Could a sniff of perfume help you to stave off baldness?

FORGET all those fancy potions in the hair care range at the local pharmacy. The answer to baldness might lie in the perfume section.

The scent of sandalwood, popular in many fragrances, could help preserve your hairline, according to research.

Scientists from the University of Manchester have discovered that some cells in hair follicles contain structures that allow them to react to scents.

When exposed to the chemicals in certain odours, these receptors trigger actions including hair growth.

In their research, the scientists applied a synthetic sandalwood odour to a sample of human scalp tissue.

The receptors in the tissue started producing growth promoting proteins and reduced cell death, which stimulated hair growth and prolonged the growing cycle of the hair.

The discovery gives hope to thousands of men with thinning hair and could lead the way to a new generation of hair loss therapies based around aroma. The team behind the research believes new hair growth products could be available in a few years. The research was conducted by Professor of cutaneous medicine Ralf Paus, who runs skin and hair research centre, Monasterium Laboratories. The perfume in the study, Sandalore, is commonly used as a cheap alternative to natural sandalwood oil in many cosmetics.

Professor Paus said clinical application of the findings is ‘not far at all’.

He added: ‘A very small, short and preliminary clinical pilot study performed by an independent research organisation in 20 female volunteers with topical Sandalore has already suggested a reduction of daily hair loss.’

The findings are in journal Nature Communications.

‘Stimulated hair growth’