New research may be one step closer to solving the question of how to prevent graying of hair.
Whether you embrace your gray hair or prefer to mask it, new research draws on the science behind the visible signs of aging.
“Researchers have discovered that some stem cells have the unique ability to move between growth areas in hair follicles. However, as your hair ages, falls out, and grows back repeatedly, more stem cells get stuck in a compartment called the bulge of the hair follicle,” says family doctor Tatyana Zakharova specially for MedicForum.
These hairs cannot return to their original location where proteins can help them regenerate into pigment cells. Unfortunately, in this position, your hair loses its normal color, resulting in a silvery cast.
A new study looked at physically aged mouse hair, focusing on animal skin cells also found in humans, called stem cells. melanocyte cells or MsC.
Your hair color is determined by whether the non-functional but constantly replicating pools of McSCs inside your hair follicles receive the signal they need to produce the protein pigments responsible for giving your hair its color.
Scientists reveal what causes graying< br>
“The good news is that research has shown that McSCs are 'plastic' or adaptable, meaning that during normal hair growth they constantly move back and forth along the maturity axis, moving between compartments of the developing hair follicle.”
The problem occurs when they stop moving and get stuck in a stem cell compartment called the hair follicle bulge. Once stuck, McSCs remain in a bulge and do not retain their color.
The researchers explained that McSC adaptability is absent in other self-regenerating stem cells, such as those that make up the hair follicle itself, which are known to move in only one direction over a set time scale as they mature.
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MedicalForum has previously written about the benefits of bell pepper.
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