Getting Under The Skin Of Hair Aging: The Impact Of The Hair Follicle Environment

[Michael1986]

Interesting research article providing a comprehensive summary of the evidence for the critical role of the hair follicle environment in hair loss pathology: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/exd.14109.

PDF available here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/exd.14109

Abstract
Like the skin, our hair shows striking changes with age, producing hairs with altered diameter, lustre, and texture. The biology of hair aging has focused predominately on various aspects of the hair cycle, follicle size, and the fibre produced, but surprisingly the impact of the aging scalp dermal environment on the hair follicle and fibre has been generally overlooked.

Hair loss affects both sexes with incidence increasing with age. In men, male pattern‐balding (androgenetic alopecia) is driven by androgens and follows a specific pattern of frontotemporal and vertex regression. Women also experience female pattern hair loss (FPHL), presenting as more general, diffuse hair thinning. Hair thinning in women is commonly associated with the menopause, corresponding with other age‐related changes in skin.

The rapidly growing hair follicle undergoes continued renewal throughout the life span of an individual, where it is exposed to a substantial number of extrinsic and intrinsic stressors. As the hair follicle sits deep within the dermis with its bulb residing in the hypodermis, detrimental age‐related changes in the surrounding scalp skin may likely disrupt the hair follicle machinery. The impacts of these changes are unknown, but evidence suggests that scalp skin aging and hair follicle aging go hand‐in‐hand.

Herein we summarize the evidence that the age‐related changes observed in sun‐exposed human skin also occur in scalp skin and that these changes are likely to play a contributing role in the aging hair phenotype.

 

[Rho Gain]

"Herein we summarize the evidence that the age‐related changes observed in sun‐exposed human skin also occur in scalp skin and that these changes are likely to play a contributing role in the aging hair phenotype."

But baldies tend to wear hats often, and thus their scalps receive significantly less sun exposure. And don't men who don't experience hair loss experience similar exposure to the sun as the balding?

 

[Poppyburner]

But baldies tend to wear hats often, and thus their scalps receive significantly less sun exposure. And don't men who don't experience hair loss experience similar exposure to the sun as the balding?

I'm not sure that that's their argument.
I read it more: chronic sun exposure on human skin in general, creates the same type of damage typically found in old scalp skins (perhaps: deprivation of fat, elastin and collagen) irrespective of their sun exposure.

I gather that like relatively young balding scalps, aged scalps (even thoses without androgenetic alopecia/FPHL) also tend to produce less hair than they once did.

In summary, I think that they're saying: healthy scalp follicles likely require, scalps with youth-like skin.

 

[John Difool]

Are there been any studies about collagen injection into the scalp to help with hair regrowth?

 

[Poppyburner]

'Micropunctures are created using microneedles which produce a controlled skin injury without actually damaging the epidermis. These microinjuries lead to minimal superficial bleeding and set up a wound healing cascade with release of various growth factors such as platelet derived growth factor (PGF), transforming growth factor alpha and beta (TGF-α and TGF-β), connective tissue activating protein, connective tissue growth factor, and fibroblast growth factor (FGF).[7] [...] Neovascularization and neocollagenesis is initiated by migration and proliferation of fibroblasts and laying down of intercellular matrix.[8,9] A fibronectin matrix forms after 5 days of injury that determines the deposition of collagen resulting in skin tightening persisting for 5–7 years in the form of collagen III. The depth of neocollagenesis has been found to be 5–600 µm with a 1.5 mm length needle. Histological examination of the skin treated with 4 microneedling sessions 1 month apart shows upto 400% increase in collagen and elastin deposition at 6 months postoperatively, with a thickened stratum spinosum and normal rete ridges at 1 year postoperatively.[10] Collagen fibre bundles appear to have a normal lattice pattern rather than parallel bundles as in scar tissue.[6]'

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4976400/

'While you don’t necessarily grow out of oily skin, your skin will indeed produce less sebum as you age. Aging skin loses protein, such as collagen, and the sebaceous glands slow down.

This is why many people who have aging skin also have dry skin. This is also the time when fine lines and wrinkles are more noticeable because of the lack of collagen and sebum.

One benefit of oily skin is that you may not show signs of aging as quickly as your drier counterparts.'

https://www.healthline.com/health/oily-skin-causes#genetics

 

[Photon]

"Herein we summarize the evidence that the age‐related changes observed in sun‐exposed human skin also occur in scalp skin and that these changes are likely to play a contributing role in the aging hair phenotype."

But baldies tend to wear hats often, and thus their scalps receive significantly less sun exposure. And don't men who don't experience hair loss experience similar exposure to the sun as the balding?

No because they have hair to protect their scalp

 

[Poppyburner]

Do females not age? Does aging skin also make body hair and occipital hair die? This affects the quality of your hair, but not the quantity.

Ok, but I don't regard scalp skin as homogeneous, and I didn't imply an understanding that these scalps are uniformly affected in their entireties.

 

[pegasus2]

Ok, but I don't regard scalp skin as homogeneous, and I didn't imply an understanding that these scalps are uniformly affected in their entireties.

So only the skin on the top of male heads is subject to UV damage and aging?

 

[Poppyburner]

So only the skin on the top of male heads is subject to UV damage and aging?

I read no allusion to UV-damaged scalps/tops in anything I've hitherto written in this thread.

My interpretation of the quotation featured in michael1986's post is that:

Naturally decrepit scalp skin (of an unspecified region) and UV-damaged skin (of perhaps any bodily region other than the scalp) have been found to have something/s deteterious in common, thought to be detrimental to the health of at least terminal scalp hair follicles.

