New study shows plucking hair out might be the solution to baldness

Baldness is something that most of us fight to prevent as we age, some of us try supplements or surgeries or just about anything that gives us hope. However, a new study suggests that the best possible solution to fight baldness is to pluck your hair out.

As painful as it may sound it just might the cheapest and quickest way to retain your hair. The study suggests that not only does the plucked hair grow back, but new ones start popping out around the old one.

However, this does not mean that you start plucking your hair in any order you see fit. The study was led by Cheng-Ming Chuong, from USC and was focused at the Quorom Sensing principle of stem cell research. The research was able to conclude that the plucking needs to be performed in a particular density pattern.

The results also showed that plucking just 200 strands generated 1200 new ones. However, there is no need to start plucking just yet, since the tests were conducted on lab mice, it is still to be seen whether the same effect would be observed in humans.

The study used mouse skin of different diameters and plucked the same number of strands in every sample. It was found that the best results obtained were in the skins with diameters of 3mm to 5mm, where plucking 200 hairs resulted in re-growth of 450-1300 hairs.

The higher the hair density, the lower was the re-generation. Additionally, decreasing the density further, by using skins of sizes larger than 6mm resulted in more loss than gain.

The study was also able to determine the cause for re-generation. It was observed that the inflammation created under the skin by the plucking, is responded to by a series of immune responses and chemical signaling. The intensity of the damage is what governed the outcome.

Mr. Chuong stated that his research could be used to find a cure for a kind of hair loss known as alopecia. This could possibly result in a translational value product as well.