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L’Oreal Scientists Say Hair Thinning Caused by ‘Sleepy’ Follicles
by Dean Anderson
If a balding friend of yours claimed that his hair follicles were “just sleeping,” you’d probably suspect he was in the depths of denial. However, such a statement is in alignment with research recently presented by scientists to the European Hair Research Society in Barcelona. The team, led by Dr. Bruno Bernard, who holds the cheeky title of head of hair biology at L'Oreal, shared information suggesting that follicles can fall into an extended state of dormancy which could be responsible for some cases of hair thinning. Moreover, this discovery leaves the hair loss community hopeful that such follicles can be reawakened with the right treatment.
According to hair loss researchers, follicles exist in one of two stable states. The first is an active state, sometimes referred to as the “anagen phase,” where hair grows continually without interruption. The second state is called “telogen phase,” a period where strand production takes a well deserved rest. Both are healthy parts of the normal follicle cycle, two to three years of hair production followed by three months off. During the restive telogen phase scientists believe stem cells replenish the necessary hair-formation components and await a signal that tells them to resume their duty. The problem the L’Oreal team has identified arises when that restart signal takes longer to come and certain follicles get stuck in the sleep mode, resulting in thinner scalp coverage.
Speaking on the matter to the UK newspaper The Telegraph, Dr. Bruno sums up his approach to the problem, “If you can reduce this latency period, you will have more hair.” And the L’Oreal team’s first step was figuring out why follicles weren’t pulling out of dormancy.
The scalp has various stem cell reservoirs to repair follicles during their telogen phase. One of the main reservoirs exists near the surface of skin while the other lurks deeper below. This second stem cell depository, dubbed the CD34+ cells, is buried further from the skin’s surface because it requires hypoxia, or a low oxygen state. When oxygen reaches CD34+ cells they work less efficiently, and Dr. Bernard believes it’s that oxygenation which sabotages the start of a new anagen cycle.
The L’Oreal team is now hard at work developing a topical scalp treatment that can either repair the oxygen imbalance or trick hair follicles back into a production. "We have identified molecules that mimic the effect of hypoxia on the stem cells,” says Dr. Bernard. “It means we can push the empty hair follicles to make new hair fibers faster."
But while such a treatment might keep awaken follicles and delay many men need for restorative hair treatments, dormant follicles are just one factor of hair loss. Androgenic alopecia, the cause of male and female pattern baldness, involves a hormone called DMT which shrivels hair follicles. During the course of balding the hairs themselves become thinner and thinner until the follicle can no longer produce new strands. At that point it doesn’t matter what stage the follicles in, hair simply won’t grow.
All hope is not lost though. Even at late stages of balding hair transplant surgery can relocate healthy follicles to restore your natural hairline. If you’re interested in hair restoration by hair transplant or other means, contact us today! Our Hair Loss Specialists team is dedicated to scheduling free consultations for our users at our many nationwide hair loss clinics!
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