Researchers: Plucking Of Hair Stimulates Regeneration Of Follicles And Hair Growth

Latest research has revealed that plucking hair out in a certain pattern can stimulate follicles and make thinning hair grow thick. The conclusion has been drawn based on an experiment performed on mice, in which researchers were able to stimulate new hair growth by plucking out specific hair.

The researchers believe that the disruption caused by hair plucking stimulated an immune response that affects the nearby hair follicles, which in turn become more proliferating. However, the proliferation is restricted to a certain period of time.

During the study, the researchers from the University of Southern California were able to regenerate 13,00 hairs by removing (plucking) 200 follicles from a 5 mm circular patch of skin in mice. However, when the researchers plucked the same number of hair follicles from a 6 mm area, none of the hair got regenerated. From the results, the researchers inferred that when the follicles were close enough in a smaller area, the “distress call” reached its threshold to receive an immune response.

Even though the researchers have been able to stimulate hair growth in mice by plucking out hair in a certain fashion, they are still not about how the technique can be used to treat baldness in humans. However, the team has high hopes from the research findings.

"It's a really nice piece of science. The idea of quorum sensing is smart. A lot of studies have produced hair, but it's too fine - it's baby hair, it's light-coloured and it just doesn't look right. But here we can infer they are adult hairs so that is something that is a step change,” said Professor Chris Mason from the University College London, reported the BBC.

The study has been published in the journal Cell.

To report a problem or to leave a feedback on the article, send an e-mail to emailtoguneet@gmail.com.