Tastebuds in follicles could lead to new treatments for unwanted hair – experts

Tastebuds found in hair follicles could one day lead to new treatments for unwanted hair, experts have said.

Scientists said that adding a common sweetener to taste receptors in hair follicles appeared to prevent hair growth in laboratory tests.

There are “limited treatments” for people with excess hair on the NHS, and private care can be “costly” with “variable success”, hair experts said.

It is hoped that the new finding could one day lead to a new “drug-free” treatment for unwanted hair.

A new study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, examined taste receptors in hair follicles.

Tastebuds are most commonly associated with detecting flavours in the mouth, but these receptors also have other functions throughout the body – including helping to regulate the immune system, metabolism and reproduction.

Researchers found that human scalp hair follicles, the tiny “biofactories” that produce hair, have a fully functional bitter taste receptor called TAS2R4.

They found that this receptor can be stimulated with a natural sweetener called rebaudioside A (Reb A), which is extracted from the stevia rebaudiana plant – also known as the candyleaf plant.

This appeared to suppress the growth of human scalp hair follicles in laboratory conditions.

This occurred through a reduction in cell division in their hair follicle and the stimulation of a “potent growth factor known to stop hair growth”.

“Our study introduces an innovative drug-free strategy for how we may be able to suppress unwanted hair growth in the future,” the authors from Germany and the USA wrote.

Lead author of the study, Professor Ralf Paus of the University of Miami, said: “Despite the name, and their historical association with tastebuds, taste receptors crop up in unexpected places.

“These findings identify specific taste receptors in human hair follicles, demonstrate they are active, and that they can be triggered to control hair growth.”

Commenting on the study, hair expert Dr Leila Asfour, from the British Association of Dermatologists, said: “Hirsutism and hypertrichosis can be very challenging to treat, and people can experience significant stigma.

“There are limited treatments available on the NHS.

“Available treatments such as laser, electrolysis can be quite costly and multiple sessions are required with variable success, depending on patient characteristics.”

She added: “The discovery of new receptors, non-hormone related, in hair follicles is fascinating.

“With time, as we gain greater understanding of these receptors in hair follicles and their role in hair growth, this can provide the foundations for the development of new targeted – and as the authors describe it, ‘drug-free’ – treatments.”

Professor John McGrath, editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Dermatology, added: “We don’t know for sure that activating these taste receptors in hair follicles could reduce hair growth in people – but it’s the type of research that could one day lead to a new type of hair removal product.

“So far, the research has been conducted on donated human scalp skin from hair transplant and facelift patients – an important step will be to see if the findings can be repeated in clinical trials on humans rather than just isolated hair follicles.”