Has L'Oréal Discovered the Ultimate Solution to Hair Loss?
L'Oréal is breaking new ground in the worlds of beauty and tech with its latest announcement: a research partnership with biotech company Poietis to develop technology that will 3-D print hair follicles in vitro. This could assist not only in the development of future products, but also give more insight into hair biology as a whole.
Scientists behind the project call follicles, of which there are 150,000 on the human scalp, one of the most complex organs in the human body. Poietis has already developed laser-assisted bioprinting technology that produces biological tissue, like cartilage, by using tiny droplets of "bio ink" made of cells. "The combination of this exclusive technology with L'Oréal's unique expertise in hair biology could make it possible to create a functional follicle capable of producing hair-that is the ambition of L'Oréal and Poietis," the press release states.
Aside from producing hair for testing products, the hair follicles L'Oréal creates may assist with research into hair loss, hair aging, and hair growth. The follicles even have the potential to be implanted to reverse hair loss, according to a Jose Cotovio, director in L'Oréal's research and innovation division.
Learn more about this fascinating project and the science behind bioprinting in the video below:
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