For the past couple of years, various readers have inquired about Mane Biotech (now niostem) and its hair loss App and device. The company CEO Dr. Carlos Chacón shared several updates with me in 2021, but told me that they were still in stealth mode. This is no longer true, and he e-mailed me some interesting new details a couple of days ago.
Update: May 1, 2023
FYI — Per Emil, Indiegogo started including a “tip” option at check-out. If you select “other” and “0”, you can avoid over-paying.
Niostem Indiegogo Campaign
Niostem sent me an update. They now have a fixed date for their official Indiegogo campaign launch: May 2nd, 2023 at 3:00pm Berlin time. Follow their Instagram page for updates.
- Live on IGG on May 2nd. Make sure to sign up for Indiegogo (IGG) first.
- They will be offering a money-back guarantee if the device does not produce results (details will be elaborated on IGG).
- Backers of the campaign (buyers) will have the possibility to apply for the chance to participate in a larger German clinical study. Assuming they fulfill the inclusion criteria and buy the device in IGG.
- The number of devices for sale will be limited.
- The Niostem team was chosen amongst the “The Top12 Wearable Techpreneurs 2023” in the Wearable Technologies Conference Europe 2023. Six hundred entities submitted their solution for consideration.
February 6, 2023
Pilot Study Results and Clinical Trial in 2023
After I wrote this post, Dr. Chacón sent me a before and after photo and detailed update. I summarized the main points below.
- They call their hair follicle reawakening process “Stem Cell Reactivation Technology“.
- In the initial pilot study, after 3 months of continued device usage, hair loss stopped completely in 95.4% of patients, and most of those also showed some hair regrowth. Moreover, after 6 months of use, 100% of participants saw a cessation in hair loss. And they showed an average hair growth of 19.3% and an average hair thickness increase of 9% .
- There were minimal adverse side effects: itchy scalp (scalp pruritus) in 9% of patients and a slight headache in 4.5% of patients. All during the first 2-4 days of use.
- Niostem plans to initiate a much larger clinical trial in Germany in the middle of 2023. Recruitment starts soon and they will likely include some potential customers.
- The internal pilot was a 6-month clinical validation study consisting of 22 men between 21 and 40 years of age. All had male pattern baldness (Norwood scale 2-6). The quantitative hair density analysis was independently performed in a blind manner by Surry Trichology Clinic, UK through trichoscopy imaging.
- Their results were 6x more effective in hair regrowth and 2x faster than the top FDA-approved anti-hair loss drug, Finasteride. The mean hair density increase with Niostem at 6 months was 42 hairs/cm2. In comparison, it was a 7.2 hairs/cm2 increase after 12 months of Finasteride 1 mg per day use (based on Neste et al, 2000). Not sure why they picked this particular study for comparison.
- With Monasterium Lab, they ran some ex vivo experiments (proof-of-principle/concept) with follicular units. Niostem collaborated with them as a CRO.
Niostem: New Name for Mane Biotech
Of most importance, Mane Biotech has been rebranded to niostem. On the new company’s website, it says that they are headquartered in Germany and the hair loss device will be launched in 2023. Note that niostem’s co-founders are Dr. Chacón and a person named Emil Aliev.
The before and after photos on niostem’s website show significant hair growth after 6 months of device use. One of the reasons that this product is coming out so fast is because no clinical trials seem to have been required. I am pleased about this, because most companies that undergo three phases of clinical trials take forever (e.g., Follica) or often give up due to lack of funding.
Note there there is one online anecdotal report on the German hair loss forum from someone who took part in a Mane Biotech study. Not sure if reliable.
Dr. Chacón previously worked at the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Biology for Ageing in Germany. Some of his past research on hair follicle stem cells can be found here and on his Linkedin.
He is one of the co-applicants in a patent filed by the Max Planck Institute in 2016. It entails the culturing of epidermis-derived stem cells, including hair follicles. Among the papers co-authored by Dr. Carlos Chacón-Martínez include a 2021 one on hair follicle stem cell fate.
Electrical Stimulation of the Scalp
Interestingly, one of his patents relates to an electric device to stimulate hair growth. It was filed in 2020 by Mane Biotech and is still pending. I suspect that niostem’s new low-level electrical stimulation hair growth device makes use of the discoveries in the above patent.
Although this concept might sound like fantasy, I actually wrote an entire post on electricity and hair growth in the past. There is some evidence that electric stimulation can reactivate the dormant stem cells surrounding miniaturized hair follicles. Thereby leading to hair regeneration.
On a related note, hair growth lasers also work via a similar concept, but involve light energy instead of electricity. And recently, I also discussed sound energy and hair growth.
Niostem Device Releasing in 2023
According to the podcast embedded at the bottom of this post, the wearable device is lightweight and wireless. It needs to be used a few days a week for life if you want to hold on to any gains. On niostem’s website FAQ section, it says the product will release in 2023.
Among the advantages of this device versus most existing hair loss treatment options include:
- No side effects that can happen with medications.
- Ease of use. You can wear it like a cap or helmet while doing chores. But do not use it outdoors in case of rain or snow.
- No messy application process such as with topical hair loss products or hair thinning shampoos.
Niostem’s Twitter and Instagram pages can be followed for the latest updates.
Last month, Dr. Chacon gave an interview on the “Products with Purpose” podcast that is worth a listen. The company has been working on this wearable device for almost four years. He mentions that they verified their results at the well known third party Monasterium Laboratory. The hair growth increase after 6 months of device use was 19%.
They plan to launch an Indiegogo crowdfunding round in March. This technology has further implications to overall stem cell rejuvenation and human health and longevity.
Wow! I’m so hyped for this!
Pretty cool! Just recently found them on Instagram and really looking forward to trying the device.
Please keep your expectations reasonable! Dr. Chacon will send me more information on their clinical validation (not clinical trials I presume) soon.
Wow, they worked with Ralf Paus from Monasterium?! Why does this get published only now? What are the next steps?
