Hundreds of internationally renowned scientists and clinicians interested in hair research gathered in Dallas, Texas, from April 6-9, for the 13^th World Congress for Hair Research. Hosted by the American Hair Research Society (AHRS), a member of the International Federation of Hair Research Societies (IFHRS), the 3-day educational event featured participants from 40 countries and was themed around the total solar eclipse on April 8, as Dallas was in the path of totality.

“Since our last gathering as a global community of hair researchers just 2 years ago, the field of hair science has exploded with exciting new developments and discoveries that are paving the way for innovative solutions for patients with hair loss,” said Angela Christiano, PhD, Scientific Co-Chair. “This meeting highlighted many of these breakthroughs and brought together both clinical and basic scientists across academia and industry to tackle some of the most challenging problems in hair loss research today.”

In addition to a live patient viewing, pre-congress workshops focusing on clinical and basic science, and keynote lectures, attendees participated in sessions dedicated to specific topics affecting a range of patient populations—including hair loss in pediatric and female patients, male pattern hair loss, patients with textured hair, hair care and management in gender diverse patients, and the latest breakthroughs in inflammatory hair disorders such as scarring alopecias and alopecia areata. Attendees were treated to a full viewing of the total solar eclipse onsite after keynote speaker Joel Meyers, PhD, assistant professor of physics at Southern Methodist University, delivered a timely and informative address on his research extracting insights about fundamental physics from cosmological observations, including eclipses.

Highlights of the hot topics presented included:

• How hair follicle imaging that follows cell migration patterns in hair follicles, opening new hypotheses regarding cell lineage and function in the hair follicle.
• Cutting-edge technologies that are providing unique biological insights into hair biology, particularly the power of single cell RNA sequencing to identify individual cell types within the hair follicle based on gene expression.
• Understanding the biology and biophysical properties of curly hair and quantitative scoring of hair texture.
• The latest treatment advances for alopecia areata, including current data of FDA-approved JAK inhibitors and development of new methods to capture patient reported outcomes.
• Clinical factors and hair care practices specific to textured hair that influence outcomes in central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia.
• New research in hair care and aesthetics, including research on the discovery of new molecules and evaluation methods that can benefit the quality of hair fiber.
• Ethnobotany and the role of plant-derived compounds and natural products in hair loss treatments.
• Innovative approaches to skin regeneration, including the latest advancements in biological treatments, exosomes, and hair follicle stem cell banking. 
• Emerging topics such as sudden onset hair loss in patients taking GLP-1 inhibitors for weight loss.
• Keynote lectures on chemotherapy-induced hair loss and the effects of stress on hair graying.

“This meeting highlighted the recent exciting advances in the treatment and diagnosis of hair loss and the research that is leading to new therapeutic approaches,” said John Seykora, MD, PhD, Scientific Co-Chair. “This Congress provided the opportunity for clinicians and researchers from around the world to interact and discuss novel approaches for hair loss – and the excitement and enthusiasm were palpable. The meeting sessions led to numerous innovative discussions, likely to lead to new collaborations that will positively impact treatment of hair loss moving forward. The gathering demonstrated that the future is bright for improving therapies for hair loss.”  

The next World Congress for Hair Research will be held May 28-31, 2026, in Seoul, Korea, and hosted by the Korean Hair Research Society. Its theme is “Awakening the soul of hair science,” and more information can be found at www.hair2026.org.