Baldness could soon be a thing of the past as researchers have discovered a way to use a person’s own cells to grow new hair.
While the new technique could potentially be used as an alternative to hair transplant or magic creams, the researchers from Durham University in the UK said it could also allow severe burns victims to produce new skin with hair.
The technique actually grows brand new follicles, instead of just transferring them from the back of your head to the front, as is the case with hair transplants.
Researchers grafted human dermal papillae cells to the backs of mice and found that the skin could grow new hair that grew for six weeks, but the researchers believe that the hair would continue to grow if introduced to a human scalp.
So how long before Patrick Stewart is staring in the next Just For Men advert? Well, according to Professor Colin Jahoda, of Durham University, “Theoretically, we could carry this all out tomorrow but there are safety regulations so clinical trials must go ahead first.
“On the cosmetic side, people are looking for re-growth of hair that’s the same shape, size, angle, and some of these issues may require engineering solutions,” he said.
“The skin replacement side is more likely to develop quicker, which would be a really big step.”
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