Hair Cloning: A Game-Changer for Hair Loss?

Hair cloning, also known as tissue culturing or hair multiplication, is an innovative technique for regrowing hair using one's own cells. It is being developed to address male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia).

If that sounds like something of the future, well, it is. While science is still in its very early stages, hair cloning is on its way to potentially (hopefully) replace more invasive procedures like hair transplant surgery to address hair loss for men.

If you’re intrigued, keep reading to learn more about hair cloning, including how the process works, its potential advantages, and what other effective hair loss treatments are currently available while we wait.

Hair loss doesn’t care if you’re a CEO or a weekend warrior, a ginger or a blond, or if you’re in your late 20s or nearing 60—when those follicles decide to go on strike, they can do so with gusto.

But before you blame genetics, stress, or that one time you gave into that Instagram ad for a sketchy hair volumizing product, let’s break down what’s actually happening up there.

Hair loss usually begins when your hair follicles (the pores on your scalp where the hair shaft sprouts) become dormant. It’s sort of like when overworked employees decide they’ve had enough and take an extended coffee break. They’re on rest.

Plus, when you start noticing thinning hair or bald spots where your follicles are asleep, others are still highly productive, often on the back of your head.

Doctors used to think bald people just didn’t have follicles where there was no hair. But the truth is resting hair follicles don’t shrivel up and disappear. When the follicles you have go dormant, it’s just tough to coax them into growing hair again when they’re resting.

While this imbalance of growth can be annoying, there’s a silver lining: The hair follicles that are still producing hair hold an important key to hair restoration, whether you’re interested in hair transplantation or the futuristic science of hair cloning.

Cloning in general has been a topic of interest for a long time, but hair cloning may still sound like something out of a sci-fi movie.

If you’re envisioning your hair follicles being cloned and recruited into a hair regrowth army, well, you’re not that far off.

Also called tissue culturing or cell therapy, hair cloning is an up-and-coming technology where scientists would take stem cells from healthy hair follicles (where hair is still growing in full and thick), multiply them in a lab setting, and put them back to work on your head where things are looking sparse.

These stem cells come from tissues located at the base of your hair follicles, which are responsible for keeping your hair growth on track. By culturing these follicle cells in the lab and carefully shaping them, they can be directed to produce more hair.

When they’re ready to be deployed, the lab-grown hair cells would then be injected back into your scalp to work on waking up your dormant follicles and, hopefully, getting hair to grow where you want it to be.

Let’s dive a little deeper into the science behind how cloning hair follicles theoretically works.

Keep in mind this isn’t a commercially available option just yet, and there have been roadblocks to its success (like, applying it to humans). But it’s helpful to understand the process in case you’re antsy to join the waitlist.

Here is the basic thought process as of now:

1. First, stem cells are borrowed from the base of your healthy hair follicles (called the dermal papillae), where hair is thriving. These are critical elements because they’re in charge of hair growth and maintenance.

2. Next, the harvested dermal papilla cells are multiplied in a lab, where there’s a controlled, sterile environment.

3. Once the cells have been successfully multiplied, they’re ready for action. They’re injected back into your scalp near follicles that have been at rest for too long. The intention is that these cloned cells will awaken and reactivate your follicles, or induce new hair follicles, and you’ll see subsequent hair growth.

Hair multiplication through cloning is still in its very early research phase, but the potential to restore your hairline is pretty intriguing.

If perfected, hair clone transplants could take some of the stress out of male pattern hair loss. At the moment, there’s no scientific evidence to say that this process works—but we can still have hope.

Here are some of the possible advantages we could see if and when hair cloning becomes an option:

• A (presumably) unlimited supply of new hair. With hair cloning, a small number of healthy follicles could potentially help create a nearly endless supply of new hair.

• Less invasive treatment. Unlike traditional hair transplants, which require physically moving hair from one part of the scalp to another via surgery, hair cloning involves injections of cloned cells.

• Reactivation of dormant follicles. Your resting follicles might finally be motivated to start growing hair again, thanks to the help of added cloned cells.

• Natural-looking results. Because the cloned cells used in hair cloning are derived from your own follicles, they’re already yours. The new hairs that grow as a result look natural, without fake hairlines or spot fillers.

• Potential to help more men. Hair transplants rely on having enough donor hair, which can be a dealbreaker for men who have advanced hair loss. Hair cloning would solve this by creating new hair instead of just redistributing existing hair.

Like other advancements in technology, hair cloning has the potential to eventually replace other more costly and invasive solutions to hair loss.

When will hair cloning be available? It’s likely going to take a while. There are still some hurdles to clear before it becomes a widely available go-to solution for hair loss. After all, hair follicles are complex and fragile little beasts.

Here are some of the current limitations to hair cloning:

• Human application issues. While animal studies have shown potential, getting cloned cells to produce new hair growth in humans is still a challenge. For instance, in one 2015 study, scientists used human stem cells to create dermal papillae-like cells in the lab, and these lab-grown cells could grow new hair when transplanted into mice. However, real human dermal papillae cells haven’t worked well in hair loss treatments because they’re hard to get and seem to lose their hair-growing power in the lab. Each hair only has so many working cells and they don’t all survive the process.

