Hair styling tools, curling techniques, and hair dyes may soon be a thing of the past in the fashion world, as French scientists have uncovered the reasons behind gray hair and why hair is curly or straight.
Researchers at L’Oreal in Clichy, Paris, have explored the differences between straight and curly hair at a depth of 4 millimeters beneath the scalp: hair follicles are hook-shaped for curly hair and straight for those with straight hair.
To uncover the truth about hair shape, a research team led by Bruno Bernard, head of hair biology at L’Oreal, cultured curly hair from African American individuals and straight hair from Europeans in the lab. The cultured hair follicles revealed this crucial structural difference.
“The curl phenomenon in African hair does not just occur along the shaft; it actually starts right at the root. Conversely, the root of straight hair is already straight,” the researchers commented.
Once hair emerges from the scalp, the shaft simply retains the shape of the hair follicle.
“A curly follicle will produce curly hair,” Bernard concluded.
This discovery could pave the way for revolutionary new treatments to control the shape of “a person’s crown.” “We hope to be able to straighten the tightly curled hair of African individuals much more easily without damaging the hair, or create gentle waves in straight hair,” Bernard said.
Bernard’s team also found that the graying of hair is dependent on the gradual disappearance of melanocyte pigment from hair follicles—the pigment that gives hair its color. “When all the melanocytes disappear, the hair turns completely white,” the research team wrote.
They also noted that the loss of melanocytes only occurs in individuals lacking TRP-2, an enzyme naturally present in melanocytes in the skin. “This protein seems to play a protective role for the cells, contributing to their survival,” Bernard stated.
Ultimately, the research team hopes to be able to use medication, or even shampoo, to restore the original color for those considered to be aging prematurely.
