Can plucking hairs stimulate new hair growth?

Conclusion This study showed that hair regeneration in mice depends on the density at which hairs are removed. The researchers describe a sense and response mechanism working around a threshold. If hair removal, specifically plucking, was below this threshold, there was no biological response to repair and regrow the hair, and the mice remained bald. But once the plucking threshold was crossed, the plucked hair regrew – and often more hair regrew than was there originally. The main limitation with this research is it did not involve humans, so we don't know whether the same thing would happen in people. It might actually be unlikely. For example, people with trichotillomania, a condition where they impulsively pull out their hair, end up with patches of hair loss and balding that does not regrow. There may be specific stress-related reasons why this is the case, but it is a reminder not to take these mouse results at face value. It is certainly too early to advise hair plucking as a cure for baldness, as the Daily Mail's headline suggests. That may do more harm than good. The "cure for baldness" headline is also misguided, as the study was about hair regeneration after recent plucking. The findings are less relevant to those with longer-term hair loss, either in mice or people. Philip Murray of Dundee University, one of the authors of the study, summed this up in The Guardian when he said: "It would be a bit of a leap of faith to expect this to work in b...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics/stem cells Medical practice Source Type: news