L’Oreal’s ‘Pill for Grey Hair’

When news broke this week that L’Oreal was developing a pill to prevent grey hair, it made headlines around the world. But scientists say the pill, which has not yet been created, produces more questions than answers.

Bruno Bernard, head of the Hair Care, Quality and Color team at L’Oreal, first spoke about the cosmetic company’s research, telling the Daily Mail the pill will be based on a fruit extract that mimics an enzyme called TRP-2, which isn’t present in hair follicles.

TRP-2 helps make pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. In theory, the presence of TRP-2 could prevent hair from going gray.

Ideally you would take [the pill] for your whole life, but realistically we’d encourage people to start using it before their hair goes grey because we don’t think it can reverse the process once it has started,” he told the UK paper. “We have a watertight proof of concept, and we think it will have a market among men as well as women.

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