Cure For Baldness: Frying Oil Chemical Could Regrow Hair, Scientists Say

The secret to addressing hair loss might have been hiding in the frying oil at fast food restaurants all along. A new study published in the scientific journal Biomaterials found that hair follicle germs can be regenerated through the use of oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane, a chemical found in cooking oil.

Researchers tested the use of the oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane in mice. The researchers created a combination of mouse and human cells in a suspension and added microwells. Then over the course of three days the researchers, with Yokohama National University, let the cells sit in the suspension where they self-sorted, according to the study.

After those three days, there were 500 follicles ready for transplant formed in a microwell-array chip with the oxygen-permeable silicone.

“The integrity of the oxygen supply through the bottom of the silicone chip was crucial,” said the study.

That oxygen supply helped the hair follicle germs and consequently the hair shaft generation. The researchers then transplanted the hair follicles onto the backs of bald mice where the hairs that had grown in the microwell-array then took to the live skin of the mice.

"We used oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane (PDMS) at the bottom of the culture vessel, and it worked very well," one of the study’s authors, Junji Fukuda, said in a release.

The technique could possibly be used in hair loss cases in humans in the future and shows promise for those who suffer from alopecia. The fact that this study allowed the researchers to create so many follicle growths at once is what really sets it apart and makes it a promising therapy for the future.