Countless people around the world deal with hair loss and baldness. But what if I told you that the secret to the long-sought-after cure for this problem lies in fast food?
That’s right, not only are McDonald’s fries delicious (and unhealthy!), they also might hold the key to a solution for hair loss.
Researchers at Yokohama National University, Japan, have found that dimethylpolysiloxane, which is a type of chemical found in McDonald’s fries, might just be able to prevent baldness altogether.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is used in the oil that McDonald’s puts in their deep fryer, and it is meant to prevent the hot oil from splashing.
So what does this all have to do with hair fall? When, this team of researchers attempted to use dimethylpolysiloxane to stimulate the growth of hair follicle germs, or HFG, in large quantities on mice.
And they succeeded – the use of oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane from a culture vessel’s bottom was transplanted onto lab rats.
This created 5,000 HFG and stimulated further hair growth after.
But you may be concerned as to why something like this is present in fries.
It’s not actually as surprising as one may think, as the chemical is used in countless different products, including shampoos, moisturizers, conditioners, and lotions.
Unfortunately, though, stuffing yourself with friends isn’t going to regrow your hair – you need a much higher concentration of dimethylpolysiloxane to achieve that goal since fries only contain a tiny amount.
Hair loss is experienced by approximately half of all American women and men by the time they turn 40 years old.
Contrary to popular belief, though, this isn’t because of genetics passed down from mothers.
Instead, modern doctors have found evidence that suggests patterns of baldness are inherited from different genes from many different family members, and that they can even be influenced by certain environmental factors.
For the most part, hair loss is hereditary. Scientifically known as alopecia, it is typically passed down from one generation to the next.
The most common kind is androgenetic alopecia, which is known as male pattern baldness. This issue affects a whopping 80% of all men as well as a surprisingly 50% of all women.
Men’s first symptoms of this condition will be receding hairlines that pull back from their temples to the middle of their heads.
Meanwhile, the first symptoms that women will see begin in the center of the head. Of course, other factors can also lead to hair loss.
Using a lot of chemicals and hair devices can damage the hair follicles or leave them scarred.
How much hair is normal to lose in a day?
Up to 100 strands are typically lost daily, though that number jumps to around 250 if you have just used shampoo in your hair.
There are approximately 10,000 hair strands on your hair, so we have no problems replenishing that.
But what if you are dealing with hair loss?
As of right now, tests with dimethylpolysiloxane have yet to be conducted for humans, but researchers are hoping to have similar results with them.
They consider it a promising method that could improve a variety of hair loss issues and boost regenerative therapy – so here’s hoping for the best!
