Talk about having it your way. A Japanese stem cell research team might have found a way to eliminate baldness. Where does the source of such an incredible potential scientific breakthrough take place you ask? Where did this miracle component come from? The Golden Arches. McDonalds. Specifically, an ingredient that is used in McDonald’s french fries.
“The key for the mass production of HFGs (hair follicle germs) was a choice of substrate materials for the culture vessel,” Professor Junji Fukuda was quoted from the recently released study. She continued, “We used oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane (PDMS) at the bottom of culture vessel, and it worked very well.”
Let’s break it down so Ronald McDonald could understand what she is saying. Scientists from Yokohama National University discovered a chemical called dimethylpolysiloxane, which can be used to mass produce hair follicles on mice. And get this, it’s the same silicone used to prevent McDonald’s fry oil from splashing.
The study reveals this method is successful in creating “hair follicle germs,” which help grow hair follicles. “This simple method is very robust and promising,” Fukuda says. “We hope this technique will improve human hair regenerative therapy to treat hair loss such as androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness). In fact, we have preliminary data that suggests human HFG formation using human keratinocytes and dermal papilla cells.”
Though the method has only been used in mice so far, the team feels the technique will be able to be used on humans with similarly impressive results.
However, it’s not recommended bald men run to their local Mickey D’s and stick their head in a basket of hot french fry oil in hopes of having John Stamos-style locks, though it is nice to know something positive could potentially come from those 490 calories of golden goodness in a large order of fries.
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