Scientists have got to the root of grey hair – paving the way for locks that retain the lustre of their youth well into old age.
In a series of experiments, they have identified a protein called ‘wnt’ found to be vital to the production of colour in hairs.
The breakthrough raises the prospects of drugs, lotions or shampoos that raise levels of wnt – and restore white or grey hair to its natural colour.
Such a treatment would save women of a certain age the need to make endless expensive trips to the hair salon to have their greying roots covered up.
It would also doubtless be popular with middle-aged men keen to recapture their youthful looks.
The U.S. researchers describe a series of experiments which reveal wnt to be key to hair retaining its colour.