Does Hair Cloning Really Work?

Ever heard of hair cloning? This advance in science could potentially revolutionize the hair industry. It could be the end to male and female patterned baldness. It could be the only solution to thinning hair you’ll ever need.

But, are all the claims about hair cloning true? Does it really work?

What is hair cloning?

Hair cloning is a procedure of taking healthy hair follicle cells, cloning them, and injecting the cloned cells into balding areas of the scalp. It’s kind of similar to a sci-fi movie or superhero book where someone could clone themselves to make a carbon copy. Except this time, instead of a whole person, it’s multiple strands of hair.

It’s also known as hair multiplication, so you may have heard it by that name. Hair cloning is a technique that is still in the early development stage, though it is expected that the end of 2022 and future years will bring much headway in that department.

The idea behind hair cloning is to take healthy hair follicle cells from areas of the head that aren’t balding, replicating and multiplying them in a lab, and reinserting the cloned hair into your scalp. While there is still a lot we don’t know research is currently happening and the future of hair cloning looks bright.

Aren’t hair cloning and hair transplants the same thing?

Hair transplants and hair cloning are pretty similar, so it might be easy to mix them up. Hair transplants are procedures when doctors take some hair follicles  growing in the back or sides of your head and transplant it to the top of your head or other balding areas.

Cloning is different, as cloning seeks to multiply the extracted follicle and add more follicle cells to your head. Both are related, but with a hair transplant you aren’t adding any more hair on to your head- you’re kind of just spreading the hair you have around to cover any bald spots. With cloning you are multiplying your cells and adding new ones in.

If hair cloning proves successful there is a possibility someone completely bald could get a full head of hair. Looking into how scientists are working on hair cloning can be fascinating.

Lab grown hair

Now that you understand what hair cloning is you may be wondering where this procedure is available. If hair cloning can really live up to its claims, why hasn’t the general public heard more about it? Well, the truth is, hair cloning is still being researched and isn’t a procedure one could go get, just yet.

There have been many private companies, labs, and universities using their own research programs in the field of hair cloning with the hope of curing hair loss for good. Over the last 10-15 years some of these companies have gone out of business, some have made monumental discoveries that have furthered research and some have been able to grow human hair on mice with their hair cloning technology. You can learn more about the history of the different companies researching hair cloning here.

We can’t say much since hair cloning is still only in the research stage. Nobody knows exactly when hair cloning will be a standard hair procedure available to the public. Some have estimated at the end of this year, others are saying upwards to 2025 or longer. We don’t know which company will be the first one to bring it to market, when the FDA will approve it, or what the process will exactly look like.

How does hair cloning work?

The idea of hair cloning may sound like one of those bottles of snake oil. It makes some pretty bold promises, but can it actually deliver the results? This section is hard to write because there are more unknowns.

Some questions you might be wondering about the hair cloning procedure may include:

• Will the cloned hair grow in the right direction?
• Will the cloned hair be able to grow back after cutting it?
• Would there be any risks to cloning hair?
• Will the cloned hair follicles look like normal hair?
• Will hair cloning be a one time procedure, or will you need follow up treatments?
• How much will a hair cloning procedure cost?

Unfortunately we can’t answer those questions either. The companies conducting research have some information on their websites but it’s hard to give  exact answers when hair cloning is still in its earliest stages. As of now no company has announced they have started human hair cloning trials.

 

For the cost question we can assume that it will be on the more expensive side. If hair cloning can accomplish what it claims it can then the procedure to cure baldness will probably be quite a cost. It could be worth it, and of course we don’t know the exact amount, but guesses range in the thousands.

Is hair cloning worth it?

The idea behind hair cloning sounds pretty amazing. If scientists figure out how to clone someone’s hair cells that could be the ultimate cure for baldness.

The American Hair Loss Association posted on their website, “The obvious key to improving surgical treatment is cloning hair follicles. Successfully cloning multiple hair follicles from a donor area follicle that is already programmed to continue to grow new hairs for a lifetime will result in a limitless supply of hair transplant grafts, which translates into limitless hair thickness. The cloned follicles may even be individually injected directly into the scalp, eliminating surgery altogether.”

If the technology behind hair cloning gets discovered then big things would happen for hair loss around the world. As to whether or not hair cloning will really work, that remains to be seen.

In the meantime

While hair cloning is an exciting topic and keeping up with the progress being made could be a fun past time, what should you do about your thinning hair now? Hair cloning might not be an option for another few years.

In the meantime, book a free meeting and speak with a hair coach today! Our certified hair coach can help you know what vitamins and products to take to help with hair loss, as well as what hair growth process you should be doing in order to get thick hair naturally and achieve all your hair goals.