What is the launch date? Price? MORE DETAILS PLEASE!!!!
Thanks, and they have an undisclosed advisor who is also solid. I will write his name when it is official. But I would still temper expectations. I would be very surprised if this device grew any hair on totally bald regions of the scalp. Although it may be possible in the long run if this phenomena of electrical stimulation can reactivate dormant stem cells.
FYI — Can someone listen to the podcast again and confirm the Monasterium information. I am too lazy to spend another hour re-listening, but am certain about what I heard the first time around.
It’s been a week since I listened to it, but I heard the same. Monasterium.
The guy sounds super professional and empathetic too.
If it seriously stops all further hairloss, I will buy it. Coming from Austria it will be easy to buy for me and I already registered. A possible combination with CosmeRNA sounds alluring to me. Expect nothing, hope for something.
I am still doubtful though. Be cautious, fellow sufferers.
An older 2019 video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqiAE3apwXg
Would be fun to contact the former CEO and ask him why he left the company?
Most likely because he simply moved back to the UK. He just lived in Germany for a limited amount of time it seems, and then decided to move back. He also had another business registered in Germany which he liquidised in the same week he left the company …
The device doesn’t look like it’s covering the entire head? Is that not needed?
I had the same thought. Strange design.
How can I buy one?
Not yet for sale, but I presume it will come out in Germany first. Some time in 2023.
I thought this was a scam? Its been about to release for years now.
If it were not for my electricity and hair growth post (including a Junji Fukuda study in there), I would not take this with any seriousness.
No it hasn’t.
Wow this sounds amazing. There is hope for us guys!
I highly doubt this will do much, but hope for the best.
Waiting for the clinical validation to see what this can do, because from the pictures it’s not very clear.
I’m also very curious how the 12x more effective than current treatments will be justified because it doesn’t seem even close to same effectiveness at the moment.
The CEO told me that 12x better is based on it being 6x more effective than finasteride published clinical trials. And doing so in 6 months (compared to 12 months of finasteride treatment).
I assume it must be a low-dose Finasteride trial that they analyzed. The hair growth increase from this device at 6 months is 19%, so that is what we have to go by and hope it turns out to be true.
Is there any prediction that the growth rate continues (i.e. 38% at 12 months)? As it’s a bit misleading to say 12x if it just achieves finasteride results in half the time and then plateaus?
Also, you mention the overlapping mechanism with LLLT, did the CEO opine on whether stacking this with laser therapy could yield even partially additive results?
I also recommended them using 6x (in half the time) rather than 12x. Unless the success rate doubles at 12 months.
I am not sure if everyone trusts the laser hair growth success rates, but good question.
From the meta analysis I linked beneath your LLLT post, it seems as though the quality of evidence for laser therapy is as good as that for min or fin? I’m strongly considering replacing min with hairmax and am frustrated I only found out about LLLT this late in the game….
Thanks, will recheck. There was a Dateline show many years ago in which laser fared better than Finasteride and Minoxidil. I covered it on this blog. But my guess is that most gains make no major cosmetic difference to the naked eye, so many people remain dissatisfied.
That’s probably true, but it’d be interesting to know how much they overlap, for example, the burden of niostem, LLLT and cosmerna could maybe permit 35-40% regrowth, which is potentially clinically significant.
For all the hype of this the before and after 6 month pictures aren’t that significant regrowth. Similar to LLLT device thickening. Will do absolutely nothing for any bald areas. Yet they claimed to “cure hair loss”
They did say in an email response to me a few months back it’s for “for men in the early to mid-stage of hair loss”. So yes, I don’t believe they are targeting guys with bald areas. That being said, I was planning to give this a go, however I’m underwhelmed with what I see so far. The claims far outweigh what the pics show. Still might try it, doubt I’ll be an early adopter unless the price is enticing which I doubt. I’m guessing well over $1K, again just a guess. If that’s the case I’d wait for more real world feedback to see if it’s worth the price of admission.
I’m sorry guys, typo…they AREN’T targeting guys with bald areas. Admin post this or please fix my error for accuracy. I wish there was a way to edit our posts. :-)
Exactly Andy. I saw the six month pictures of before and after. Based on what I’m seeing will definitely not be spending money on this. The results are profoundly underwhelming and one wonders if any difference at all can be detected in before and after. I see little to no difference at all. The good thing is they’re being honest about the results as they are very believable that this thing does just about zilch. I have an iRestore Professional LLLT helmet. I was taken once, not going to be taken again so fast. Failure after failure in hair loss and the hair cloning folks just can’t seem to get their acts together. I admire the fact so many now are working to find a cure to this horror but frustrating that nothing really works for the vast majority of people.
Like admin said, its not possible for the device to be 6x more effective than Fin if the pilot trial results showed a 20% increase only.
It smells like marketing hype to me. Perhaps the CIO could clarify their claim but it should be obvious that things like these can only harm the crediblity of the product.
Actually, the 6x is not what I was questioning at all. It is possible that a 19% growth with the device is 6x as effective as Finasteride 0.5mg (if the later only showed a 3% increase in hair count in the trial that was being analyzed).
I was only comparing the 6x versus 12x difference in interpretation.
Admin, from large studies its well established Fin alone can give a 10-12% increase on average. Also, im sure we all have seen way better pictures from random dut/fin users than what Niostem has presented so far.
Not saying they are being dishonest, Im all in for waiting until more info becomes available. But pretty clear the numbers arent really matching here.
Yes I am not sure what to make of this as yet, but just wanted to clarify the misinterpretation. And Dutasteride has even better results than Finasteride.
All I am hoping for is the 19% increase in hair count as advertised. The findings in my electricity and hair growth post clearly suggest that this phenomenon can work.
Assuming this will be a very large financial outlay I don’t know why anyone would opt for it over giving LLT a try. This seems like a total scam.
