Taipei: A groundbreaking National Taiwan University (NTU) study, which uncovered a pathway to regrow hair in mice in 20 days by stimulating the skin’s fat cells, has gone viral, with a social media post about the research reaching around 19 million views in 12 days.

According to Focus Taiwan, the study was published on October 22 in the journal Cell Metabolism. It revealed that skin injury initiates a chain reaction where immune cells known as macrophages signal the fat cells beneath the skin to release free fatty acids. These acids then serve as fuel to alter the metabolism of dormant stem cells, prompting them to grow new hair.

In their experiments on mice, the researchers employed controlled skin injuries, such as mild irritation or burns, to kickstart hair growth. They observed that hair stem cells were activated by Day 7 post-injury, with new hair becoming visibly apparent by Day 10, and full hair regrowth achieved within 20 days.

The researchers further demonstrated that the application of monounsaturated fatty acids onto uninjured mouse skin was sufficient to successfully induce new hair growth because it directly activated the dormant hair stem cells.

A post by NEXTA, a Belarusian media outlet, on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on October 25 significantly contributed to the study’s viral spread, amassing over 19 million views as of Wednesday. This prompted local media in Taiwan to pursue the story over the past days.

Responding to a post about the research on a Facebook page on October 26, Lin Sung-jan, the lead contact person for the study, remarked that “the regenerative capacity of the skin is a stunning testament to the delicate complexity of life.” Lin, who is an attending physician at NTU hospital and chair and distinguished professor of NTU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, explained that the study was initiated based on clinical observations that skin irritation or sustained stimulation, such as the itching under a cast for a broken bone, causes the affected area to become noticeably hairier.

The NTU team noted that these findings have not yet been validated in human skin.