sheath surrounding the growing hair follicles is actually a smooth muscle, the function of which is to contract and push the hair shaft and pulling the dermal papillae, in addition to potentially stopping the hair growth cycle before its ‘destruction’ phase, tweaking the skin sheath could also prevent the hair follicle from becoming dormant. This is important because the hair follicles dormant cannot be restored; therefore, I cannot regenerate hair, “said Dr. Michael Rendl, Associate Director of the Black Family Stem Cell Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York.
It happens quite naturally, but when it does happen, baldness often starts to set in, according to Rendl, this new understanding of how the skin sheath works could refocus research on hair loss.
According to Dr. Rendl, blocking the contraction and stopping the destruction phase of the cycle has the potential to keep the existing hair shaft that is otherwise lost during the production of a new stem.
For experts Starks, a clinic specializing in hair services, this could mean that men may one day have a treatment that simply allows them to maintain the hair they have now, instead of losing it gradually.
Thanks for viewing this post. Starks currently provides age management solutions in clinics located in France, Greece and Italy. Please click below to read this article in one of these languages.
- French: Des nouvelles découvertes sur la calvitie
- Greek: Nέες ανακαλύψεις για τη φαλάκρα
- Italian: Le nuove scoperte sulla calvizie
