Diluted household bleach could stop and reverse signs of ageing, as well as treat skin damaged by sun exposure and radiotherapy, new research suggests.
Tests found that old and fragile skin bathed in the chemical became thicker, with increased cell proliferation, Scientists at Stanford University Medical Centre in California said.
The discovery was made by testing the use of diluted bleach on mice with radiation dermatitis. The team found that the animals bathed in the bleach solution experienced less severe skin damage and better healing and hair regrowth than animals bathed in water.
They then turned to elderly but healthy mice and found that by bathing them in the bleach solution, the effects of ageing were allayed and the animals’ skin began to look younger.