How many times have you heard about miraculous hair growth treatments that turned out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors? It's like those clickbait headlines that promise the moon and deliver a pebble. This time, however, we might be looking at something different.
While studying how to speed up wound healing in mice, some researchers at theSheffield University and COMSATS University in Pakistan they noticed something strange: the hair around the lesions treated with a particular sugar was growing back faster than normal. One of those beautiful accidents in science that sometimes lead to revolutionary discoveries. Serendipity.
The sugar in question? Deoxyribose, the same one that makes up part of our DNA. And the findings suggest it may work as well as minoxidil, one of the few approved treatments for baldness.
When sugar is good for you
The claims of miracle hair growth treatments are constantly coming from every corner of the planet. These are not a collection of lies: they are all legitimate studies, and someone, sooner or later, will deliver. We are simply here, keeping watch, so when the final answer comes, you will have already seen it coming.
This study published Frontiers in Pharmacology deserves special attention. The researchers took male mice with testosterone-induced hair loss (similar to human androgenetic alopecia) and removed the fur from their backs. By applying a small dose of deoxyribose gel to the exposed skin daily, within a few weeks the fur showed “robust” regrowth, with individual hairs long and thick.
Deoxyribose gel was found to be so effective that it worked as well as Minoxidil for baldness. Photographs taken during the 20-day trial period show a clear effect: 80% to 90% hair regrowth in male-pattern baldness mice.
Hair Growth, What’s the Science Behind the “Sweet” Miracle?
Researchers aren’t yet sure why the deoxyribose gel stimulated longer, thicker hair growth in mice, but they did notice an increase in blood vessels and skin cells around the treated site.
The better the blood supply to the hair follicle, the larger its diameter and the greater the hair growth.
Sheila McNeil, a tissue engineer at the University of Sheffield, stresses:
Our research suggests that the answer to hair loss treatment may be as simple as using a naturally occurring sugar called deoxyribose to increase blood supply to hair follicles to encourage hair growth.
A promising alternative
Androgenetic alopecia affects up to 40% of the world's population, yet there are only two drugs available to treat this condition: minoxidil and finasteride (known as Propecia).
Finasteride can slow hair loss in 80-90% of male patients, but it must be taken continuously. It can also be associated with unwanted side effects, sometimes serious, such as erectile dysfunction, testicular or breast pain, reduced libido, and depression.
If deoxyribose gel proves effective in humans, it could be used to treat hair loss or even stimulate hair, eyelash, and eyebrow regrowth after chemotherapy.
I like this approach because it is simple and natural: using a molecule already present in our body to solve a widespread problem. A biodegradable and non-toxic gel based on deoxyribose. An elegant solution to a complex problem.
The research is still in its early stages, but the results are promising and warrant further investigation. A small, sweet step toward a potential solution for millions of people around the world.