– website, big claims, not backed up by photos showing marginal regrowth
– social media with posts of an NW0 sharing his expert insights on hair loss… Sure
– the usual project fear stuff about drugs and sides and how this is the only safe option…
– all just smacks of some guy trying to cash in on his credentials, doubt there’s any value to consumer
Generally, I absolutely don’t trust a thing about this company. I live in Germany and there seems to be so many irritating next big thing start ups popping up recently, which seem to disappear after 6 months, having made someone and his investors a ton of money, at the expense of gullible consumers. I perceive a growing culture of dishonest business here… Every bloody advert on tv and social media going the same way.
We are going the American way…
Somehow disappointing.
Nevertheless, I may try together with CosmeRNA.
However, I will definately continue with OM and Dutasteride as they are proven treatments. Perhaps some synergistic benefits….who knows.
I believe in ‘combined arms operations’ in attacking hair loss and attacking immediately.
Admin, you have any news regarding the UWM cap device? Sounds similar to the ManeBiotech device. I understand that it gets developed by Rise Technologies.
Seems like a some positives with some questionable things.
Seems like the device is based on science and the results, while not clinically verified, are verified by a well known 3rd party.
People seem to be likening this to LLLT, however I don’t think this is strictly a good comparison.
Based on the research this will bypass the affects of DHT and rejenerate the lost stem cells of the damage follicles.
This is different than LLLT as LLLT does nothing to prevent the affects of DHT and rather just aids slightly in hair growth. So has more of an insignificant slow down.
So there’s still questions on if the device really works and if the device losses efficacy, but there’s enough there that I will try it along side adding Cosmerna to my stack and see how it goes.
Post updated with new feedback from the CEO on top.
“Stem Cell Reactivation Technology”…for some reason that made me laugh. It smacks of the BS we in the medical device marketing game come up with. Not that various devices don’t work, just a bunch of marketing gurus coming up with fancy/catchy names.
Very nice of the CEO to actually answer some of our concerns.
I really can’t see 42 hairs/cm2, and I can definitely see the 7.2 hairs/cm2 of finasteride thought :P My only explanation is that it’s still vellus hairs, not very visible in the 6 month mark yet. And I really don’t believe a person would risk his reputation if he didn’t believe he has something there. With that said, I really hope it works and for it to be out soon, for people to test it out
If this is true, anyobdy could regrow at least a whole norwood without sides. We will see this year if this and cosmerna are scams or not.
Yes, its reassuring they are planning another trial with more participants.
And while I still find the 6x Fin results a biased statment bcs they conveniently chose a study with below the average results we well find out sooner than later what the device is really capable of.
Thanks Admin for providing more info about this product.
One more thing, they measured hair density rather than hair count. My guess is a lot of those hairs werent terminal at the 6 month mark. That may explain the discrepancy between the pics disclosed with the numbers they are claiming..
For those that did not see the link in the post, it is worth reading the below in its entirety:
https://www.hairlosscure2020.com/electricity-and-hair-growth/
$15 reservation for early access and reduced shipping. Kinda makes me think the total cost will be in the hundreds (rather than $1000-plus)….but just a guess.
Where do you get this price from?
Hi – click “preorder” and then click “return to cart.”
Interestingly, it lists US addresses and is in US currency.
I’ll admit I didn’t read the post on electricity Admin. I’m sure there is merit to the technology, same can be said about laser, there are quite a few studies. Before caps and combs laser treatments for hair loss were administered in doctor’s offices (still are I imagine). The caps had “science” behind them, Capillus was originally only dispensed by doctors so it must be legit (sarcasm). I truly believe that lasers do something for hair loss, however for the vast majority beyond early stage, young sufferers (women have a better shot than men) laser treatments (add PRP to the list with similar credentials and results) does little to nothing. Yes, Yoda has one of the original HairMax combs. I’m not saying it is, jury is still out, however Niostem is reminding me of the earlier days of laser treatment, combs and caps. A lot of claims, backed up by “science”, costly at the onset for what it is with little to no results for the majority. I hope this isn’t the case, I might even still give it a go at some point unless we learn it’s more or less useless pretty early on.
This reminded me of some of my initial treatments for hair loss. Before fin/min, in the early 80’s I went to a place called Klein’s then name changed to Smart Haircare out of Canada. They’d slap some lotions and potions on your head and then put a pad with electrical stimulation on for about a half hour as I recall. I stopped going after the introduction of 2% min. However, it started to loose it’s effectiveness. I was living in Phoenix at the time, around 1991. I went to some guy that had a contraption and he had two handheld cables with metal ends hooked up to a machine that delivered electrical pulses. I won’t compare Niostem to these snake oil treatments from the dark ages but the notion has been around for years. Also, when those who bitch about only having the current treatments, trust me, it could be worse and has been…for me!
Why are they doing a clinical trial? Are they testing for both safety and efficacy? If the former, what concerns do they have and how will they measure it?
No clinical fda trials needed, fancy website, obscure and confusing % of effectiveness and growth, fancy marketing = this stuff won’t work….maybe make your current hair healthier but that is all. I wish the company well. I need to get into the hair loss business and come out with some fancy looking helmet and sell it. Lol
Make one that uses lasers, sound waves, electricity and microneedles. 4-in-1.
and spray finasteride/minoxydil on your scalp. 5-in-1.
I once got a terrible shock when standing on a wet concrete balcony clicking on a light in South East Asia. Woke up the next morning an spoke nothing but Mandarin for three days. Didn’t grow one f*#@ing hair either.
Hi Admin
This news was showing today on Australia local tv news channel.
And again it is from doctor Sinclair clinic doing trial on potential treatment which unheard of before. I thought you will be interested.
https://amp.9news.com.au/article/53308555-516e-441b-a6ce-83243dbe9b67
Thanks Billa. It is Latanoprost, which (along with Bimatoprost) they have been discussing for a decade! I covered both in the past. Hope it has some effect on scalp hair.
The website is very bad and suspicious. I registered for early access for free. Now you have to pay 15 Dollar. You can just click on pay without entering any data. One second the device is “out of stock“, when you click on “back“ it is shown again.
