Study links 'stuck' stem cells to hair turning gray(phys.org)
phys.org
Study links 'stuck' stem cells to hair turning gray
https://phys.org/news/2023-04-links-stuck-stem-cells-hair.html
66 comments
There is a subreddit dedicated to hair loss and techniques. I think one of the highly rated posts discusses use of weekly dermarolling, massaging the scalp, in combination with the regular things like finasteride, minoxidil, and ketoconazole shampoo. Anyways, this isn't exactly science. I think one mode of action to explore is increased blood flow helping with hair growth.
We know massaging an area increases blood flow to that area, in turn promoting better cellular metabolic processes. Dermarolling seems to do this through inflicted trauma/irritation to said area. I know one of the actions of minoxidil is a vasodilator.
Checks out. Worst case you just have really clean hair and developed a new daily mindfulness technique.
We know massaging an area increases blood flow to that area, in turn promoting better cellular metabolic processes. Dermarolling seems to do this through inflicted trauma/irritation to said area. I know one of the actions of minoxidil is a vasodilator.
Checks out. Worst case you just have really clean hair and developed a new daily mindfulness technique.
Oh wow. My father went bald. As a teenager i didnt want that to happen so to my stupid teenage mind it made sense to vigorously massage my head when I washed my hair. It is still lush at 54.
Pretty sure it was just genetics, but i still do the same thing 40 years later and now I am afraid to stop.
Pretty sure it was just genetics, but i still do the same thing 40 years later and now I am afraid to stop.
Uncle didn't have any tips for a receding hairline by any chance?
In extreme corner cases estrogen seems to keep it from happening.
Finasteride.
Transplant hair from nose to head, perhaps?
I don't want _that much_ hair, jeez :-)
Hit the gym? Lol.
To increase testosterone and speed up the onset of baldness?
One rabbit hole to go into for this topic is Diindoylymethane a.k.a. DIM which is a Indole-3-carbinol but there are caveats that vary by person, dietary intake, environmental intakes, genetics, etc... It affects how much testosterone and estrogen are converted into their less potent forms but it's tricky because it would have to be measured in the blood serum first to avoid taking too much, otherwise the conversion inverts and/or other weird things start to happen.
I don't think working out increases testosterone
> I don't think working out increases testosterone
You think wrongly, they're definitely linked:
"Exercise: Resistance training increases testosterone levels acutely, however, in older men, that increase can be avoided by protein ingestion. Endurance training in men may lead to lower testosterone levels." [0]
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone#Regulation
You think wrongly, they're definitely linked:
"Exercise: Resistance training increases testosterone levels acutely, however, in older men, that increase can be avoided by protein ingestion. Endurance training in men may lead to lower testosterone levels." [0]
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone#Regulation
>however, in older men, that increase can be avoided by protein ingestion.
Why on earth would you want to avoid it? That's like saying weight loss could be avoided by eating lots of cake.
Why on earth would you want to avoid it? That's like saying weight loss could be avoided by eating lots of cake.
It's an interesting question, I'm not sure. This is mentioned under the Health Risks section though:
"In people who have undergone testosterone deprivation therapy, testosterone increases beyond the castrate level have been shown to increase the rate of spread of an existing prostate cancer."
So there's probably myriad scenarios where one needs to balance testosterone levels with maintaining physical activity/strength training.
"In people who have undergone testosterone deprivation therapy, testosterone increases beyond the castrate level have been shown to increase the rate of spread of an existing prostate cancer."
So there's probably myriad scenarios where one needs to balance testosterone levels with maintaining physical activity/strength training.
Hard to refute -- I use a pretty vigorous spin-brush-dryer on my hair every day for ~5 minutes, which only does the top and front. I just noticed recently that the sides have grown out beyond a few mm, and they are much grayer than the top.
Doesn’t everyone grey on the sides first?
The What I've Learned YouTube channel recently did a video on this! https://youtu.be/Yehk_h_Uj6k
maybe microvascular stimulation helps hair follicles lifecycle
It works even better if you rub your belly at the same time. Not a lot of people have that kind of coordination tho.
Wow! Thank you
Might want to look into zinc for these stuck stem cells:
Zinc Promotes Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation and Differentiation towards a Neuronal Fate https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5932442/
Quercetin/Zinc complex and stem cells: A new drug therapy to ameliorate glycometabolic control and pulmonary dysfunction in diabetes mellitus: Structural characterization and genetic studies https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
Zinc Promotes Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation and Differentiation towards a Neuronal Fate https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5932442/
Quercetin/Zinc complex and stem cells: A new drug therapy to ameliorate glycometabolic control and pulmonary dysfunction in diabetes mellitus: Structural characterization and genetic studies https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
For gray hair specifically, zinc might do more harm than good: low Copper levels are associated with gray hair and Zinc reduces Copper absorption to the point that it can make you Copper deficient.
Copper increases melanin and collagen production in the body.
Copper increases melanin and collagen production in the body.
Did any of the hyped anti-aging things pan out / show reproducible effect? Specifically the telomere research, blood transfusions, and extensive fasting?
