Recent study finds that Keragen-IV may reduce hair loss and support skin elasticity

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A recently published study¹ found that a novel keratin-based formulation called Keragen-IV from AIDP Inc. (City of Industry, CA) was able to support the skin and hair health in women. In the study, 65 women with healthy but stressed hair were assigned to either receive Keragen-IV or placebo for 60 days. Results showed that after 60 days, women taking the keratin-based formulation saw significant improvements in hair anchoring translating to a 43% reduction in hair loss. They also a 17.61% improvement in the birefringence of the hair cortex compared to placebo, suggesting that the active product increased the structural integrity of the hair cortex after 60 days.

When it came to skin health, participants taking Keragen-IV saw a significant 10% increase in gross skin elasticity after sixty days, compared to placebo. They also saw improvements in skin barrier function as measured by 12.5% lower levels of trans epidermal water loss after 30 days, compared to baseline. However, compared to placebo, this improvement was not statistically significant. Previous in vitro research² have demonstrated that Keragen-IV works by increasing the expression of collagen IV. According to the researchers, “ The known function of collagen IV as a junctional protein is to build skin structure at the dermal-epidermal junction and further to bind hair follicles as the anchoring protein at the hair root, keeping hair well anchored to the head.”

References

1. Kelly, R.; Gu, J.; Lim, J.; Lati, E.; Manna, V. Effect of keraGEN IV Keratin oral supplementation on hair, skin, and nail attributes. HealthMED. 2024, 18 (2), 35-45.
2. Tang, L.; Sierra, J.O.; Kelly, R.; Kirsner, R.S.; Li, Jie. Wool-derived keratin stimulates human keratinocyte migration and types IV and VII collagen expression. Exp Dermatol. 2021, 21(6), 458-460. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2012.01505.x