Losing hair? Build up your mussels, says KAIST chemistry professor-turned-shampoo entrepreneur

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Losing hair? Build up your mussels, says KAIST chemistry professor-turned-shampoo entrepreneur

Published: 26 Nov. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 26 Nov. 2025, 14:47

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Lee Hae-shin, CEO of Polyphenol Factory, the company behind Grabity hair loss shampoo, speaks during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at his office in central Seoul on Nov. 21. [PARK SANG-MOON]

[GAME CHANGER]

A longtime challenge for both men and women brought on by stress and genetics, hair loss has quietly weighed on countless lives. One scientist, however, believes the answer to this widespread anguish may lie in an unexpected place: the humble mussel.

“There is no way to make more hair grow — at least not yet. But we can definitely slow the loss. Some people see results after just two days of using my shampoo,” said Lee Hae-shin, founder of Grabity shampoo-maker Polyphenol Factory and a longtime chemistry professor at KAIST.

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Grabity shampoo traces its origins to Lee’s lifelong scientific fixation on polyphenols, a class of phenolic compounds. Mussels, he explains, cling stubbornly to rocks, and their remarkable adhesive power comes from these very polyphenols. His discovery led to a cover paper in Nature in 2007 and was also featured in Science.

“Hair falls out for a simple reason — it’s about the blood vessels,” Lee said. “They need to bind tightly to the hair-root cells, and polyphenols, thanks to their adhesive power, help make that connection.”

Grabity hair loss shampoo and other related products [PARK SANG-MOON]

Launched in April 2024 as a KAIST faculty-led startup, the company has already sold more than 1.65 million bottles of its shampoo, generating 30 billion won ($20.4 million) in revenue. In September 2024, it moved 1 billion won worth of product in just 30 minutes on Lotte Home Shopping. And when it debuted at CJ Olive Young in March, it shot straight to No. 1 across their entire product category, surpassing not only other hair-care items but every skincare and cosmetics product on the shelves.

In late September, Grabity officially launched on Rakuten, Japan’s biggest e-commerce platform, debuting at No. 1 among all K-beauty products on the site. Last month, the brand also began offline sales at Re:Make, a Japanese beauty select shop. And just weeks ago, it opened its storefront on Amazon.

The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Lee for an interview at his office in central Seoul to hear his journey from scientist to hair loss shampoo startup CEO, and his plans for further expansion across borders.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lee Hae-shin, CEO of Polyphenol Factory behind Grabity hair loss shampoo, talks during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at his office in central Seoul on Nov. 21. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Q. You’ve spent your entire career as a researcher and professor. What made you consider starting a company?

I’ve spent my life studying polyphenols, and I was the one who uncovered how mussels maintain their extraordinary adhesion underwater thanks to polyphenols.

Hair thins before it falls out. The pores on the scalp stay the same size, but as each strand gets thinner, gaps form. When hair becomes that fragile, brushing or even lightly tugging can make it shed easily. The polyphenols in our shampoo create a thin film over the follicle openings where each strand emerges. That layer helps counteract the thinning process that leads to shedding. Because polyphenols bind well to keratin, the protein that makes up hair, they don’t easily wash away in the shower.

When we tested it on real people, the results were striking. One participant in our lab, a man in his 40s with severe hair loss, told us that his shower drain would clog after just three days. After switching to this shampoo, he said it now stays clear for a full week.

The mussel story sounds interesting. Could you explain it in more detail?
Mussels are equipped with a natural urge and the adhesive power to anchor themselves to almost anything. Although this phenomenon was first identified in 1981, no one had figured out how to replicate it artificially. My 2007 paper was the first to reproduce that mechanism, and it opened the door to turning the science into real-world applications.

Our initial use of polyphenols wasn’t in shampoo. In 2017, drawing on their strong reactivity with proteins, I developed a needle that doesn’t cause bleeding. The polyphenol coating on the needle’s tip binds with proteins in the blood to form a thin sealing layer, effectively stopping bleeding. It was designed especially for patients, such as those with diabetes, who often struggle with hemostasis after injections. Later, I applied the same polyphenol technology to an anti-browning shampoo, and now, it has culminated in the launch of our hair-loss shampoo.

Grabity shampoo was all sold out during a momo TV home shopping, Taiwan's major shopping channel, in May. [POLYPHENOL FACTORY]

There are already many hair-loss treatments and shampoos. What sets this shampoo apart?
In the United States, certain drugs are recognized for their ability to combat hair loss, and manufacturers can receive approval to market products containing these active ingredients at sufficient concentrations. Our shampoo builds on that same approved mechanism, but adds polyphenols into the formula. That combination makes the effect both faster and more pronounced.

More specifically about the mechanism, is the shampoo helpful for growing more hair?
Nothing in the world can truly make more hair grow. What it does is target the blood vessels. Hair health is really a battle of the blood vessels and it depends on how well nutrients reach them. If hair thins due to stress, alcohol or excessive use of harsh products, it will inevitably fall out.
Polyphenols in the shampoo coat the hair follicles, helping prevent this shedding. Some users notice results in as little as two to four days.

Japanese customers line up in front of Re:Make store to purchase Grabity shampoo in September. [POLYPHENOL FACTORY olyphenol Factory]

Grabity shampoo was recently launched in Japan and on Amazon. Are there plans for further global expansion?
Absolutely. In the United States, we’re preparing for launches in offline stores like Target and Walmart. But the process is complex, so we’re taking care to enter the market thoughtfully rather than rush.

Japan’s Rakuten was our first overseas market, and currently, international sales account for about 5 percent of total revenue. We expect rapid growth starting next year.

In Europe, we’ll debut in Galeries Lafayette and Printemps in Paris next year. In March, we plan to participate in Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2026, the world’s largest beauty expo, in Italy, kicking off full-scale sales and expansion.

Are there any new products under development as part of your global expansion?
Yes. We’re working on a hair product that straightens curly hair. Early tests have already shown promising results, and it will be launching soon. It’s a serum that you apply to the hair, and the curls smooth out in just a few seconds. We see significant demand among Black communities, and we’re currently gauging responses in local communities. A few salons in the United States are also testing it with their clients.

Your company hasn’t taken much outside investment. Is there a reason for that? Won’t you need more funding to scale production?
Taking on investment inevitably brings outside interference, which can steer the products and strategy away from what I truly want to create. That’s why I’m cautious about raising funds, and right now, we are not actually short of money.

We have a small manufacturing facility at KAIST in Daejeon, capable of producing 200,000 to 300,000 bottles per month. If sales spike significantly, we might reconsider, but it’s not on the immediate agenda.

Any plans to go public?
We aim to list on the Kosdaq within two or three years. Once we’ve launched new products, grown sales, and expanded overseas — building a solid track record and data — we’ll be in a good position to pursue an initial public offering.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]