Which Future Hair Loss Treatments are you Optimistic About?

Tsuji Future Hair Loss Cure.
Dr. Tsuji’s Future Hair Loss Cure.

I was hoping to make a poll where users rank future hair loss cure related treatments. Via a score from 1-20 in terms of their most favorite one to least favorite one. However, the software did not allow for such a feature.

Make sure to check out my hair loss research page for other companies, labs and research centers that are working on new hair loss treatments. Note that I am not covering any alopecia areata related cures in this post.

Hair Loss Treatments Coming Soon

If I ask everyone to just pick their top 1 choice from the below list, a couple of the options will probably dominate way too much. So to keep things interesting, please choose at a bare minimum 3 of the below treatments/companies that you are hopeful will:

  • At least be close to release by the end of 2020. For the CRISPR/gene modification option, you can pick it even if you think it will only be realized 10 plus years down the road.
  • In their final versions, be at least slightly more effective then the only two currently FDA approved hair loss treatments (Finasteride and Minoxidil).

You can search this blog for any of the below names or acronyms if you are uncertain. Or you can post your questions in the comments to this post.

Which of the below future hair loss cure treatments are you most optimistic about? Pick at least 3.

Update: I had to delete the poll in 2018 due to some plugin issues. The results of the poll are summarized below. I bolded the 4 options (Shiseido, Tsuji, Aclaris and Follica) that received the most votes.

Total responses = 4,778.

  • Aclaris Therapeutics (Topical JAK Inhibitors) = 531 (11.1%).
  • Allergan (Bimatoprost Topical Prostaglandin Analog ) = 71 (1.5%).
  • Allergan (Setipiprant Oral Prostaglandin Antagonist) = 104 (2.2%).
  • BiologicsMD (Topical Beta-Catenin Protein Stimulation) = 28 (0.6%).
  • Cassiopea (Formerly Cosmo Pharmaceuticals — Breezula Topical Antiandrogen) = 56 (1.2%).
  • Chinese Surprise (Somewhere in China Something Secretive is Happening) = 98 (2.1%).
  • CRISPR (or Other Gene Modification Based Treatments) = 187 (3.9%).
  • Fidia Pharma (Brotzu DGLA Based Lotion) = 226 (4.7%).
  • Follica (Skin Disruption Plus Topical Compounds) = 398 (8.3%).
  • Follicum (Hair Follicle Stimulation Drug) = 106 (2.2%).
  • HairClone (Relatively new Company with Experienced Staff) = 113 (2.4%).
  • Histogen (Hair Stimulating Complex Injectable) = 343 (7.2%).
  • Kerastem and Others (Adipose Tissue Injection Based Treatments) = 39 (0.8%).
  • L’Oreal and Others (3D Printed Implantable Hair) = 199 (4.2%).
  • Samumed (Topical Wnt Pathway Modulation) = 169 (3.5%).
  • Shiseido/Replicel (Autologous Cell Replication Therapy) = 932 (19.5%).
  • Takashi Tsuji/Kyocera/Organ Technologies/RIKEN (Hair Follicle Regeneration) = 715 (15.0%).
  • New Age Hair Transplants (Including Potential Donor Hair Regeneration like Dr. Gho Claims, Body Hair Use, PRP Addition, Using Someone Else’s Hair etc…) = 124 (2.6%).
  • One Hundred Percent Scalp DHT Inhibition (Better Delivery Topical Dutasteride, Technion University DHT-Inactivating Enzyme, RISUG Male Contraceptive etc…) = 135 (2.8%).
  • Others. There are numerous scientists who have made major discoveries related to hair loss in recent years, and many of them aim to start product development asap = 204 (4.3%).

88 thoughts on “Which Future Hair Loss Treatments are you Optimistic About?”

  1. What, no Reboost? It’s so popular on that other blog, although they caution people when it’s not working that their “follicles could be clogged”! Seriously, hahaha! :-(

  2. I think this protein will be the best cure for baldness and gray.
    Krox20 (also known as EGR2) turns on hair shaft progenitor cells and is therefore responsible for the initiation of hair growth on the scalp. Moreover, these same progenitors also produce a protein called stem cell factor (SCF), which the researchers showed is essential for giving hair its pigmentation. Full study here. The research team was led by Dr. Lu Le.

