Hair follicle transplantation may eliminate scars and achieve the same level of healthy skin

China Science and Technology News Network, January 10 (Qin Chuan) Scars are caused by skin lesions left behind by trauma or surgical incisions, which damage the skin tissue and change the skin structure, which may cause the hair follicles to rupture and make it difficult for hair to grow. Very serious scars are composed of hyperplastic tissue, which has no hair follicles and therefore will not grow hair.

Now new research shows that when hair follicles are transplanted into this scar tissue, the tissue changes to become more like uninjured skin. Previous studies have shown that skin with lots of hair follicles heals faster and with less scarring than skin without hair. In addition, hair follicles have been found to boost the healing process when transplanted into relatively fresh wound sites.

The researchers found that when normal hair follicles were transplanted onto scars, they not only continued to grow hair, but also triggered profound structural and genetic changes in the scars, making them develop towards healthy, uninjured skin. Not only did the skin at the scar become tougher, but the density of collagen fibers in the scar tissue decreased, making it softer and more elastic.

However, researchers say that transplanting hair follicles to scar locations other than the scalp is not particularly ideal, and scientists are now trying to better understand the mechanisms at work to reshape scars and rejuvenate them to restore the function of healthy skin.