The highly conserved Ectodysplasin (EDA) signalling pathway is critical during development for the formation of skin appendages. Mutations to this pathway result in failure of normal appendage development in utero, leading to the human disease hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. Spontaneous mutation to murine EDA (encoded by the gene Tabby) phenocopies this human disease. Little is known about the role of EDA signalling in adult skin homeostasis or repair. As wound healing largely mimicks the morphogenic events that occur during development we propose a role for EDA signalling in adult wound repair. Here we report a major delay in healing in Tabby mice, demonstrating a role for EDA signalling in adult skin. Moreover, pharmacological activation of the EDA pathway in wild-type mice significantly accelerates healing, influencing multiple processes, including re-epithelialisation and granulation tissue matrix deposition. Finally, we show that the epithelial effects of EDA activation are conserved in human ex vivo wound healing. Thus targeted manipulation of the EDA pathway has clear therapeutic potential for the future treatment of human pathological healing.