Stem Cell Hair Transplants: Cost, Effectiveness & More

If you’ve been diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia (also known as male or female pattern baldness) or another form of hair loss, you may be wondering whether a stem cell hair transplant can help with hair growth.

Stem cell research — specifically, stem cell hair restoration research — is a growing and complex field showing promise for hair regeneration. But using stem cells to generate new hair follicles isn’t an FDA-approved treatment for hair loss. 

If you’re considering getting a stem cell transplant to help fix your thinning hair, it’s important to weigh the possible benefits against the potential risks.

Below, we share some basics about stem cell treatments, their effectiveness, and the potential risks and costs.

While hair cloning seems like a cutting-edge way to eliminate baldness and boost the hair growth cycle, it’s not the go-to method for treating hair loss. 

Keep reading to learn all about stem cells and how stem cell hair treatments work. 

What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are the type of cells that don’t have an assigned purpose yet. They exist in various tissues and can develop into any cell type. They can also regenerate.

Dialing in on the human body, stem cells exist in both adults and embryos. Advancements in the field have made harvesting stem cells from fetal tissue mostly a thing of the past though. 

How Stem Cell Hair Transplants Work

Stem cell hair transplants can happen in several ways. But generally, stem cells are harvested from autologous tissues — that is, tissues from your own body. 

These could be fat or mesenchymal stem cells (harvested from bone marrow cells, adipose tissue, or dental pulp). 

They’re typically collected under local anesthesia during what’s known as a punch biopsy. A “punch biopsy” is a puncture procedure that reaches the layer of skin where your hair follicles live.

After the cells are harvested, a centrifuge separates unneeded parts of the sample from the stem cells to create a cell suspension.

The suspension solution is then injected into areas of the scalp where the stem cells will be converted into follicular cells, theoretically stimulating new hair growth.

Recovery Time for Stem Cell Hair Transplants

Stem cell hair transplant recovery time is often quick. 

A traditional hair transplant involving skin grafts can require days or weeks of healing in the donor area. But there’s very little cutting or surgical damage to the harvest site or the area of hair loss with stem cell transplantation.

That said, hair transplant surgery does come with a risk of scarring. While stem cell harvesting doesn’t typically cause scarring, it can leave bruises similar to the bruising that happens with the removal of fat cells during liposuction surgery.

Typically, the area heals entirely with little to no sign of it ever having happened. 

Ultimately, the healing time depends on the exact retrieval technique used. 

Most stem cell treatments aren’t FDA-approved. This means insurance companies consider stem cell hair transplants to be cosmetic treatments, investigational therapies, or clinical trials — and don’t cover them.

It also means the price of stem cell hair transplant can vary significantly. 

The best way to find out how much these treatment options cost is to schedule a free online consultation with a hair transplant specialist.

There’s simply not enough data to suggest an average success rate of stem cell injections for hair loss. Right now, most of the data is anecdotal or limited in scope due to small sample sizes.

Here’s what some promising studies have found: 

• One study of 11 people aged 38 to 61 reported a 29 percent increase in hair density with stem cell treatment.

• In a study with 22 participants (half men, half women), those who got stem cell treatment reported significant increases in hair growth compared to a placebo. However, researchers noted some adverse effects, including post-procedure pain.

Modern stem cell therapy doesn’t typically involve embryonic stem cells, so ethical concerns are no longer a hot-button issue.  

But there are other concerns about this type of procedure. For one, it’s not FDA-approved. 

The FDA also warns that there are significant safety risks involved in stem cell transplant therapy since the practice isn’t regulated like other medical procedures. 

While any hair loss treatment, procedure, or surgery has pros and cons, it’s always best to speak with a licensed health professional when weighing your options.

Since research is ongoing, there’s no official list of stem cell hair transplant therapy side effects or risks. 

However, possible complications from the harvesting and injection procedures include: 

• Pain

• Infection

• Serious tissue injury 

The risks are higher if the person performing the procedure is inexperienced or sloppy.

If you’re considering a stem cell hair treatment, it’s best to discuss the individual risks with a healthcare professional so you’re informed when you make your decision.

You might also consider going with a different hair loss treatment.

Hair loss solutions don’t have to involve surgery or potentially painful procedures. 

While there’s no cure for androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern hair loss, several FDA-approved, research-backed hair loss treatments are available. 

They include:

• Medications like oral finasteride, minoxidil foam, minoxidil solution and topical finasteride & minoxidil spray

• Surgical procedures like FUT and FUE hair transplants (short for follicular unit transplantation and follicular unit extraction, respectively) and NeoGraft

• Non-surgical procedures like laser hair growth treatments and PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy

• Cosmetic procedures, such as scalp micropigmentation and microneedling

Many hair loss treatments are available online from Hims, making it easy to explore and access various options.

Your hairline may not look like it used to. Whether your hair loss is due to male pattern baldness or another type of alopecia like telogen effluvium or alopecia areata, finding the right way to deal with hair loss is about finding a treatment that suits your unique needs.

Let’s recap what we know about stem cells for hair loss:

• Stem cells might help if nothing else has worked. Stem cell hair therapies may be a hair loss solution for men who haven’t responded well to other forms of treatment.

• There are risks with stem cell transplantation. Stem cell hair transplants are not FDA-approved, and while the initial research is promising, it’s still ongoing. 

• Other treatments are available. If a stem cell hair transplant or hair restoration doesn’t sound like the right choice for you right now, many other treatments are available over the counter and by prescription.

• A healthcare professional can help. Your best bet is to consult a healthcare professional or hair loss expert to learn more about non-invasive treatments like minoxidil and discuss what might be best for you.

Are you ready to take action against hair loss? We can help with telehealth treatments, education, and more. Reach out today.