Wearable Textile-Based Phototherapy Platform With Customized NIR OLEDs Toward Non-Invasive Hair Loss Treatment

January 2026 in “ Nature Communications ”

Eun Hae Cho, Jingi An, Yun Chi, Kyung Cheol Choi

near-infrared OLED NIR OLED human dermal papilla cells hDPCs senescence-associated β-galactosidase NIR irradiation hair loss treatment non-invasive hair-loss management NIR light therapy OLED light therapy

TLDR A wearable device using NIR light may help treat hair loss non-invasively.

A wearable textile-integrated near-infrared (NIR) OLED platform has been developed as a non-pharmacological alternative for hair loss treatment, targeting human dermal papilla cells (hDPCs) with emission peaks around 730-740 nm. This device is mechanically resilient, generates low heat, and is waterproof. In vitro studies showed that NIR irradiation from this device significantly reduced senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity by 91.6% and enhanced hDPC migration, outperforming red light and broad FWHM NIR irradiation. These results indicate that this technology could be a scalable, biocompatible solution for non-invasive hair-loss management.

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