What are the benefits of elastin for hair?

The elastin is a structural protein of the dermal extracellular matrix, where it forms, together with fibers of collagen, a three-dimensional network that ensures both skin flexibility and mechanical strength. While collagen provides tissue firmness and structure, elastin allows their extensibility and return to their original state after deformation. These two proteins are thus complementary. However, with age, collagen and elastin production decreases significantly and existing fibers fragment, leading to skin laxity and loss of elasticity. That is why many skin care products today incorporate collagen, elastin, or both.

Nevertheless, to date, elastin-containing hair care treatments remain rare.

Brands that formulate elastin-based hair products highlight its role in the flexibility and strength of hair fibers, by analogy with its biological function in the skin. According to these claims, elastin would help maintain hair fiber elasticity and limit breakage while providing improved hydration to the hair. However, concrete evidence for these assertions is missing: to date, no scientific study has demonstrated a direct effect of elastin on hair structure or quality. The available data are essentially limited to observations on skin samples, with no clinical validation in the hair care domain.

We can nonetheless assume that elastin could be of interest for scalp health, as it is an extension of the skin. By analogy with its cutaneous effects, the elastin and its peptides could help maintain hydration in this area thanks to their richness in polar amino acids capable of retaining water. These molecules form a thin film on the surface, reducing transepidermal water loss and helping to preserve an environment favorable to the proper functioning of hair follicles. In an in vitro, skin samples treated with a modified form of elastin (elastin-HAPA) showed an average water content of 77.2%, compared to 49.4% without application, illustrating its ability to strengthen the water barrier.

This mechanism, if confirmed on the scalp, could contribute to soothing and protecting dry or sensitized scalps.

Elastin peptides also exhibit a notable antioxidant potential and are able to neutralize free radicals, which, if harmful to the skin, are equally detrimental to the scalp. Indeed, the oxidative stress is a recognized contributor to the weakening and premature aging of hair follicles. It can precipitate hair loss by triggering inflammatory processes within the bulbs and accelerate graying by reducing the activity of tyrosinase, an enzyme involved in melanogenesis.

Although no study has yet confirmed these effects on hair, it is reasonable to assume that elastin could help protect the scalp from oxidative stress.

For further investigation: does elastin play a role in hair follicle regeneration?

Some research suggests that elastin is not limited to a purely structural support role but may also influence hair follicle dynamics over the hair’s lifespan. A study published in 2022 highlights a little-known aspect of the follicular miniaturization observed in androgenetic alopecia, a form of hair loss characterized by a shortened growth phase (anagen phase) and a progressive transformation of terminal follicles into thinner, less active ones. Existing treatments, such as minoxidil or finasteride, slow this progression but rarely succeed in restoring the proper function of miniaturized follicles.

The authors revisit old histological observations describing the accumulation of elastic fibers around hair follicles, forming what are known as Arao-Perkins bodies. These structures, more abundant in balding areas, could impair dermal flexibility and reduce the follicles’ capacity to remodel. More specifically, abnormal elastin organization in the scalp may hinder the conversion of miniaturized follicles back to a normal state, partly explaining why some cases of alopecia are difficult to reverse.

We can then formulate the following hypothesis: the dermal elastic network not only plays a role in the mechanical resilience of the scalp but also in maintaining the regenerative potential of hair follicles.

That being said, it is important to stress that one should not infer a topical application of elastin to the scalp could prevent alopecia: we are still far from having any scientific evidence on this subject. The study cited above primarily opens up avenues for better understanding follicular biology and guiding research toward new alopecia treatment strategies that could target dermal elastin.

• CHILKOTI A. & al. Elastin-like polypeptides for biomedical applications. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering (2020).

• VAN NESTE D. J. & al. Following historical “tracks” of hair follicle miniaturisation in patterned hair loss: Are elastin bodies the forgotten aetiology? Experimental Dermatology (2021).

• DANIELS R. & al. Clinical relevance of elastin in the structure and function of skin. Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum (2021).

• GUO C. & al. Applications of elastin in cosmetics: Prospects and challenges. Cosmetics (2025).