I speculate from the unexplained inclusion of Androgenetic Alopecia & FPHL in the second paragraph, that such ravages may also be present and have some culpability in those scalp hair loss conditions.

 

[Poppyburner]

And what I was saying is that they don't, not in any meaningful way at least.

Ok, very good.

 

[Michael1986]

I read no allusion to UV-damaged scalps/tops in anything I've hitherto written in this thread.

My interpretation of the quotation featured in michael1986's post is that:

Naturally decrepit scalp skin (of an unspecified region) and UV-damaged skin (of perhaps any bodily region other than the scalp) have been found to have something/s deteterious in common, thought to be detrimental to the health of at least terminal scalp hair follicles.

I speculate from the unexplained inclusion of Androgenetic Alopecia & FPHL in the second paragraph, that such ravages may also be present and have some culpability in those scalp hair loss conditions.

Yes that was how I understood it too when I created the thread. Although perhaps the authors of the study could have worded that sentence in a way that would have less possibility of confusing people.

It is certainly an interesting piece of research. I wonder if part of the reason why 5-ar inhibitors tend not to work forever is because there is nothing that these drugs can do to prevent or reverse the age‐related changes in the scalp skin surrounding the hair follicles.

 

[Michael1986]

I'm still confused as to how you think this can be a factor in Androgenetic Alopecia. If the damage in Androgenetic Alopecia skin is the same as in aged and UV-damaged skin, then wouldn't we all go bald if that was a major factor, since we all end up with aged and UV-damaged skin? Why does transplanted hair normally not fall out? Joe Biden went bald in his twenties and he still hasn't lost his transplanted hair from 40 years ago. I think anything looking at the skin itself as a causative factor in Androgenetic Alopecia is barking up the wrong tree.

Hair follicles do age, and that has something to do with the scalp changes discussed here, but imo it doesn't cause baldness.

I read through the full-text PDF write-up of this research and it was very convincing. The write-up was detailed and scientifically written, and it referenced a comprehensive amount of research-based evidence to conclude that the age-related changes in scalp skin do contribute towards hair loss. It was too much information for me to summarise in this post, but I encourage you to have a look at it too. It was interesting to read.

In order for the age-related changes in the scalp skin to contribute to a hair follicle undergoing miniaturization, that follicle has to be genetically-prone to being affected by these changes in the first place. Transplanted hairs are genetically resistant to the balding process, and so they are presumably neither affected by DHT nor by these age-related changes in the surrounding scalp skin.

 

[pegasus2]

I read through the full-text PDF write-up of this research and it was very convincing. The write-up was detailed and scientifically written, and it referenced a comprehensive amount of research-based evidence to conclude that the age-related changes in scalp skin do contribute towards hair loss. It was too much information for me to summarise in this post, but I encourage you to have a look at it too. It was interesting to read.

In order for the age-related changes in the scalp skin to contribute to a hair follicle undergoing miniaturization, that follicle has to be genetically-prone to being affected by these changes in the first place. Transplanted hairs are genetically resistant to the balding process, and so they are presumably neither affected by DHT nor by these age-related changes in the surrounding scalp skin.

I'll have to take a look at it tonight then. This could explain a few incongruencies. I've had thoughts that healthy follicles might be able to reverse damage to the scalp environment to some extent.

 

[John Difool]

Scalp massaging for elasticity then

 

[Photon]

Taking collagen supplements and the whole broth fad is a waste of time. Your stomach will just treat it as regular protein. From what I remember the best thing you can do is to make green juices

 

[pegasus2]

Taking collagen supplements and the whole broth fad is a waste of time. Your stomach will just treat it as regular protein. From what I remember the best thing you can do is to make green juices

I'm not so sure about that. At least it can't hurt. I take 2g a day, but I'm going to start taking more.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23949208/

 

[Photon]

I'm not so sure about that. At least it can't hurt. I take 2g a day, but I'm going to start taking more.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23949208/

Are you taking the same one in the study? I know there's a lot of different types of collagen peptides, and most likely most don't do crap.

 

[Michael1986]

Based upon the evidence for the role of the physically altered hair follicle environment in male pattern baldness, scalp massages should be very helpful as a treatment in theory. But the evidence that I have seen that scalp massages actually work well doesn't appear to be very strong. I'm skeptical that it would achieve much on its own, but I'm sure that it does provide some added benefit when used in addition to other treatments.

And just to correct something I said earlier, I'm honestly not sure whether or not transplanted hairs will be affected by the age-related changes in the hair follicle environment. There has been some debate on whether or not transplanted hairs are prone to undergoing miniaturization, but it appears that they generally are not, so perhaps transplanted hairs are resistant to all the factors that can contribute towards miniaturization.

 

[Photon]

Based upon the evidence for the role of the physically altered hair follicle environment in male pattern baldness, scalp massages should be very helpful as a treatment in theory. But the evidence that I have seen that scalp massages actually work well doesn't appear to be very strong. I'm skeptical that it would achieve much on its own, but I'm sure that it does provide some added benefit when used in addition to other treatments.

And just to correct something I said earlier, I'm honestly not sure whether or not tranplanted hairs will be affected by the age-related changes in the hair follicle environment. There has been some debate on whether or not transplanted hairs are prone to undergoing miniaturization, but it appears that they generally are not, so perhaps transplanted hairs are resistant to all the factors that can contribute towards miniaturization.

I think they help too but will not do anything on their own. I massage my scalp for 20 minutes before I apply minoxdil at night and personally, I think it's helping.