An ingredient found in ice cream could provide the solution to hair loss.
Stevia, a natural sweetener that is also present in fizzy drinks, contains compounds known as steviosides, which – when mixed with over-the-counter drug minoxidil – can revive hair growth on bald heads.
In tests conducted on mice, boffins placed a microneedle patch infused with a mixture of minoxidil and steviosides on the rodents’ bald back every day over the course of a month and discovered that it led to new hair growth across 67.5 per cent of their back by the end of the experiment.
Mice who had the standard minoxidil solution (without steviosides) sprayed onto their backs daily only saw 25 per cent regrowth in the bald area.
Dr. Lifeng Kang, who led the research at the University of Sydney in Australia, said: “Using stevioside to enhance minoxidil delivery represents a promising step towards more effective and natural treatments for hair loss, potentially benefitting millions worldwide.”