Reflections on How Wound Healing-Promoting Effects of the Hair Follicle Can Be Translated into Clinical Practice

Eight years ago, a paper discussed the role of hair follicles in wound healing, noting that hair-bearing areas tend to heal faster due to mechanisms like the migration of epithelial follicular stem cells aiding in wound re-epithelialization. The authors suggested that this knowledge could be used in therapeutic applications, especially for chronic leg ulcers. A pilot study showed a 27% ulcer area reduction with scalp hair grafting, with improvements in 7 out of 10 cases. The study also found that patient age doesn't significantly alter the density of bulge hair follicle stem cells, suggesting their use in chronic wounds of elderly patients. The paper concluded that future strategies should focus on using this knowledge in treating chronic cutaneous ulcers and mentioned the potential of a hydrogel formulation composed of LGR6+ follicular stem cells to enhance wound healing.