Was low-calorie diet -> lower mortality ever proven when accounting for likely resulting lower muscle mass/fitness?
Was low-calorie diet -> lower mortality ever proven when accounting for likely resulting lower muscle mass/fitness?
Typically in mice. Testing in humans takes a very long time and has ethical concerns so if you wait until it gets "proven" to trust anything you'll be long dead already.
low calorie stuff is very difficult to get right. You are more likely to mess up and actually reduce your lifespan while also living worse quality of life (weaker, low energy, low endurance). No way around it, the body needs fuel to build cells and produce energy.
Eating normal and exercising regularly to maintain muscle mass will reduce chances of all cause mortality and delay morbidity for as long as possible, however you must also maintain creatine supplementation well into old age to support the muscles and brain. The effects of creatine on the brain are often understated but they are significant.
Eating normal and exercising regularly to maintain muscle mass will reduce chances of all cause mortality and delay morbidity for as long as possible, however you must also maintain creatine supplementation well into old age to support the muscles and brain. The effects of creatine on the brain are often understated but they are significant.
This 'stuck' notion tracks with my anecdata, as I once noticed one of my own hairs switch back from gray to colored. ... Alas, its comrades did not follow its lead.
Same. I've noticed a few times where a solid strand of my hair suddenly turned into a curious grey/white colour, with perhaps a bit of a reddish interval inbetween, then after some length turns back into the original colour...
And once it didn't turn all the way, but it got stuck on a curious reddish-yellow colour, then reverted.
And once it didn't turn all the way, but it got stuck on a curious reddish-yellow colour, then reverted.
> In the latest experiments in mice whose hair was physically aged by plucking and forced regrowth
...
edit:
The researchers in this case decided to pluck hairs from young mice repeatedly until it started growing in grey instead of just looking at grey hairs on older lab mice.
I think with animal research there needs to be a careful balance struck between the amount of pain/harm caused to the animal and the potential good that can come from the research. Like, in animal studies that are done to try to prevent future cancer deaths, purposefully inducing cancer in lab rats is defensible.
In this case, without looking at the research paper to get more details, it sounds like they basically tortured live lab mice without a defensible reason, due to the fact that alternative methods were available.
Their methodology also makes the results less useful for the thing they were trying to research. Instead of knowing that stem cells exist but get stuck in older mammals who go grey, we instead know that if you repeatedly pluck out your own hair while you're young and then you go grey where you plucked out your hair, it's likely due to stem cells getting stuck.
...
edit:
The researchers in this case decided to pluck hairs from young mice repeatedly until it started growing in grey instead of just looking at grey hairs on older lab mice.
I think with animal research there needs to be a careful balance struck between the amount of pain/harm caused to the animal and the potential good that can come from the research. Like, in animal studies that are done to try to prevent future cancer deaths, purposefully inducing cancer in lab rats is defensible.
In this case, without looking at the research paper to get more details, it sounds like they basically tortured live lab mice without a defensible reason, due to the fact that alternative methods were available.
Their methodology also makes the results less useful for the thing they were trying to research. Instead of knowing that stem cells exist but get stuck in older mammals who go grey, we instead know that if you repeatedly pluck out your own hair while you're young and then you go grey where you plucked out your hair, it's likely due to stem cells getting stuck.
Anybody knows a link between stem cell maturation and emotional shock ? a good 10% of my hair became white after some event. I'm very surprised about the overnight change and the fact that they're not replaced.
Yes, it has been studied too, e.g.:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-str...
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-str...
thanks a lot
When I was a kid our poodle got heartworms. They shaved the side of her and applied some type of salve there in addition to shots and/or pills. That spot on her stayed pretty much jet black while the rest of her turned grey until she died at 18.
This is according to Alan Turing's 1952 thesis, The Chemical Basis of Morphogensis: https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/chemical-basis-morphogenesis-19...
“Ito says the team has plans to investigate means of restoring motility of McSCs or of physically moving them back to their germ compartment, where they can produce pigment.”
Sharpen your machetes, tape up your baseball bat handles, time for the zombies.
Sharpen your machetes, tape up your baseball bat handles, time for the zombies.
Yes, but their hair will fantastically luxurious.
whitemary(8)
Once there was this kid who
Got into an accident and couldn't come to school
But when he finally came back
His hair had turned from black into bright white
He said that it was from when
The cars had smashed so hard
Got into an accident and couldn't come to school
But when he finally came back
His hair had turned from black into bright white
He said that it was from when
The cars had smashed so hard
When I was a teen I heard my dad say that my uncle (his older brother) would make a habit of advice that he liked, and then keep the habit forever. For example, a long time ago someone had advised him to massage his scalp daily for healthy hair. He was in his 70s at that point and had far less grey than my much younger dad.
So, around that time I started to vigorously massage my scalp every day while taking a shower. I spend about 15-20 seconds doing so.
My uncle passed away in his mid eighties with far less grey than is normal at that age.
I’m now approaching my mid fifties with only a handful of grey and keep on getting “you don’t look your age” comments.
It may be genes or it may be this practice.