• Dormant follicle activation. Although the idea of reactivating dormant follicles is exciting, researchers are still fine-tuning how to reliably wake them up. In a 2013 paper, scientists explain that they identified a molecular pathway that can be activated to trigger growth from dormant hair follicles. However, it’s still unclear how this might be applied to restoring hair loss, according to a 2020 paper.

• Scalability concerns. The process of culturing cells in a lab is complex and time-intensive. Until it can be streamlined, it won’t be scalable for widespread (and affordable) use.

• Long-term effects. Because hair cloning is still in its experimental stages, there’s just not enough information to know whether it has potential for long-term success. Will the new hair last for years? Only time will tell.

• Cost and accessibility. As with any cutting-edge technology, hair cloning could be pricey when it first becomes available. Researchers and companies will need to work on making it accessible to the average person.

Don’t let these existing challenges discourage you—obstacles are standard in science.

Currently, there are no publicly available clinical trials on hair cloning in humans. While several companies and research institutions are working on it, these efforts are still in the preparatory stages.

While we wait to see if hair follicle cloning stands up to future testing, there are several other options available that are widely used and can be very effective.

Depending on factors like the extent of your hair loss, your budget, and your personal preferences, here are some surgical and nonsurgical interventions for hair loss.

Non-Surgical

Many men prefer to steer clear from surgery to treat hair loss, if possible. In this case, there are medications and less invasive procedures you might want to consider.

Hair Loss Medications

Medications like minoxidil (Rogaine®) and finasteride (Propecia®) are widely used for managing hair loss.

Topical minoxidil is FDA-approved for hair loss and works by stimulating hair growth. Oral finasteride is FDA-approved to reduce hormone-related hair thinning. It works by blocking an enzyme that turns testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone that promotes hair loss.

Both of these can be effective for men, but they require consistent use to achieve and maintain results.

We offer topical 5% minoxidil, the original twice-a-day, extra-strength hair loss treatment for men, as well as finasteride, taken orally once a day.

Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)

LLLT involves using devices like laser combs or caps placed on the head to stimulate hair follicles with low-level light. It’s painless, non-invasive, and can promote hair growth, though results may vary.

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy

When you go through PRP therapy, a provider injects a concentration of your own platelets (cells in your blood that help form clots to stop bleeding) into your scalp to stimulate hair growth. You’ll usually need multiple sessions to see results.

Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP)

Pigmentation procedures use micro-tattoos to conceal balding areas and mimic hair fullness or enhance the look of thinning hair.

Toupees and Hair Pieces

These non-surgical solutions provide instant coverage for balding or thinning hair. Custom-fit hair systems like toupees and hair pieces come in various materials and styles.

You should be able to find one that blends with your natural hair to create a more seamless, low-commitment option for boosting your confidence and restoring the appearance of your hairline.

Hair Products

Want to make it look like you have more hair without any major changes in your routine? Certain hair products, like thickening shampoos, conditioners, and styling sprays, can create the appearance of fuller hair by adding volume and texture to thinning strands.

Try our max volumizing shampoo and conditioner, made with Biovolume 128™, a naturally derived ingredient formulated to boost hair volume.

Learn more about your options in our guide to non-surgical hair replacement.

Surgical

Hair Transplants

The most established surgical method for hair loss involves taking healthy follicles from one place and transplanting them to areas of the scalp where your hair is thinning or just straight falling out.

The two main hair transplant procedures are:

• Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT). This technique involves removing a strip of skin with healthy hair follicles from the back of the scalp (where many men generally continue growing plenty of hair), dissecting it into individual follicular units, and transplanting them to balding areas. It usually leaves a linear scar.

• Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE). This method takes individual hair follicles directly from the scalp using a small, circular punch tool and transplants them to areas of hair loss. FUE is less invasive than FUT, leaves minimal scarring, and allows for a more natural appearance—but it typically takes longer to complete.

Scalp Reduction Surgery

Scalp reduction surgery is a less common option today, but it’s still worth considering for specific cases of severe hair loss. The process involves removing sections of bald scalp and stretching areas with hair to cover them.

Artificial Hair Implantation

In some cases, synthetic hair fibers are implanted into the scalp. While not as common, artificial hair implants may make sense for men who want something done right away but aren’t great candidates for traditional transplants.

If you’re dealing with thinning hair or hair loss, it’s understandable if you’re curious about the available treatments to help slow the process or restore your hair.

While it’s not available yet, hair cloning could be an exciting leap forward for hair growth science. Here are a few things to remember while we sit tight:

• It has revolutionary potential. Unlike anything we’ve seen before for hair loss, the process of hair cloning could provide a nearly unlimited supply of hair by multiplying stem cells from a small number of healthy follicles.

• It’s minimally invasive. Traditional hair transplants are surgical, but hair cloning uses injections of your own stem cells that have been multiplied in a lab setting—making it less invasive.

• It’s still in development. There are no publicly available clinical trials on hair cloning, so it’s impossible to say that this will be a real thing. In the meantime, you have other options, like hair loss medications (particularly minoxidil and finasteride) or scalp micropigmentation.

As we wait to see if hair cloning becomes a widely available permanent solution, staying informed about developments and exploring other treatment options is the best way to manage hair loss.

For now, know that you’re among millions of men running similar races against hair loss. Be sure to check out our hair loss resources for men and get connected to a licensed healthcare provider by taking our free online quiz.