Feeling self-conscious about your stubbornly curly locks of hair? There is hope- scientists have discovered a “curly hair gene”.

The finding, which was reported in Australian newspaper The Daily Express, came from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.

Researchers have identified the trichohyalin gene as being mainly responsible for curly hair.

Hair straightener manufacturers beware- the discovery is expected to lead to a pill that could make hair straighter, rendering the accessory obsolete.

Those who ate their crusts in the hope it would give them curly hair also have hope- the discovery of the gene means treatment to make hair curly is also a possibility.

Lead researcher professor Nick Martin has some skin (or hair) in the game, being of curly-haired persuasion himself.

“Potentially we can now develop new treatments to make hair curlier or straighter,” he said.

“Also, we could predict whether it was more probable that a baby would have curly or straight hair.

“We might be able to refine identikit pictures from DNA samples left at a crime scene to say whether the suspect had straight or curly hair.”