BALD CURE NOT TO BE SNIFFED AT
‘Perfume makes hair grow’
SNIFFING women’s perfume could help balding blokes keep their hair.
Scientists from Manchester University say the smell of sandalwood, used in many fragrances, may be key in preserving receding hairlines.
They say some cells in follicles contain the ability to react to scents.
And when exposed to the chemicals in some odours, the receptors trigger hair growth.
Professor Ralf Paus, who runs skin and hair research centre, Monasterium Laboratories, conducted the research.
The perfume used in the study, Sandalore, is commonly used as a cheap alternative to natural sandalwood oil.
He said: “A very small, short and preliminary clinical pilot study performed by an independent research organisation in 20 female volunteers with topical Sandalore has found a reduction in daily hair loss.” During a series of tests the boffins applied sandalwood to a sample of human scalp tissue which started producing proteins, reducing cell death and stimulated growth.
The find will give hope to millions of fellas with thinning hair and could spark a renaissance in hair loss therapies based entirely around the nose.
The team believes new products to help follically-challenged people could hit the shops within a couple of years.
The findings, published in Journal Nature Communications, reads: “Collectively, these data show that the growth…and…production of a dynamic human (mini-) organ, i.e., scalp, underlies an OR-dependent chemosensory control.
“Thus, humans can ‘smell’ in the sense that they recruit the evolutionarily oldest and largest of all receptor families for regulating key organ functions.”