  3. I would be willing to spend $50k+ to get the hair all back regrowing (not a transplant). But I don’t see anything coming up on the list that can do it properly regrowing your hair again to a thick natural standard. It has them all snookered how to do it , so it seems!
    But stranger things have happened…

  4. lol No one is going to spend thousands of dollars flying to Japan and back for RIKEN except for me anyone that disagrees with me is sadly mistaken. The less the merrier you guys stay home

      1. What makes you think its a scam? I have used the topical mrcx/regenica which is manufactured in a similar manner with real results. You can try for 150 or so.

        1. Link? Where do you get that?

          Why histogen is scam? They delay for years and nothing really proven that could be available.
          İt’s like Follica and Brotzu. Everything is superb and will get anything back, but?!? Delays, delays, delays ….nobody knows if one of these 3 will ever be available. No deadline and scheduled release dates that have been fulfilled.

          1. Just search regenica in amazon. or any of the online retailers that sell skin products. Dermatologists are selling it too. Theres a reason allergan bought this.

            1. Hairplz u r a total scam, Regenica is an injectable fluid, that is still not in market. Anyone csn ask histogen about it thriugh mail.

                    1. Mainstream treatments:

                      LLLT-VEGF, gene expression
                      Fin-DHT decrease and testosterone increase
                      Ketoconazole- Further DHT decrease
                      1 failed hair transplant
                      Multivit (food-based), multimin (amino-chelated)

                      My own:

                      My understanding is minoxidil works via tricking the adenosine receptor. Activating this increases vegf expression so one of my regimen’s goals is to constantly have elevated vegf and to regenerate/actively create new capillaries in the scalp instead of just applying minox once day or even twice. By exercises and supplements.

                      Histogen
                      Histogen found that by injecting follistatin along with neonatal growth factors hair could be regenerated by the growth factors.

                      Epicatechin- used to take as it raises vegf and its actually proven to increase capillarization. it also drastically and definitely increases follistatin based on actual human studies . Follistatin counters many growth-limiting blocks the body has such as myostatin in muscle tissue. Follistatin is one of the key ingredients that make histogens serum work as it will help make the other growth factors such as VEGF more effective. Lower myostatin strengthens muscle but its not great for tendons so i have stopped taking due to tendon issues. Studies show strenght training will increase myostatin in tendons but decrease it in muscle. By having generally decreased myostatin consistently you could hurt your tendons. I saw what seemed to be miraculous regrowth after around ten months of taking epi at high dose along with the rest of my regime, but i believe it seriously damaged my tendons. Would i do it again knowing that? Maybe, but i no longer recommend it for that reason. I had tendon pain for many months and it was becoming unbearable now Im taking curcumin now due to all the research on curcumin and tendon healing and am finally improving gradually. Curcumin also increases follistatin but by much less. Curcumin also seems to stimulate endothelial (capillaries) progenitor cells so win/win. I have not lost what I gained under epi.

                      New curcumin/ Edothelial progenitor cell paper

                      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5543575/

                    2. Ive also bought and used 3 regenica bottles so far and am quite happy with these. I get the dual serum one wich contains 95% mrcx.

  5. I agree that Histogen could be huge just judging from their photos… Unfortunately they don’t have the organization to become a company that people can actually use!

    Their thickening looks awesome! Could reverse Around 5-10 years of loss for me…I just don’t see them actually becoming a viable solution for whatever reason.

    Prove me wrong!

  6. Heads up guys! Be positive!
    I am pretty sure 2018 will be the year of new Treatments which will stop hair loss (maybe not cure but stop Hair Fall and maintenance) The number of start ups and new traetments and developments are exploding in the last months. We now know its not only DHT but also Inflammation, autoimmune reaction, metabolism and have seen topics as FOXO, KROX, JAK, Tregs, stem cells and growth factors. At the Moment there are at least 50 companies and Universities developing new exciting Treatments.

