I'm lovin' it!

Last month McDonald's made headlines for some very strange reasons, on February 5th Newsweek published that a chemical in McDonald's french fries could cure boldness. February 22nd Metro News published a new haircut being banned in Great Yarmouth Charter Academy in Norfolk called ‘Meet me at McDonald's’. As I stumbled upon these articles I would have never guessed McDonald's every influencing the hair industry, but never the less they unintentionally  have.

This week I explore how a secret chemical in McDonald's fries may hold the cure for baldness and what the ‘Meet me at McDonald's haircut is.

Let's start with this magical cure for baldness. A Japanese stem cell research team from Yokohama National University used a method to regrow hair on mice, they use dimethylpolysiloxane, the silicone added to McDonald’s fries to stop cooking oil from frothing. Preliminary tests show that this groundbreaking method is likely to be successful when transferred onto human skin cells.

According to Biomaterials Journal, this breakthrough came when the scientists mass produced “hair follicle germs” (HFG) which were created for the first time ever through this method. “The key for the mass production of HFGs was a choice of substrate materials for the culture vessel,” said, Professor Junji Fukuda, of Yokohama National University. “We used oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane (PDMS) at the bottom of culture vessel, and it worked very well.” This technique created 5,000 HFGs at once. The researchers then planted the HFGs from an HFG chip, a fabricated, roughly 300-microwell array, onto the mouse's body. “These self-sorted hair follicle germs were shown to be capable of efficient hair-follicle and shaft generation upon injection into the backs of nude mice,” Fukuda said. Within a few days, Fukuda and his research team reported tiny black hairs on the areas of the mouse where the chip had been transplanted.

When this article was published McDonald’s had not responded to the request for a comment by Newsweek. If this research leads to human trails it could change the hair loss industry forever. If you would like to read more about this research, please visit the original article published by Newsweek.

Alright, now that we have a potential cure for baldness let’s move onto the haircut all the British youth want and can’t have, ‘Meet me at McDonalds’.

The ‘Meet me at McDonalds’ haircut has been said to be so offensive that a school in Great Yarmouth has banned students from having it. Great Yarmouth Charter Academy head master, Barry Smith wrote a letter to parents warning their kids will be sent home from school if they had this haircut.

​The haircut is a ‘business on the sides, party on top’ style, with shaved sides and a long-tousled top with a floppy fringe. The hair is sometimes permed to add more volume, texture, and tighter curls on the top of the head.

                 Examples of young boys wearing 'Meet me at McDonald's. Photo credit via Twitter.

Where did the name for this haircut originate? No one knows. When hairdressers in the area where asked they told Metro ‘they had no idea’.

Why is this haircut banned from this school? Great Yarmouth Charter Academy has a very strict dress code, this dress code restricts many hairstyles, some other examples of restricted hair styles would include shaved part lines, or hair that has been back-combed to give excessive height. If you would like more information on this haircut and its ban, please check out the article published by Metro.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the 'Meet me at McDonald's' haircut is offensive? And how do you feel about eating the new baldness cure?

Until next week.
​DJH

References:
Zhao, C. (2018, February 06). Chemical in McDonald's fries may hold the key to curing baldness, study says. Retrieved March 04, 2018, from http://www.newsweek.com/chemical-mcdonalds-fries-may-cure-male-baldness-study-say-799439
Drewett, Z. (2018, February 22). What is a 'Meet me at McDonald's' haircut? Retrieved March 04, 2018, from http://metro.co.uk/2018/02/22/meet-mcdonalds-haircut-7333906/