Preventing grey hair in the near future can be as simple as taking a vitamin pill, according to scientists from L’Oreal.
After more than a decade of research, the company announced that they are working on a pill which, when taken every day, could let people keep their naturally-colored hair as long as possible.
The medication, based on a fruit extract, should be launched within four years. It will only work on hair that has not yet lost its natural color.
Scientists explain that the absence of an enzyme called tyrosinase-related protein 2 (TRP-2) causes hair pigment cells to die with age. Now, they discovered a compound in an unidentified fruit that mimics TRP-2.
“We intend people to take it in the same way as a dietary supplement. It won’t be expensive,” said Bruno Bernard, head of hair biology at Paris-based L’Oreal.
Hundreds of volunteers around the world are testing the product in order to make sure there is no toxic side effects. Researchers say they will only be able to show its true effectiveness after it has been on the market for at least 10 years.
Details of the compound and how it works will be revealed at the International Investigative Dermatology meeting in May 2013.
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