Chemical Used in McDonald's Fries Could Restore Hair Loss

According to a research, conducted by scientists at Japan's Yokohama National University, an ingredient in McDonald's french fries could restore hair loss.

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The scientists discovered that a chemical used by the fast food franchise can double as a base to regrow hair. The university's stem cell research team used the silicone (dimethylpolysiloxane) added to McDonald's fries to regrow hair on mice, a Newsweek report revealed.

“The key for the mass production of hair follicle germs was a choice of substrate materials for the culture vessel,” the university's Junji Fukuda said. “We used oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane at the bottom of (the) culture vessel, and it worked very well.”

The findings of the research involved using the chemical in a specific formula to create 5,000 hair follicle germs, which "were shown to be capable of efficient hair-follicle and shaft generation upon intracutaneous transplantation into the backs of nude mice."

New hair appeared in the transplanted area on the rodent, Fukuda explained. The "fries formula" resulted in the hair growth on mice backs and scalps, a release from the researchers stated.

"This simple method is very robust and promising,” Fukuda said in the study.

“We hope this technique will improve human hair regenerative therapy to treat hair loss such as androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness). In fact, we have preliminary data that suggests human HFG formation using human keratinocytes and dermal papilla cells."

McDonald's claim the dimethylpolysiloxane is used sparingly to prevent foaming of the oil in which the chain fries Chicken McNuggets, fish and french fries.

The dimethylpolysiloxane formula could mass produce hair follicles which should grow hair when transplanted into mice.

The scientists are confident, stating that the initial tests are a strong indication the process could be successful on human beings.