  7. @ Pinotq, thank you for the extra information on the dermarolling study. That will mean we have to wait for 3 / 4 months after starting the dermarolling to see some growth, and then another 4 months to see the final results, if at all. I would be surprised …

    I saw the news about Follica, maybe they want to perfect their product. I think that is positive for those who are not balding yet, future patients. However, for current patients, it means extra hair loss, as time is our second enemy after DHT.

  8. The biggest let down for me in the hair loss world is Histogen. I was really looking forward for them to release hsc back in 2015. That treatment if legit, would have saved me! Excellent thickening of weak hairs and good regrowth and no further loss. Would have been the best bridge to stabilize us till the big guns like tsuji. But of course nothing ever works in our favor in hair loss industry except for scams like reboost and other snake oil crap…2017 ..we should have had Histogen out by now and two other treatments that really regrow moderate to thick regrowth. No excuses when they can reprogram cells and print 3d skin. A follicle isn’t that complicate. When use see people like that Greek guy grow thick hair dermarolloing with all those topicals all we need is an experienced scientist to evaluate his protocol to see what triggers the growth and replicate it.

  9. Looks that to many people vote basement on nothing . How can they vote more for something that is not even in a clinical phase than something ( sepitiprant ) that is already in phase 2 ?!

  10. Tsuji, topical jak3 inhibitors, and a topical anti FOXO4 peptide are my top 3.

    Tsuji should be an end-all solution, but how much will this cost, and will it be able to be widely available?

    Topical Jak3 inhibitors I think show a lot of promise. Could this resetting of the immune system allow all sorts of good growth factors to clean up the bad micro environment on infected hair follicles leading to better/more dermal papilla, revascularization, inflammation control, stem and progenitor cell activation, and an increase in the ratio of preadipocytes (good growth signals) to mature adipocytes (bad growth signals)?

    A topical anti-FOXO4 peptide could be really good. The gene is very close to the gene of the androgen receptor, AR. It just so happens that FOXO4 is preventing another critical protein p53 from doing its job by binding to it, and p53’s job is to induce apoptosis in damaged cells. Could this cleaning up of bad cells allow good signals to spread by eliminating the damaged cells that are essentially just laying around releasing bad signals and revamp healthy dermal papilla growth?

    1. I think the FOXO4 study got swept under the rug a lot more than it deserved to. This protein allows senescent cells to essentially stay around secreting all sorts of bad signals. These signals I’m sure effect immune system response, telling the immune system “this population is damaged” which leads to the phenotype we see in AGA. So you get a gradual accumulation of senescent dermal papilla cells and low-and-behold a gradual reduction in hair size until it becomes essentially microscopic. And also critical is that this gene is very close to the Androgen Receptor, located on chromosome X. I’m far from well enough read on transcription and translation but I would think a certain variant of Ar in those at risk could perhaps activate this gene far more than those without it, considering its proximity to the androgen receptor on chromosome x. The FOXO4 protein prevents normal cell death of damaged cells by not allowing the p53 protein to tell the cell to kill itself off. It binds to it. So say enough of these accumulate over time. That could cause diminished dermal papilla number, and all sorts of bad anti growth signals that propagate throughout the effected environment, disallowing healthy signals from reaching the proper concentration gradient. I think this was a huge finding. Without eliminating these bad signal producing houses (cells) that are damaged, I’m not sure if targeting one single pathway (wnt, pgd2, fgf7, or fgf9 for example) would be enough to overcome everything else that has been thrown completely off balance. What’s amazing about this anti FOXO4 peptide that was developed is it DOESN’T destroy healthy cells. It targets senescent cells that have gone into “lockdown” via FOXO4 binding to p53 and finally allows p53 to tell cells to kill themselves. Evolutionarily speaking, it would make sense for something like this to be conserved. If a cell gets damaged, which all do as the body ages, it is put on lockdown to prevent growth signals from being propagated uncontrollably, protecting the body from cancer (uncontrollable cell growth). This could explain the immune driven inflammation part, the heavy immune response around the micro environmentz, the reduced number of dp cells, the anti growth proteins (pgd2 amongst many), and the unbalancing of signals that induce growth-like cells (such as premature adipocytes which send good grow signals vs mature adipocytes which are waiting to die off). This could also explain why often contact is lost with the arector pili muscle. It’s physics. As the sebaceous gland enlarges way past what it is supposed to, it can put enough pressure on the insertion of the arector pili muscle attached to hair follicle units to cause the muscle insertion to tear, giving the hair follicle no “guide” to the surface, and no guide for the stem cells to travel along down to make a new healthy hair. Throw in that you have anti growth signals and inflammation rampant towards the latter end of AGA and you have an impossible way to repair this until the source of “bad stuff” is taken out. Let’s not forget in hair trasplants often arector pili muscles are cut and regenerate themselves, along with regeneration of vasculature, so we know it’s possible given the right signals. This may also explain why stem cells remain conserved in AGA. It isn’t a problem due to diminished stem cells. They can’t communicate properly during a new anagen transition via bad signals, inflammation, and no guide (loss of arector pili muscle). As a result, many of these stem cells get subjected to “wounded signals” given out by senescent cells and just go down a skin cell lineage and become skin (may also explain the increase in skin shedding with AGA. ) These stem cells are already usually non-dividing cells except at crucial times governed by many growth signals given at the right time (primed in late telegen, rapidly proliferate at the start of anagen). In AGA, catogen comes sooner, telogen lasts longer, and anagen phase is very short.