There are a lot of spelling mistakes on the page. If it works, they should definitely spend more money in marketing.
Can low voltage electricity emulate lightening?
https://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/lightning_cures_blindness_and_deafness
Imagine claiming your results are so amazing they blow every existing hairloss treatment completely out of the water, then having only before-after pictures with so little change you have to resort into using tactics like angle/lighting manipulation and laying misplaced geometrical shapes on top of the pictures to make it seem there was actually any change at all :D
Also, take a look at their instagram. :D I don’t even need to even say anything about it, do I?
The whole thing just has a scam written all over it. What a shame. The owner talked a lot about using coming months to build a trust to their product in a field that is characterized with mistrust. It seems that they chose to go to opposite direction instead.
Has anyone tried an EMS device for this? A EMS device costs 50 to 150 Dollar.
The device in the picture has only a few dots, which seems to be electric. But how could this influence all hair?
Hi. Admin do you know how to find this 0.5 finasteride study? I was unable to find any study with 0.5 mg finasteride dosage myself.
Must be 1 mg per day. Will correct in post.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11069460/
Dr. Tsuji is back
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000001.000116188.html
FYI — This went to spam, but luckily I checked that folder today. So Organ is still in the game. Tsuji already said that he took over Organ’s debt last year to keep the patent rights. Can’t figure out the relationship between this new Organtech and Tsuji as yet.
https://patents.google.com/patent/DE102020121715A1/en
It may be of interest for some
It is already in the post Mrka. Check out second half.
Results from the latest email update look great actually!
https://dim.mcusercontent.com/cs/8e566f607f09a52c60d71366e/images/4f679674-f4e3-6fab-6ae4-ac66545d5e26.png?w=564&dpr=2
https://dim.mcusercontent.com/cs/8e566f607f09a52c60d71366e/images/871d74d2-5892-96af-04be-a3661f4af417.jpg?w=564&dpr=2
Could you please specify source of mail
Just the newsletter subscription.
“Today is an exciting day, because we are going to talk about the results of our 6-months pilot study.
It took us 5 years of stem cell research and another 2 years of hardware engineering to develop our product.
The Results
Our testers stopped their hair loss after 3 months and on average increased their hair density by 19.3% after 6 months.
Or in other words, our testers had 19% more hair after 6 months.
Quantification
We collaborated together with the Surrey Trichology Clinic to quantify hair density for all our study participants.
The exact same spot, marked by a non-permament tattoo, on the participant’s scalp is being analyzed at day 0 and then after 6 months.
The Comparison
We then plotted our results against the trial results of other products and have seen major differences.
Our niostem wearable is 6x more effective than Finasteride in half the time.
And already after 3 months usage we are much more effective than any other hair loss product out there, without causing side-effects.
How are we different, you ask?
We don’t just focus on stopping hair loss…
Instead we focus on getting your cells to function properly again
We go deeper by targeting your hair follicle stem cells
Thus reactivating cell growth & kickstarting natural hair regrowth
We work with your body not against it (unlike pharmaceuticals)
No side-effects
Our Mission?
Use our regenerative wearable technology to revolutionize skin care as whole.
We want to form a paradigm shift in which technology is used to amplify the human body to reach it’s full potential!”
They sent me the photo last week, but I do not want to assume that this is a typical result as yet.
That’s a very promising looking picture but I have to ask: If they have pictures like that, why did they decide to post ones where if it wasn’t for the title, you coudn’t even tell which one is a before picture and which one an after picture (Giovanni). The cynic in me says this might be because the person in the newsletter picture wasn’t really from their trial. The more generous and fair interpretation is that it’s because the zero change subjects were the norm and they did not want to lie.
I could see that the two pictures on the website are examples of growing from more advanced Norwoods, with bald spots. Where as the one in the email looks like diffuse thinning, which likely responds quicker as they’re recovering the hair from a less damaged stage.
And I do disagree about not being able to tell. Looking at the Giovanni picture playing attention to the hair whorl you can definitely tell there’s more hair.
The way I see it is these pictures show that people with less advanced balding will recover faster. But that’s the same for every treatment.
Huh… Thats peculiar. At what time of the day did you receive this? I’ve been subscribed to their newsletter since last summer, but I haven’t received any update like this.
Could it be that they had some issues transfering all the people to their new email list when they rebranded?
I had to resubscribe to the Niostem mailing list, probably worth doing the same.
Yes, subscribe to niostem.com newsletter.
Oh, okay. I asked them a couple of times whether this would needed to be done, but did not get an answer. Thanks for clarification. Any other news letters they have send during their time as niostem?
The last email did have a link to here
https://leads.niostem.com/indiegogo?mc_cid=4519ab9bec&mc_eid=aa0504c6bd
Seems there will be an indiegogo campaign to raise funds? Or maybe all orders will be through the campaign.
Hard to tell but I did get this info back in an email when asking about pre orders
“The actual pre-sales starts in April and by doing the reservation you get special perks! (this is why the site is currently down, because we are aligning on the final perks + quantity of devices that will have these perks)”
Yeah, not the most professional org to date. I signed up on the Mane site twice, got a few emails, was supposed to learn about pre-market launch. Never received info about Niostem. I’ve signed up there now, thanks gents. I’m not a fanboy or true believer but always interested in what they have to say. Open mind until we learn one way or another, at this point leaning towards it being a “laser like” product/results. Hopefully not and they back up their grand claims with science and real-world results.
Thanks for sharing! So indie gogo starts in April and devices will arrive to customers six months later (if everything goes according to the plan), so I guess we should be expecting to get our hands on the device in October-November range? Damn, I guess no thick hair this summer either.
Oh did they say anything about 6 months later?
Yes. In the podcast they said that the products will arrive six months after the orders are placed in indie gogo -launch. I think it could also mean six months after the campaign has ended which is why I said it might also be november when they arrive.
