Decipher the mystery of curly hair, straight hair

Hair tools, curlers and hair dyes may soon be farewell to the fashion world, when French scientists find out what causes hair to become gray and why they are curly or straight.

Researchers at L'Oreal in Clichy, Paris discovered the difference between straight and curly hair at a depth of 4 millimeters below the scalp: hook-shaped hair if curly and straight with hair straight.

To find the truth of hair shape, the team led by Bruno Bernard, head of hair biology at L'Oreal, grew African-American curly hair and straight European hair in the laboratory. Cultured cysts reveal this important structural difference.

" The curl of African hair is not only in the body, but it actually starts right from the start. On the contrary, the straight hair of the hair is straight, " the researchers commented.

When scaling the scalp, the hair body simply keeps the shape of the hair root.

" A curly capsule will create curly hair ," Bernard concluded.

This finding could pave the way for revolutionary new drugs to control the "one-sided" shape. " We hope to straighten the African curly hair much easier without damaging the hair, or create a wavy line of straight hair in a smoother way ." Bernard said.

Bernard's team also found that the process of silvering depends on the gradual disappearance of the melanocyte pigment from the hair follicle - the pigment that gives the hair color. " When all the melanocytes are dissolved, the hair becomes completely white ," the team wrote.

They also note that melanocyte disappearance occurs only in people lacking TRP-2, an enzyme naturally present in skin melanocytes. " This protein seems to have the function of protecting cells, contributing to their survival ," Bernard said

Finally, the team hopes to be able to use drugs, or even shampoo, to restore the original color to those who are considered premature.