How Japanese Tea Rose Helps Reverse Hair Aging and Loss

èvolis Professional is hip to the power packed in rose hips, which is the round portion of the rose flower just below the petals. Rose hip contains the seeds of the rose plant which in turn contain Vitamin C and Vitamin A, moisturizing fatty acids and a range of botanical antioxidants.  The nutrient and vitamin profile of Japanese Rose Hips have been incorporated into products from èvolis Professional including the PROMOTE activator, and the NEW Style + Treat Dry Shampoo. 

èvolis Professional scientists have also discovered that Japanese Rose Hips contain FGF5 (or fibroblast growth factor 5) inhibiting compounds.  FGF5 is a damaging protein in the hair cycle as it causes hair to stop growing, rest and then fall.  Excess buildup of FGF5 is an important factor in hair loss and hair aging, so blocking FGF5 with reverse the signs of hair aging and help prevent hair fall.

“Japanese tea rose is a distinct species of plant from the roses we see in the West,” explains Chief Scientist and Project Manager at èvolis Professional, Dr. Dominic Burg. “We also use a specific extraction technique, so the extract of the fruit, or hips, that we use in our products is quite different to standard rose hip oil.  Our Rosa multiflora fruit extract was one of the first ingredients we discovered as an FGF5 inhibitor in our Japanese labs over 12 years ago and is one of the foundation ingredients of our brand.  It is included in all our products worldwide from Japan to the US to Australia, to Europe.”

We asked Dr. Burg to explain the science behind the èvolis Professional formulations:  

“FGF5, or fibroblast growth factor 5, is referred to the ‘master regulator’ of the hair growth cycle.  It is a naturally occurring protein that is produced in the scalp.  The normal hair cycle of growth, rest and fall is tightly controlled by a number of biochemical signalling molecules in the body, such as FGF5, over its 5-7 year journey of growth and renewal.  The role of FGF5 in this cycle is, in essence, the beginning of the end.  It stops the growth phase of the cycle and initiates rest and fall. 

While FGF5 is a normal part of the hair cycle, changes in FGF5 can lead to hair cycle changes and hair cycle dysfunction.  An overabundance of FGF5 in the scalp can lead to an increase in hair fall, slower growth, and a shortened hair cycle.  These processes lead to miniaturisation and hair loss.  The increase in FGF5 can be influenced by a number of things, our laboratory studies in particular have shown that androgens such as DHT essentially lead to increased FGF5; so it is a key molecule in androgenetic alopecia.  Aging, stress and lifestyle also lead to hair cycle changes precipitated by FGF5, so regardless of the outside pressure, FGF5 is the molecule that inevitably acts to slow the hair cycle and causes the individual hair follicles to stop growing, rest and fall.  

"evolis is based around technology that blocks the FGF5 protein, preventing it from slowing hair growth and from shortening the hair cycle.  As FGF5 is the initiator of rest and fall, blocking FGF5 also reduces hair fall.  As the only role of FGF5 in the body is in the hair cycle, blocking it has no effects on other parts of the body.    At the core of the evolis technology are a series of botanical extracts and molecules that we have discovered in our laboratories, such as Rosa multiflora.   We use sophisticated methods that measure FGF5 activity in real hair follicle cells, and we can screen botanical molecules and extracts for their FGF5 fighting activity.  Our assay actually measures the interaction of the molecule FGF5 with its receptor FGFR1 (think of them as a lock and key), so the action of our key botanicals is quite accurately pinpointed as preventing that interaction. 

"Over the last 13 years we have screened thousands of plants and molecules for FGF5 inhibitory action and the most potent are included in all of our evolis products."

  Two published blinded placebo controlled studies of evolis extracts and formulations have shown that when FGF5 is blocked:

• Hair growth rate increases by 20%
• Hair fall is reduced by 82%
• The number of actively growing hairs at any given time increases by 44%
• Hair appearance improves in greater than 95% of users