Have to say, this new pics are way better. Nevertheless, the best news is them planning a new trial. 20 or so participants isn’t enough to validate a product and its cool they know that.
Any idea how much this device will cost?
They are targeting around $1K.
How did you come up with that number? I don’t believe one person will give this amount of money for a controversial treatment with no real clinical trials.
I asked them, that’s how I came up with that number.
If anyone is interested. Pre orders for Niostem are up.
Was able to put a $25 deposit in and get a 33% discount on the Indiegogo campaign, along with free shipping.
I’m assuming the campaign opens in 3/4 days going by the countdown on the site.
I think they said the indie gogo starts in April/May so I believe the clock is just for signing the waitlist which allows you to get the ”perks” and whatnot.
Yoda, did they really say its going to be something like $1k? Jesus. I don’t know… I’m quite sure its going to go down at some point if you wait, and I don’t know how much earlier you’re even going to get the product even if you pre-order it. From what I gather they’re going to use that money to build up their production capacity and if you only get your pre-orders after they have already done that, I don’t know if its that much faster. I understood that the delivery time is 6 months from indie gogo even for those who pre-ordered, but I could be mistaken. Maybe they’ll soon inform us how it goes.
$1k doesn’t faze me if the device can live up to the claims they are making. Remember, $1K is a target, that doesn’t guarantee they’ll hit it and that will be the price. I’m a bit more questioning for paying $30 USD to get in line for the line to the Indiegogo campaign. We don’t know what the commercial price will be, there are mostly claims, although now with some photographic evidence. If they don’t make it to market I imagine you can kiss your pre pre $30 goodbye. Not the end of the world, my inclination is to hold off on that until we learn more. I want to believe in these guys, however I remain a cautious realist. I’m not jumping on it nor writing it off.
If it does change things. According to the website you can get the £25 back if you don’t decide to go through with the Indiegogo campaign.
I personally figured it’s worth it to get that 33% discount if it really is around 1k
I understand that you can get the £25 back if you don’t decide to go through with the Indiegogo campaign. However, what if they can’t raise enough money, launch is delayed or even abandoned? Niostem seems far from a launch, a lot can happen between now and then with start ups. Not saying that any of this will happen and if the device is a viable treatment I certainly hope it doesn’t, just things to consider.
In the newsletter from yesterday they wrote 11.6 times better than Finasterid.
But the photos definitely don’t show this. If those people had used the device over 6 months the results would be disappointing.
In Germany you could sue a company if they advertise something they cannot deliver and it definitely will be hard to deliver a device that works so well as promised.
I don’t get this company and the presentation of the product with different data about the product.
What is sure is that I’m not going to pay $1K for something like that. Microneedling also reactivates stem cells in the long run, and it doesnt have to be done every single day…it’s cheaper and less restrictive, even if it hurts
The strategic trickle of emails from this company are really causing me to believe that we have yet another snake oil on our hands. Wouldn’t part with my 1k USD any time soon.
Yeah the emails are making me really suspicious, as if I wasn’t already on the fence about this. I’ve been receiving doubles of emails, days apart. Rather than sending things out to everyone at once they seem to have it timed. I for example only received the first email on the same day the other reader here received the second (the one with pictures). And to top it off they seem to have finally switched the people from the old mane mailing list to the Niostem one, so I’m now receiving a third round of the exact same emails.
The countdown started again, adding 40 days.
They also changed the images, but replaced them with other dubious images, apparently using hardening and softening filters.
One of the pictures of the “consultant” was also deleted, so I guess he didn’t want to be shown with this project.
I don’t really understand the company. They really need to convince people, because at the moment there are only “Nioscam” contributions.
A study from an INDEPENDENT institute would help.
A reddit comment summed it up perfectly. If they’ve had success, why are they using pictures of people with exaggerated filters that don’t show that success at all?
In the past, they wrote something about “lasers” (sorry, I couldn’t find the post where I read that). If they fail to deliver on their promises, there will be a shitstorm. If the product really works, they should market honestly, be transparent and avoid raising unrealistic expectations.
Okay, I think they have revealed their hand for the final time now.
They literally just added a banner on their website that says ”As seen on” and then lists a bunch of news media outlet logos that take you to fake news articles that are actually adverts of their own making. Some of those links don’t even take you to the real websites of those companies, but to fake ones instead.
How dishonest can they get? They are literally lying to your face that outlets like Fox and Market Watch have published articles about them, when the articles they are redirecting you to are really just advertisements written in a way that is meant to deceive people.
You can also see that they’re using different filters in their before/after pictures and to top this all of, they send me a message a few days ago saying their pre-order campaing started on that day, even when it really started what… weeks ago?
Obviously, I’m quite pissed about the situation myself since I kinda had high hopes for this company. But I literally don’t see any reason they would do this if they had a working product.
There was a comment on reddit that summed up perfectly what is wrong about this company. It seem that their strategy is not to build their business over time, but try to get as many pre-orders for their products as possible and try to benefit from it before people notice their device does not work. How convenient that they also have a 6 month window post-launch to take more orders before first customers get their products.
Over half the comments here are negative and skeptical so far (including a few from yourself), so I think I am fair. I have approved all comments so far, but at this point will delete if repetitive.
I make no money whatsoever from Mane Biotech and they do not advertise on this site.
I am pretty sure that in one of their emails or on their site, they state that this device is not going to cause hair growth in totally bald regions of the scalp.
This concept of electricity and hair growth was never going to be a miracle. I would go in with the expectation that it is similar to laser and PRP, but hope to be proven wrong.
Buyer beware as always with new technologies.
I have no idea about how deceptive (or not) the filters are, but you and others have been allowed to make your points.
Its not fake articles.
Combing through the linkedIn comments, they brought on new external help to handle marketing. This is likely them. If you actually read the page it even lists the service that provided the articles, “Brandpush”.
So they just bought inexpensive articles rather than going to each newspaper and asking for a custom article. Every article you read on a product was paid for. This is pretty standard and they are real articles.
