Others (including this research team) believe the elusive stem cell can be found at the base of the hair shaft.
Still others throw out both hypotheses, arguing instead that skin cells can replenish themselves.
These researchers, based at different European institutes, showed that cells marked by the Lgr6 gene and located in the hair follicle are the original mothers (or fathers) of other skin cells.
They were also able to show that, in mice, these Lgr6 genes could repair skin and produce new hair.
But while these earliest cells continued to produce sebacious glands and interfollicular epidermis, their contribution to hair growth gradually diminished over time.