      As I’ve said in a lot of previous posts, I think we must get to the root of the problem to solve this. It is known that it takes androgens to kick the process off. Then it takes 5ar type 2 enzyme to turn them into a more powerful androgen. Could this ONE protein be the byproduct result that is causing senescent dermal papilla cells to accumulate which is causing all the other bad signals and anomalies that are observed in AGA?

      Just some thoughts. What are your thoughts admin?

      1. It would be great if a hair loss company could develope their own topical novel anti FOXO4 peptide and go from that point and see what happens.

        It may not be possible in pill form (which works via blood stream) due to the location of affected follicles (away from vasculature, closer to skin surface away from the fat layer below). It may be that this HAS to be done topically

      2. Matt interesting thoughts as always! I have not looked into this in any significant detail since I wrote the post on it in March, but it seems like senescent cell removal is clearly effective for anti-aging purposes in mice (albeit by 25 percent per Dr. de Keizer’s study). Not sure if living longer by 25 percent also means keeping your hair 25 percent longer than your genetics would dictate…but the pessimist in me says that would be the best case scenario.

        FYI — I posted this in the past in case you missed it. One of anecdotal project, but interesting nonetheless:

        http://foxo4dri.com/

        http://foxo4dri.com/summary/#comments

        I am thinking or writing a post about this discovery and some other things in the near future. Stay tuned.

        1. I have not seen that, pretty interesting. Noticed from reading he injected it subcutaneously into belly fat and butt, as well as intravenously. Note this was never directly injected into target area (areas of hair loss) and he still claiming to see some benefit from it in regards to hair.

          As has been stated, it would be difficult to reach fully miniaturized follicles via any other method than topical application on spots which are void of mature follicles. You have little to know vascular path to follicles which lose vascularization which is why IMO delivery is extremely important.

          Still very interesting

  11. Let’s get some fresh air here.

    I really want this to be true, but I am fallowing subject of hair for almost 10 years. Only thing that have changed is fact that there is more “players” on field, but past experience learned me that all companies that gave BIG promises like Replicel, Tsuji end up on keep changing release(date and do not provide any pictures with results) or they just failed and despaired.

    Even HT did not improve in time at all. You still can’t get back original density, even if you would have unlimited donor area, or if you want to add density to bring back original state because you only thinning, you can’t do it, because you will get shock loss and end up worse.

    Medications have side effects that for many are not acceptable and results are poor.

    Me personally, would not mind to pay £10.000+ to get my hair back, but I don’t want illusion like 95% of HT is.

  12. Follica, Shiseido, Tsuji and in the future, L’Oreal.

    The first three are the only ones coming out in the near future that work, with the caveat being that Tsuji’s cell cultivation works with human cells.