Looking at the used email templates there was a change in the used software and template for the preorder email. So what likely happened is the new marketing team took over, saw there was probably not enough pre orders and restarted the pre order deal feeling the initial email wasn’t good enough.
Niostem has always been a wildcard, not something to get your hopes up for. Just wait to see reviews from people who can waste 800 on testing a product. They’re also planning clinical trials after the initial launch.
It’s pretty obvious that they are not going to get any pre orders as long as they refuse to show any data. I don’t get why they don’t focus on that and try all these other things instead.
I really, really hope that it works to some extent, but no data -> no money
They haven’t refused to show data.
They have provided data it’s literally at the top of this article, it’s just not clinically verified by FDA clinical trials, which they are looking to begin at the same time as the product release.
People just would rather call them scammers or say the results aren’t good enough like they do with everything.
Well… we need data from a third party source. Someone from the company saying what the data is, doesn’t really count for me. I think that’s the biggest concern for most people.
Again, nothing against the product. I really hope that it works and that’s why I’m here commenting. But they need to build a little bit more trust, not through marketing but through being transparent.
Well in the post here it was mentioned that “The quantitative hair density analysis was independently performed in a blind manner by Surry Trichology Clinic, UK through trichoscopy imaging.”
I’ll bring this up in the Facebook group see about them releasing the full set of data from that alalysis, and what the study design was like.
It wouldn’t be FDA approved backings but maybe seeing the study design might be more convincing.
Have you visited the Surry Trichology Clinic, UK’s website? They promote “light therapy” for hair loss. Being an American, Trichology Clinics aren’t a thing here. My reaction is that they are glorified hair salons with some training and tools, not staffed by actual medically trained clinicians. Am I wrong? Maybe some of our EU friends would care to comment.
I’m from the UK, so to give some insight in how they work here.
Trichologists aren’t medically trained here as they cannot prescribe drugs. But they do provide some treatment for scalp and hair issues that don’t need prescription.
They are treated in the same realm as Podiatrists and Physiotherapists as they are allied with and can give referrals to go see the NHS, and have insight and expertise in these areas.
They are not allowed to prescribe so are therefore not medically trained but can treat milder issues that do not require a prescription. This is advised as to keep people with non issues off the NHS.
So for the process of monitoring and providing tripograms that would be within their realm of expertise expected.
Also I had a look at the website and the laser treatment mentioned was UV treatment for scalp scaling.
Thanks for the insight Falcon. I’m not ready to crucifix these guys nor take the plunge, jury is still out. However, having their “clinical” proof validated by a Trichology Clinic doesn’t give me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I imagine it has to do with cost of a proper clinical trial/validation, but still. There marketing has a lot of parallels to laser caps, combs, helmets and we pretty much know how effective those are, or lack thereof.
Thanks for taking the time Falcon! I am not motivated at all to analyze their marketing strategy and email issues.
No worries admin. I’ve worked in the start up realm for a while, so quite used to seeing this type of questionable marketing.
Speaking of which I got an email inviting me to a private Facebook group due to pre ordering where they say:
“Don’t worry, we are not planning to spam you, just share more behind the scenes towards the development of the product + ask you questions about features you’d like to have in both device & app”
So I’ll share anything interesting that comes from that for anyone following along.
I still think Niostem is a wildcard that could go either way and not something people should be putting their faith in, much the same realm as Cosmerna atm.
Thanks again!
I have pre-ordered the device.
The only risk is losing some money that I do not consider significant. If I lose it..tough luck.
But if it delivers acceptable results its worth every Euro. I have not that many years left thus I am a bit more desperate.
The real question however is , can I afford not to use it when the chance of success is perhaps 50%
My concern is more the usage. 30 min every day is not too bad at home..
However I travel a lot and I am not sure how to use it when I stay with friends in a hotel. Would prefer to keep it a secret. Perhaps 30 min sessions on the toilet…no idea
But I agree, their marketing is not great. They should slso not have changed their name.
According to their new newsletter lasercaps would be as effective as fin and min together.
And their product is much more effective.
I can`t believe that`s true. I don`t know how they measure these data. Are there any information about an official trial or is it just internal promises?
All people on reddit just write, that it will be very expensive (about 1000 Euro), but I couldn`t find any information on the website. If it`s under 200 Euro it would be a fair price when you look at EMS devices, but 1000 Euro seems to be a lot.
According to their website the guaranteed launch price is $899 for the first 500 members (33 percent lower than the regular price thereafter).
I’m skeptical and wait and see. I’d rather pay the higher price if I’m sure it works than the lower price and play guinea pig.
The launch is scheduled for April 2023:
https://www.ibtimes.com/niostem-launches-worlds-first-device-reverse-hair-loss-3678045
Ok, at the risk of being pummeled by my fellow oldsters Mjones and Summy Kim (I don’t blame them), I signed up for Niostem’s goofy presale program. I still think the odds are that this is on par with laser caps results. It was only $28, I can afford to loose it if they go belly up. I don’t think the presale is a cash grab, $28×500 is $14K, these guys are spending more on their pre-launch marketing. I figure if they can prove their lofty claims then $899 will be a bargain, if not then I’ll attempt to get my $28 back as related. In the meantime I should get their hush, hush insiders info. Haven’t seen anything yet.
Since that last posting I logged into their Facebook page, not sure if this is for pre-sale people like me or anyone that they approve. Nothing impressive to speak of, just a loaded survey question and some other generic posts.
Hellou Yoda, a wise decision.
28E is nothing.
I am wondering why people are so concerned about cost.
If you add up the costs of balding, 900E are peanuts.
Lost opportunities in your private life. On average lower earnings in your professional life.
Due to our advanced age we simply can not afford not to use it. Young guys can afford to wait. But the wooden box for us is not that far away. It would be nice having the experience of being not concerned about hair one day.
