Hair shaft formation and mitochondrial bioenergetics: combining biology, chemistry and physics

Research into biological manipulation of hair “quality” has ebbed and waned but today is in a resurgence. Hair appearance is regulated by multiple intervention opportunities—adding more hairs; increasing hair “amount” by modulating shaft diameter or shape; or, in principle, by altering shaft physical properties by changing its synthesis. It is likely that improved benefits may be achieved by combining multiple areas—minimizing follicle loss and miniaturization, maximizing shaft production, and treating the existing shaft. A previously overlooked opportunity is follicle metabolism: building “better” hairs. Hair production is energy intensive, and it is known that follicle metabolism influences shaft diameter. Multiphoton microscopy enables metabolic investigation of live, growing, human, hair follicles. This allows definition of multiple “zones” with vastly different metabolism: proliferation—where keratinocytes proliferate and migrate into specialized layers; production—proliferation ceases, and synthesis and patterning begin; construction and elongation—the structural framework is seeded and cells extend to create the nascent fiber; and maturation—gradual hardening and transformation into mature shaft. Recent investigations into the transition from construction to maturation reinforce this as a key developmental threshold, where shaft production transforms from a biologically driven into a biochemically driven process. We now name this “Orwin’s transition.”