There's a popular hair loss remedy out there, but a lot of it just doesn't work as well as it should. That's a real problem with minoxidil, one of the most common drugs used to treat baldness. Scientists from Australia and Taiwan have found an interesting way to fix it, and their secret ingredient may surprise you. Their work, published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials,
What's the problem with conventional means?
The main obstacle is our skin. It is a wonderful protective barrier that does not let harmful substances in. But this barrier also prevents drugs from reaching their target – hair follicles (the very “roots” from which hair grows).
When you apply a minoxidil solution to your scalp, most of it stays on the surface and doesn't penetrate deep enough. It's like trying to water the roots of a plant by pouring water on a tarp covering it. As a result, the effectiveness of the treatment is significantly reduced.
Solution #1: “Smart” delivery using microneedles
To bypass this protective barrier, scientists have developed a special patch with microneedles. Don't worry, these aren't the needles you should be afraid of. They're tiny, shorter than the thickness of a hair, and made from hyaluronic acid (a substance naturally found in our skin).
When you apply the patch, these microneedles painlessly penetrate the top layer of your skin, creating microchannels. It's like opening a small gate in a fence to deliver a package right to your door, rather than leaving it outside. This way, the medicine gets to where it's needed.
Solution #2: An unexpected helper — stevia extract
But the real innovation is in adding an unexpected ingredient to the patch. You've probably heard of stevia, a natural sweetener used instead of sugar. The scientists used its extract, stevioside, not for its sweet taste.
It turns out that stevioside acts as a kind of “key.” It temporarily creates microscopic “corridors” in the skin through which minoxidil can easily and quickly get to the hair follicles. Simply put, stevioside helps the medicine penetrate even better.
What did the experiments show?
When this “sweet” patch was tested on mice, the results were impressive. The combination of minoxidil and stevioside in the microneedle patch worked much better than:
- regular minoxidil solution;
- a patch with minoxidil, but without stevioside.
The mice's hair began to grow much more actively. The patch seemed to “wake up” the dormant hair follicles, triggering the growth phase.
What does this mean for the future?
This development is very promising. Firstly, it can significantly increase the effectiveness of an already existing and proven treatment. Secondly, the use of a safe natural component, such as stevia extract, makes the technology even more attractive.
Of course, human studies are still needed to definitively confirm efficacy and safety, but this is an important step towards more convenient and effective hair loss treatments in the future.