Hi MRKA my friend, time will tell if it’s a wise decision or not. My guess at this time is I’ll be asking for my $28 back unless they have more substantive proof to back up their lofty claims. I’d be happy if it helps with itching and inflammation. I was in an email exchange with one of the founders and asked that question. He never answered, not a good sign.
They added two new examples of before and after on their website. Nothing impressive. And we cant know if the device at least halt hairloss unless it is used for 1-3 years. Their VIP facebook page is really basic and useless. I paid the 25$ but no way paying 900 for this.
https://niostem.com/pages/stories
Anyone able to speak German.
Seems some podcaster got it early
https://youtu.be/tderWqB8Q0s
Am busy today, but if anyone wanted to try:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ai+to+translate+youtube+german+to+english
Hello admin,
Nothing new really. Everything has been already discussed here. Its a mock up that he is using.
He gets one of the first devices once released. He will then provide regular progress updates.
Thanks!
Cheers for the summary.
Small bit of an update from their Facebook Page.
They posted an FAQ.
Only two questions that haven’t been answered before are
What is the money-back policy?
We are working on the possibility of a 6-month performance guarantee.
What is the legal warranty policy for the device?
We are offering a 1-year warranty for our product.
The legal warranty covers any hardware defects presumed to have existed at the
time of delivery and which become apparent within a period of one year.
Could have had a livestream but the people there overwhelmingly voted for a written FAQ fearing they would miss a livestream. But really they missed an opportunity to better get info.
Wow – a 6-month money back guarantee would really make this worth trying.
Yeah hopefully they get it confirmed. I assume there’s stuff to sort out with insurance on that.
I’ll post an update here is there’s any confirmation on the Facebook page.
Disclosure:
As of April 12, 2023, Niostem is testing a banner ad on this site for two months. I have not removed any negative comments in this post and will continue to remain unbiased. Unless you repeat the same things over and over.
I did not expect this company to ever advertise when I wrote this post two months ago. Since they are a startup still raising funds.
Update from Niostems email.
Key points
Launch Date: 2nd of May 2023
Product Cost: $899 (€) (incl. Early Bird discount – get it here)
Product Delivery: October 2023 (first batch)
this is why we feel confident to offer a money back guarantee should the product not deliver results within 6-months!
So Money back guarantee if you don’t get results.
From the same email Falcon noted, this give’s me pause, is there a chance you can receive something different than you signed up for?
4. Is there a risk that you will not get your product?
• There is always a risk, but if worst comes to worst we could change plans and assemble the final product with 3D printed body parts, also without a fully-fledged manufacturing line.
• The product will work. But it will not be of the same high quality that we currently envision it to be.
I agree that was a bit surprising (…but points for transparency \_(ツ)_/). The fallback is that you’ll still have the 6-month money back guarantee. The question then becomes: will your money be there to claim 6 months after release? As Falcon notes, perhaps there is some insurance involved….hopefully.
Hey Drew, makes me question even more if being an early adopter is prudent. Or is it better to wait until you’re sure to receive a finished product, there’s more results available and they remain in business, even if it costs more.
I think it might be that the product works the same, but they don’t set up a manufacturing line so the price might go up.
Essentially guaranteeing we will get a device on preorder. But the quality of a 3D printed device wouldn’t be as good. But the efficacy would be the same.
I know there’s a livestream on Sunday 7pm Berlin time. I’ll see if I can get on that and ask for more info.
On niostem website: “Reserve our niostem wearable today & unlock exclusive perks. Money-back guarantee in the first 6-months. Sale starts 2nd of May 2023”
Is there reliable information about this product?
Depends what you mean by reliable and what you’re referring to.
On the guarantee being legit. Yeah. Product laws are pretty strict in the EU so they’re not lying about that guarantee. It’s also septate from the warranty as it’s results based guarantee not that the product works and doesn’t break.
Reliable as in FDA approval giving a seal to say it 100% works? No.
But there was a decent sized initial trial that was independently verified. And they are planning on another larger trial in summer.
They’ve actually just started releasing Q&A video on the niostem YouTube channel that go over quite a few questions that might be worth you checking out.
On if it’s worth picking up or not is currently a personal choice if you’re able to spend the money and deal with the money back guarantee.
I am not the one to ever say too good to be true. Normally what I start with is show me an impeccable safety profile and through a course of years.
I like everything about this product in theory but I am cautious of 900 euro helmets and don’t think the before/afters compare to some documented finasteride results despite supposed 9x greater efficacy… I will cautiously wait to see the results of those brave souls who test this product.
I was on the Q&A stream yesterday, Carlos comes across well and was willing to answer all questions. I’m still very skeptical given the lack of data with only 22 participants, glad they are doing a second trial, it’s apparently open to everyone but will have to visit Germany 6 times for the duration (6 months). 80 participants, 40 of which will be placebo. Their first trial excluded people on min/fin so expect the same will be for the second one.
Will be interesting to see if they sell out, in the newsletter they said they had 10k subscribers interested. At $899 it’s a tough sell and that’s just for the 500 people that paid the $25. They said people without the reservation can get the next tier which is 15% off, something like $949.
Well the Indiegogo has already reached its goal so I think they will get more than they need.
Hi Falcon and all of you, MW from Sweden here.
My first writing on this forum, however, I have followed the discussions for quite a time with interest. Good to hear Falcon and I was actually one of the first 100 to buy this device. We´ll see if I´m a fool but I find Carlos and Emil from Niostem to be legit even if you never know for sure. Hopefully this will be a good device.
Max, I was also part of yesterday`s webinar with Carlos and Emil and was the one that asked them about the upcoming trial. As you mention they aim for 80 participants this time but maybe there will be more than 40 of them that will use the real stuff, could maybe be 60/20 or 50/30, we`ll see. I also asked Carlos if they will stretch the trial up to a year but even if that would have been interesting due to the fact that they observed a better result after 6 months than after, was it 3 or 4 months, it will be unlikely that the trial will be something else than 6 months this time as well due to high costs of doing such a trial.