    Only the first two will be practical options for like, 90% of people. So it’s Follica, Shiseido, or forget about it.

    Everything else is either irrelevant and/or so far away that I don’t see why anyone mid-20s or older gives a damn.

    1. @That Guy how do you know that Follica and Shisedo “work?” You say that with a matter of factness that makes me hope you are right.

      1. How many times must I explain?

        Shiseido works because RepliCel works; it is the same technology.

        Follica works because, as I’ve said to the point of exhaustion, the concept of the technology is clinically proven and they are going to put the last of their devices through a pivotal trial and as per that conference Follica had back in March for dermatologists, actual Doctors — like, people “M.D.” in their name — are on board with it.

        This isn’t China or herbalist BS, this is actual medicine. It does not go to market if isn’t safe, works, and will turn a profit for the company.

        1. And yet nearly all the comments around yours are bemoaning the fact that we are still in the dark or don’t know of any for sure treatments. And we are all looking at the same information and players. It doesn’t add up.

        2. Yeah my thing is… I don’t trust a 25 year old guy who spends all his time on hair loss forums, who tries to talk like he’s a technical expert, yet doesn’t even know that mesenchymal and DP cells are the same thing, and who thinks life ends at 40…. hmmmmmmm nah bro. TBH Christian Miller put it best: “you’re not the smart guy you think you are”

  13. So everyone who gets a transplant will get shock loss and be worse off? So let’s say you want to fill in your temples that are thinning with like 800 grafts you will end up doing more harm than good? I always thought that getting small fue procedures like temple filling in wouldmy cause shock loss. Anybody here just do minimal temple fue with good results? Like nw3 to nw2

  14. Not true about shock loss.. It depends on the individual and also the surgeon… I had a fue for temples and that’s the best thing I ever did..sad thing is I’m just thinning all the way…

  15. I have recently started Rogaine… Was scared of shedding before… But took the step now… Just wanna save what ever is left… If you are not thinning over all and just little bit at temples.. Don’t even think of anything else… Go for Fue.. Results are amazing

    1. Who did your transplant? I have been thinking about finally taking the dive and fixing my hairline. Had consults with Dr. Rahal, but he kept on raising his rate.

  16. Dear Admin,
    thanks for this poll. I remember a while back I posted on some forum a suggestion for a treatment: to harness the miniaturizing effect of androgen receptors on scalp follicles to treat both alopecia and hirsutism (that is, to disable it on head follicles and enable it on other parts of the body where hair is unwanted). The hairloss interest group we represent think this could be another interesting treatment.

  17. #ms is it not enough for you that you already made a treat in another forum about this topic. Do you wanna bring this over here too

  18. Have you checked out the UCLA study: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-scientists-identify-a-new-way-to-activate-stem-cells-to-make-hair-grow

    UCLA scientists identify a new way to activate stem cells to make hair grow.
    “Before this, no one knew that increasing or decreasing the lactate would have an effect on hair follicle stem cells,” said Lowry, a professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology. “Once we saw how altering lactate production in the mice influenced hair growth, it led us to look for potential drugs that could be applied to the skin and have the same effect.”

    1. He can’t. TissUse said in an email that they are literally waiting for the technology to multiply the cells to be invented. Sounds like they have no intention of seriously pursuing that tech.

      They have nothing more than hair cloning attempts in the past; it’s just something to attract investors.

      Tsuji is the only hope for hair cloning

    1. Yep not good. Reboost was a bust and Brotzu was really only other hope of coming out this year which never happened. So now we hold out for 2018, which people are optimistic about, if that fails to bear fruit well we wait longer, lol…

  19. Lauster lol…..that dude has been researching hair cloning since 1997 and still hasn’t started trials on anything. He is just getting paid to do research and thats it. 2017 hasn’t shown any let downs just nothing new really. If next year goes by with nothing solid then we may be in trouble…..

  20. Guys, I emailed Rivertown Therapeutics and received a response. In summary

    – they will complete Phase 2b trial in 2018

    – RT1640 has been reformated for beards.

