During the production of a hair, the follicle undergoes dynamic changes from an actively growing phase (anagen), to a remodeling phase (catagen), and finally to a quiescent phase (telogen), only to start growing again. Two key elements that control hair follicle cycling are the follicular epithelial stem cells and the specialized mesenchymal cells that constitute the follicular papilla. This overview and the subsequent presentations of the workshop focus on the hair follicle stem cells. The workshop on Hair Follicle Stem Cells brought together investigators who have used a variety of approaches to try to understand the biology of follicular epithelial stem cells, and the role that these cells play in regulating the hair cycle. One of the main concepts to emerge from this workshop is that follicular epithelial stem cells are multipotent, capable of giving rise not only to all the cell types of the hair, but also to the epidermis and the sebaceous gland. Furthermore, such multipotent stem cells may represent the ultimate epidermal stem cell. Open access to the scientific literature means the removal of barriers (including price barriers) from accessing scholarly work. There are two parallel roads towards open access: