In this article, recommended hair transplant surgeon Dr. Parsa Mohebi shares his research concerning the effects of wound healing on hair growth.
This patient explained a condition in which he noticed brand new hair which appeared to be growing out of a healing wound he had as a result of a biking injury. The patient found this discovery to be fascinating and wondered what scientific studies have recorded cases of this type, and how his predicament can be seen as a benefit to science.
When doing research on wound healing at Johns Hopkins University, our team did research on an animal model which revealed to us that wound healing can enhance the growth of hair. This result came as a shock when looking at different wound healing studies. It was noted there were gene therapy techniques which may have possibly affected the hair growth in the animals being studied.
Following our astonishing finding, a second set of experiments were designed and performed in response to the question, “What has been the effect of wound healing on the growth of hair”. We have tried to isolate the specific mechanism which caused the new hair to grow. It was obvious during those observations that, when skin is wounded, hair has the potential to grow thicker and faster in the wounded areas. Click image below for larger view.
Before we could publish our results a team from the University of Pennsylvania published an article in Nature in 2007, based on a study they had done on an animal model regarding wound healing and hair growth. This team was led by Dr. George Cotsarelis and the article explained how a piece of hair in mammals is like a “mini organ” which is believed to be gone permanently when removed. What was discovered in mice is, when some of them were wounded, as their wound was healing, stem cells formed around the healing area which created brand new hair follicles. This phenomenon has provoked many questions as to the possibilities of new hair growth through wound healing and stem cells.
When looking at the patient inquiry combined with the studies at both the University of Pennsylvania and our work at Johns Hopkins University, there is a possibility for new findings which can revolutionize the current understanding of hair regrowth and stem cells. These studies have never been duplicated in humans but, if the same mechanism which worked in the animal models works in humans, new and greater possibilities are in the near future.
The key for future study on this subject is to examine the different variables going into the case study. Every piece of the puzzle may contribute to the overall reasons for the new hair growth. In the end, there is a world of possibilities which may be closer to our reach than previously thought. Good experimentation and proper documentation may help this journey move along to greater depths of understanding and can benefit the world of hair restoration with better quality and more available options for the treatment of hair loss..
Click here to see the Nature article by Dr. Cotsarelis and team.
Dr. Parsa Mohebi
—-
David (TakingThePlunge) Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Restoration Forum and Social Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.
Get Proven Hair Loss Treatments at the Best Prices by visiting our new Online Hair Loss Product Store
Technorati Tags: hair transplant, hair growth, balding, hair restoration, hair regrowth, hair loss
I'm at thirty-one year old man with a Norwood 6 level of hair loss. I…
I'm a 31 year old male I have been losing hair for the past six…
I'm concerned that i'm going bald. My dad is 54 years old, and still has…
I'm a 30-year old male with a Norwood 4 hair loss pattern. I have been…
I'm twenty years old and already have aggressive hair loss. I'm imbetween a Norwood 5…
I'm interested in getting a hair transplant later this year, but I am a very…
View Comments
I used damp cloth with salt to abrade skin to remove a tattoo on left upper bicep years ago. Had no hairs prior. That bicep has dark/thick hairs growing from the site post healing. Other never abraded bicep still has no easily visible hairs.
For the science of it.
I had a motorcycle injury at 23 and compound fractured my tib/fib and was able to keep my leg. I ceased running for 25 years because of some problems with a broken pin in the rod. For the last 15 years I've been steadily putting on weight and for the last 6 years or so a good 25% of my shin near the incision is iron stained bruised, permanently. The area does not heal well and injures easily. The skin is fused to the bone near the break point, like if I push the calf area, it all moves up to that point and the skin bunches at that spot. Like grab your wrist and lightly twist, the skin moves. On my shin, that spot is immobile. So, I was told by my Doctor that I need to get moving as he prescribed some blood pressure medication for me. That was my wake up call.
So, I'm late 40's and have been running on a treadmill a few days a week for the last few months. I'm losing some weight and feeling better. The bruising is still there, but in the last week or 2, I've been noticing hair growing, not crazy, but men's leg hair type growth, right on most, if not all of the bruising. I do not have hairy legs at all for a guy, barely at all, but here it is, in a large patch, over what is generally a hairless part of my shin. My non-injured shin has no hair in that location and I've never had hair their prior. I mentioned the running because I think that running 3 miles as few days a week and losing some lbs. may be helping circulation in my legs and that maybe better blow flow is helping. Just wanted to add my two cents when I came across this article while googling to find out why new hair would be growing on my bruising.
I just had knee replacement surgery 6 weeks ago and have a 9inch scar on my knee into my thigh. There are very dark hairs growing rapidly alongside the scar. My other leg, in comparison has nothing, maybe a couple fine blonde hairs here and there.
Funny. I had something similar after a major back surgery . I had a bit of hair fuzz growing at my lower back that they shaved for surgery. It was narrow band across the whole back and pretty short. It's seven months post surgery and I have long straight hairs growing just out of the incision site. Probably 2 inches long along the 4 inch incision. . The rest of my back is pretty bare. They glued the top of the incision in case that could have something to do with it.
Had the same thing happen to me. Badly scrapped both knees a few months ago and now the scars have thick hair in and around them. I've been bald since my early 20's but I don't have it in my scrape my head to find out if it would be the miracle cure!
Hi all,
Im am an asian woman and never have to shave my legs. They are just hairless naturally. I survive a terrible bus accident without a scratch. However, out from the only bruise as big as the tip of a pinky on my right leg, a thick and stubborn strand hair grew. No matter how many times I remove it with a tweezer, it keeps coming back. I should just ignore it but it really bothers me so much. Is it abnormal that hair comes out of a bruise?
Thanks,
Nina
I had a knee replacement and noticed an area near the incision that had suddenly grown a thick patch of hair. I have had very little hair growth on my legs for many years. It continued to grow fast and thick for several months. It is now pretty much back to normal. This seems to reinforce the wound healing theory and hair growth.
I just recently experienced a muscle contusion and hematoma on my left leg about 11 days ago. My legs have only microscopic hair, but since 4 days ago when I started a 7 day regimen of levofloxacin to treat the cellulitis that accompanied the hematoma, a few very long, fine hairs started to rapidly grow near the apparent center of the hematoma.
Just had an injury to my left arm 3 months ago and just realized the same phenomenon of sudden new growth surrounding the injury but not on the scar itself. I'm concerned since it's a thick dark patch of hair on and around my elbow that does not coincide with the minimal thin blonde hair on my arms. Is there any way to make this stop? I did lose partial feeling in and around this area. Not sure if getting and being treated for staff infection to the injury had anything to do with it or the cocktail of meds I was given as result.
Kevin,
That's very interesting. The last update that I'm aware of was published in June of 2013. Of course, even if the research in this field is continuing, it will likely be many years before a treatment is available to the public.
Anyone interested in treating hair loss today should consider the currently available, clinically proven and FDA approved medical treatments Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil).
David