Cure for gray hair on the horizon, scientists show in a new study
A new study in the US claims to have found a way to reverse graying hair.
Just in time for baby boomers entering their twilight years, scientists have found out how to reverse graying hair.
Scientists discovered that going gray is due to a build up of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle.
This causes the hair to bleach itself beginning from the inside outwards.
It is a process that scientists term 'massive epidermal oxidative stress.'
Now researchers say that this oxidative stress can be reversed with an antioxidant cocktail that allows for repigmentation of the hair follicle.
The report describes the treatment as a 'sunlight-activated compound made into a 'modified pseudocatalase.'
More from GlobalPost: Dragon King dinosaur fossils found in northwest China declared a new species
Doctors stumbled upon the marvel treatment while investigating a totally separate condition: vitiligo, which causes de-pigmentation of sections of skin.
Vitiligo is the disease singer Michael Jackson claimed made his skin light and blotchy.
The study used a drug called pseudocatalase that was activated with sunlight.
During the study, the researchers found that not only the pigment of the skin returned but also eyelashes.
"For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted to hide grey hair but now, for the first time, an actual treatment that gets to the root of the problem has been developed," said Gerald Weissman, FASEB Journal editor-in-chief, in a statement.
"While this is exciting news, what's even more exciting is that this also works for vitiligo."
The discovery was published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) journal.
The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?