    – strong examples of reversal of grey hair where it has been applied

    – will have better understanding of release date after the completion of Phase 2b in 2018

    Thoughts? ..personally a bit disappointed given that 2 of the 3 compounds that makeup their topical RT1640 are already FDA approved and the third has been used in 600 patients

    1. Do you know what they mean my reformatted for beards?
      Is this in addition to head hair or are they only targeting beards now and gave up on scalp hair growth??

  21. Had rivertown been available to choose on this poll, i would have chosen them as one of 3 to look out for. their photos look good. I’m hoping they don’t disappear in the near future

    1. @champpy

      Sorry I mean they reformulated their topical to include use on beards too, in addition to head hair.

      Sure, I just used the contact form on their web-page and then used the email they replied from: info@rivertowntherapeutics.com

      Yeah personally I’m pretty damn excited by Rivertown, the pics are amazing, pretty much a cure for ppl upto say NW4, and a very reputable head doctor, who assured us on this very forum that their pics/results were the real deal.

      Added to that reversal of grey has been noted in many cases lol seriously, whats left to reverse!

      I don’t understand why ppl dismiss it out of hand and never really talk of it… I would be more excited about this than Brotzu

      1. I was not too keen about including 30 companies im the poll so left a few out, but some such as Rivertown and Cellmid might be for real at least insofar as potentially getting slightly better results than Minoxidil goes.

  22. Faust good find but it’s most likely a scam. Kerastem has the best chance of working. Sounds like they are trying to do the same thing by using fat and prp.

      1. And there is a difference, Kerastem procedure involves ADRC (adipose derived regenerative cells) , Regeneris medical uses ADSC (adipose derived stem cell) which are subset of ADRC.

  23. It’d be cool to have a breakdown of all of these possible treatments. Like a summary? Some of these have changed names or are things that some people may not be familiar with because they haven;t heard much from them in a while.

    Great post though! Wish I could contribute, but I’m hesitant to vote as I’m not sure what they all are.

  24. MALVERN, Pa., Sept. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRS), a dermatologist-led biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing innovative and differentiated therapies to address significant unmet needs in medical and aesthetic dermatology, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 9,737,469 and U.S. Patent No. 9,730,877, which are directed to methods related to the use and administration of certain janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors for treating hair loss disorders.

    U.S. Patent No. 9,730,877 covers the use of various JAK inhibitors, including tofacitinib, baricitinib, ruxolitinib and decernotinib, to treat androgenetic alopecia, also known as male/female pattern hair loss. Experienced by 70% of men and 40% of women at some point in their lives, androgenetic alopecia is a genetic disorder and the most common cause of hair loss. The ‘877 Patent contains 22 claims and expires in November 2031.

    U.S. Patent No. 9,737,469 covers the use of baricitinib for inducing hair growth and for treating hair loss disorders such as alopecia areata and androgenetic alopecia. Additional issued claims pertain to methods of using baricitinib to treat particular phenotypes of alopecia areata, as well as to treat other hair loss disorders. The ‘469 Patent contains 10 claims and expires in November 2031.

  25. i read on a thread on a different forum that Replicel is now only worth $6 million and that the stock has tanked. certainly doesn’t sound like a company that would be releasing a ground-breaking hair loss product in the next year or two. i think we’re screwed in the short term, sadly.

        1. surely if Replicel weren’t going to produce an innovative product that Shiseido would use, Replicel would benefit substantially

            1. Its a tiny OTC stock. Funds cant really invest in it. I know because i run a fund. Every time i buy this is very difficult to biy without raising the price on myself. I bought before phase 1 data came out. Phase one on hair was seen by market as dissapointing as not much regrowth was seen also what is keeping it down is shiseido saying replicel breached the contract so worst case scenario replicel gets 0 dollars in royalties in japan. The main thing the market is watching out for seems to be their skin rejuvenation therapy. I hope shiseido releases spectacular data. if they do ill make a killing if they dont ill have to eait for the skin phase 2… their funds are running low though.

  26. The only thing real and close in the propuct pipeline is CTHR2 receptor antagonist, but few people vote them ! lol .
    Most people still believe in magic. Shiseido ? really ? will be the next adderans !!!! lol

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