Figures & data
Table 1. Methods for hair removal (modified from Shenenberger & Utrecht, Citation2002).
Figure 1. Epilation by glycyrrhizic acid. Wistar rats were treated with solvent only (a) or with 15% glycyrrhizic acid for 3 d (b) or 6 d (c), respectively. Of note, the treatment causes distinct epilation without clinical signs of skin irritation. To observe long-term effects of glycyrrhizic acid on hair regrowth, animals were treated until complete loss of hair, taking about 6–12 d, then left untreated for 4 weeks, before starting a new treatment cycle. A treatment for seven cycles with solvent only (d) shows no alterations in the fur. In the presence of glycyrrhizic acid, treatments for five (e) and seven cycles (f) lead to impaired regrowth of new hair. Experiments shown were repeated three times with similar results.
Figure 2. Glycyrrhizic acid induces modification of the hair cuticle. The surface structure of regrowing hair, plucked out after a treatment-cycle with glycyrrhizic acid, was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Control hair (a and b) of solvent-treated animals features a well-structured hair cuticle with typical surface scales. In contrast, treated hair (c and d) shows a distinctively smoothed surface.
