Stem cell transplant: myth or truth?

Make hair from human stem cells

The enthusiasm of the public seeking information or news in the field of aesthetics continues to increase over the years. This is especially true in the field of baldness treatment with hair transplantation.

Hair transplant principle

Do not forget that the concept of hair transplantation (going back a few decades ago) consists of removing the hair follicles or follicular units (consisting of many cells) from the same person and replacing them behind the head. These roots, which are displaced in this way (consisting of cells), are rearranged under the bald skin and give birth to a new hair that will definitely regrow three months after the operation. Therefore, when we talk about hair transplantation, we should use the term “hair follicle transplant” or rather “hair root cell transplantation”.

Hair root displacement

Thus, cells taken from the back of the head at point A to create a new hair at point B will no longer give hair at point A (since they are no longer there). Therefore, hair transplantation is a hair movement. To make it simple, we can say that we buy our hair “where there is a lot” in order to put it “where we cannot find enough”… The follicles taken no longer grow on the back of the head.

Fortunately, during a hair transplant, good management of the hair stock at the back of the head makes it possible to treat significant baldness without noticing hair thinning at the harvest site.

Development of hair transplant techniques

Much progress has been made in instrumentation and operating techniques aimed at minimizing the visibility of the areas where hair is collected. Thus, the FUE technique, which is called “scar-free”, allows those who want to adopt a hairstyle that is cut very short on the back and sides of the hair but unfortunately always has a decrease in hair density in the removed area. It will probably be noticed if other operations were required in the future. For this reason, hair transplantation is limited to the amount of hair on the back and sides of the head, regardless of the harvesting technique used (FUT strip technique or FUE technique). Ideally, the extracted roots would be able to renew themselves completely and unlimitedly in the sampled area. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This basic concept was unanimously accepted by the entire international scientific community.

Hair cloning

For many years, many experimental studies have been conducted around the world in order to obtain two strands of hair from a single hair, thus leading to hair regeneration or hair growth and even “hair cloning”.

Korean doctors (JC Kim and JC Choi) showed in 1995 that a single hair follicle cut horizontally can result in two hairs, but unfortunately their quality and regrowth capacity is lower than the original hair.

In 2008, a Dutch doctor (C.Gho) presented a technique of removing a small part of the root from the back of the head, claiming that the FUE technique not only gave birth to the transplanted part, but also to a full hair. In addition, a new hair was also reformed where it was taken, making the harvest area an inexhaustible source of hair.

This technique, called “HSCT®” or “Hair Stem Cell Transplantation®” or (Hair stem cell transplant), has received a mixed and even critical response from the medical community. The back of the head criticizing the author for lack of scientific rigor (imprecise photo results, number of cases presented in the study, evasive answers to questions asked, etc.). Something that is easy to verify in the presence of independent observers but has never been done to date allows many doctors to say that this “stem cell transplant technique” is nothing more.

In 2010, American doctors (J. Cooley and G. Hitzig) also reported that they were able to regrow a few hairs from a single shaved root after coming into contact with an ACell © healing product. Their discovery aroused a certain enthusiasm in the scientific community at the time, moreover, they confirmed that the extracted root was regrowing where it was extracted. Several independent healthcare teams have tried to reproduce this technique but unfortunately it has not been successful once again. Moreover, its authors have since admitted that the technique does not always work, but more research is needed.

As a result, it should not be forgotten that there is still no hair transplant technique that makes it possible to reproduce or reproduce full hair without weakening the area where it is taken.