It will according to Carlos not include any individual younger than 20 and no one older than 50, however, Carlos mentioned that in the first small trial they did not notice any difference due to age among those 22 persons included. There were those up to almost 50 years old and those that were 22 and no difference due to age. Carlos also mentioned that average reawakened hairs were 42, those who had more hairs than that awakened/cm2 on the crown area were they measured and those with less but they also could measure that all hairs, what I understand, in that control area had thickened. So that being said if correct, the device are in that case able to produce reawakened hair as well as thicker hair than what you already have. Would be excellent if true.
100% of the participants in the first small trial also had positive result after 6 months of daily use/30 minutes a day. I recall Emil mentioned during the webinar that the device will not be a cheaper 3D printed product but of high quality and not from China but from some manufacturer within Europe. They said they are negotiating with i thing 3 different potential companies at this point. Fingers crossed.
Hello MW!
Since I’m writing something here for the first time, I wanted to know if you had problems paying at indiegogo? The indiegogo page doesn’t seem to be the most user-friendly.
Sorry Nobody, my fault. I have given you an answer but you have to scroll down a little bit in the comments to find it. Best regards/MW
I can also understand what you say in regards to not be the most user-friendly. There were several options with different prices but I got some guidance from Emil from Niostem what option I should go for, the cheapest in my case. If you have already paid those eur 25 you will probably get the device for eur 899 since, I assume, the first 100 have been sold already. If you have not paid the eur 25 before I suppose you have to pay eur 959 or what the next level is in case you would like to buy this device. All the best.
Shouldn’t costs go down as they scale up manufacturing?
Yeah you would think.
Noticed this comment on the Indiegogo.
“I am excited to obtain the new device , I tested the prototype and I it was great experience , I want to use the new device!!!!”
– Giovanny Leal
Seems like at least one person in the trial liked it enough to back it.
I also bought it. In combination with Dutasteride and OM it may give acceptable results. If not…well, I have wasted significantly more money on cars and motorbikes.
In addition, I am going to use CosmeRNA.
Hi MRKA, and hope you will have good results with your multi combo, hitting that hairloss from different angles. When you mentioned that you have wasted a lot of more money on cars and motorbikes I just reminded me of that famous qoutes from, George Best, the Northern Ireland football-player in late 60:s early 70:s ““I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.” No offense MRKA and but that funny qoute just came to my memory when I read your lovely comment, cheers my friend and hope for the best
Hi Nobody
No actually no problems for me. I paid with my credit card and for me EUR 815 which added to those EUR 25 i paid in March. I was one of the first 100 so Niostem gave us an extra early bird discount. One thing to notice was that Indiegogo had added an extra amount of around 150-160 eur for themselves but I could choose “other” which made that amount disappear so my payment was eur 815. No problem and I got an immediate confirmation from Indiegogo. Good luck !
Thank you MW!
Since I have no experience with indiegogo, you are of course a bit suspicious. The waiting time until October is a bit long and the thing with the 6 months money back guarantee sounds good, but who guarantees a if the case happens that you get the money back? I wish you and the others every success. Personally, I will wait and see how the product develops.
You are welcome, Nobody, and fair enough. You just take the safe and maybe sensible way, you watch and read what news/info comes out and perhaps we`ll get reports from that upcoming trial after maybe 4-5 months from when it will start how that will develop etc. So, all the best, maybe foolish of me and others to jump on the train this early. Niostem needs financing this early to get manufacturing going hopefully and we`ll see what happens. One can only hope this will not be another scam.
What doesn’t make sense to me is the pricing why do some people get a discount and others do not especially when the product is not being shipped out til October, it should be the same price across the board for everyone none of this early bird special crap, some people will get pissed off and not purchase it at all, a $100 or $200 dollar difference is a lot of money for some of us, I would like to waste that extra money on CosmeRNA…lol
That last line was pure gold MK!
Having a look at some of the discussion in the Indiegogo there was one backer who was a participant in the trial.
He shared this when asked how the device was
“Hi there,
I’m at stage 3 of the Norwood scale and I’ve had hair loss since more than 6 years. I’ve tried many shampoos and minoxidil, but in pandemic time during covid-19 isolation, I used the device for 6 months and it made a big difference. The hair just didn’t fall as before! that is why I bought it and I wish it arrived ASAP. In my case they quantified that my hair got 8% thicker and 16,4% more hair. Even my barber asked me once after some months into the testing if I had been doing something to my hair because he saw it better and fuller. The great news was to see the little hairs that grew back on my temples area.”
Thought this was interesting enough to share here. Someone asked about why the didn’t publish the results of the trial official and they gave this response.
The Pilot Study that we performed with the help of Surrey Trichology Clinic is the core and foundation of our Clinical Trial that is starting in June/July.
Quick update regarding clinical trial:
– Place: Münster, Germany
– Start: June/July ’23
– In total 6x clinic visits to make measurements
– Rest of the time is going to be from home
(we will send an E-Mail + dedicated Facebook post about it very shortly)
Now to continue with the Pilot Study:
As we have discussed right now with the Ethics Committee they suggested to use the Pilot Study as an extension and precursor to the Clinical Trial and make a joint publishing in one paper.
The big benefit for us is that we will have a much stronger publication and increase our chances to land in a higher ranking journal.
(that would not only give more credibility but also create great exposure to other key scientists)
It is however not finally decided yet. And we are still seeing a big benefit of just publishing two stand alone studies.
We are consulting with experts right now and will act based on their recommendations.
Please bear with us a bit longer.
Thank you.
Update on the new trial I saw on the Facebook page.
“Carlos is this week at the site in Münster to finalize the set-up and discuss with the dermatologist + nurses the protocol.
Once we have that all finished (probably latest by next week), we will then send an “official” invitation to everyone.
First to all buyers and second to our general mailing list + Facebook and Instagram community. “
FFS people…if you’re going to throw two sheets to the wind….just do manual scalp massages. $0. The end.
Make these snake oil salesmen work for it. Have a price for your dignity.