For decades, the conversation about hair loss has focused on what can be added to one’s habits or head: minoxidil, finasteride, hair transplants or hair extensions, with widely varying success rates. While we wait until early 2028 for the FDA to approve the new, more effective hair pill VDPHL01, those who don’t want to see their hairlines recede further or their strands grow sparser may want to consider hair banking, i.e. having your own hair that will potentially give birth to future hair, with the ability to eventually clone follicles and restore what has been lost infinitely.
“Hair follicle proliferation holds tremendous promise as the holy grail of hair restoration,” says Dr. Alan J. Bauman, of Bowman Medical Hospital in New York City, is one of the nation’s leading hair restoration doctors. “The ability to create an unlimited number of grafts that are genetically identical to a patient will overcome current donor limitations,” namely the limited amount of grass at the back of your head needed to replant the front of your head. This concept is borrowed directly from fertility medicine, such as IVF and egg freezing: store your cells now, while they are young and viable, and you have the raw material for anything regenerative medicine can do next, including, perhaps over the next decade, cloning them. Bowman has made his own money, and says not a week goes by without a celebrity hit.
The provider harvests approximately 50 healthy follicles in a 30-minute procedure without anesthesia. These follicles are sent to the laboratory, where they are tested and cryopreserved. Beyond banking follicles for future reimplantation, scientists from leading entities, such as Toronto-based Acorn Biolabs, can create a personalized “secret,” an experimentally active mixture of growth factors and cellular messengers that send repair signals, such as exosomes, cytokines and peptides. “The highly concentrated secretion can be returned to the patient’s scalp through injection or microneedling,” or Alma TED, an “ultrasonic and sonic pressure technology that enhances delivery” deep into the scalp without needles or downtime, says board-certified dermatologist and dermatologist Dr. Lady Dee. The 12-session package costs $12,000; Secrets can be stored cold for up to two years.
Dr. Antonella Tosti, one of the world’s leading hair specialists, sees exosomes themselves as the most exciting development: “They may simultaneously reduce inflammation, promote tissue repair, support stem cell activity and enhance regenerative signaling.” As with shedding, the goal is not to slow hair loss, but rather to repair and restore the follicles. Stand-alone exosome sessions typically range from $1,500 to $5,000; The cost of multi-session packages can range from $3,000 to $10,000 or more. For a lower price, platelet-derived, exosome-based products like Plated Hair Serum — fans include celebrity hairstylists Sammy Knight and Hailey Bieber — can cost less than $400 for a 1-fluid ounce bottle.
Other topical treatments that treat hair growth like skin care are Hair Growth Peptide from OMI WellBeauty (Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian are investors), which uses a patented keratin-derived peptide formula to improve hair strength and thickness; And Harklinikken, a 32-year-old Danish clinic that blends botanical growth extracts specifically for each client’s scalp biology, counts Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, and Malin Akerman among its devotees. Then there’s KeraFactor, a needle-free synthetic peptide complex that’s ideal after organ transplants, among other uses. Board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Sapna Palep of Journelle Skin, sees strong results for both men and women within four to six months.
The science underpinning all of this is moving quickly. “We’ve never had anything beyond two FDA-approved products for hair loss in nearly 30 years,” Dee says. In addition to the VDPHL01 pill in development, Pelage Pharmaceuticals’ topical drug PP405 targets dormant follicle stem cells, essentially awakening them, and is progressing through trials.
However, not all experts believe that the restoration process begins from the follicle. Dr. Elroy Vojdani of Regenera Medical in Los Angeles says that successful treatment first requires systematically understanding what leads to loss. “My whole opinion is that hair loss is usually a systemic thing, not a scalp thing,” he says. “The follicle burns with a huge amount of energy, so it’s often the first place to show something is wrong with your metabolism or immune system. Fix that and the hair tends to follow.”
This story appears in the July 2026 issue of The Hollywood Reporter entitled “The New Face of Hollywood.” Click here to read more.
