Hair Follicle Banking and Cryopreservation of Dermal Papilla and Dermal Sheath Cells

In 2019, UK-based HairClone launched the world’s first hair follicle banking service via cryopreservation. The idea is to store your existing young and healthy hair follicles for future use when hair multiplication technology comes to fruition.

In fact, HairClone itself was planning to offer cell expansion services via dermal papilla cell multiplication and implantation in the UK by 2022. But this potentially groundbreaking development has kept getting delayed. This is especially surprising, since the company’s CEO Dr. Paul Kemp previously led Intercytex (UK), which managed to successfully undertake this exact type of treatment in 2009. But they had to fold in 2010 due to lack of funding, despite successful Phase 1 clinical trials.

In 2020, Han Bio (South Korea) started offering a dermal papilla cell storage service. They were planning to cultivate, multiply and implant these cells into patient scalps. But it is not clear as to how far they have since progressed.

In 2021, Epibotech (South Korea) launched a hair follicle dermal papilla cell banking service. Like Han Bio, they also plan to mass-cultivate these cells and then inject them into patient scalps.

In 2023, Canada-based Acorn Biolabs started offering hair follicle banking services. They are combining this with a personalized autologous secretome hair growth product derived from your own stem cells.

In 2024, Shiseido (Japan) started offering its groundbreaking dermal sheath cup (DSC) cell multiplication and implantation procedure. This process took a decade to develop and went through all three phases of clinical trials. The first step in this treatment entails hair follicle extraction and storage, though I do not think they store your follicles for the long term.

And in 2025, a Thailand-based company named Medeze claimed to have started offering Asia’s first hair follicle banking and cultivation service.

Medeze Hair Renaissance: Follicle Banking and Cultivation

Medeze launched its hair follicle banking service in 2025 under the name Medeze Hair Renaissance. They state that this is Asia’s first hair follicle cryopreservation bank. The company plans to offer hair follicle analysis, isolation, cultivation and long-term preservation for up to 60 years. The company set itself a target of getting 500 clients in 2025 and up to 5,000 clients by 2030.

Medeze calls its hair regeneration technology “HairFolico”. They claim to be able to culture 50 million cells from 50 extracted hair follicles in just 30 days, and package them for future use. The entire process is carried out in a CLEANROOM CLASS 100 laboratory, which adheres to the highest standards for cleanliness and sterility.

Per a recent interview of Medeze Group CEO Dr. Veerapol Khemarangsan with Frost & Sullivan, the company is partnering with Shibuya Company of Japan and implementing the world’s first robotic culture system.

“Human scientists cannot work efficiently under these conditions, so our robots will manage the culturing process entirely.”

The company has built a new five-story biobank in the Philippines that is a vertically integrated facility with labs and cleanrooms. They have also expanded in Oman and Laos. Moreover, they have already conducted various clinical trials in Thailand for stem cell related applications. Including for degenerative disc disease, skin rejuvenation and anti-aging. They are also working on NK cell therapy for stage 4 colorectal cancer.

In July 2025, CEO Veerapol Khemarangsan participated in the 9th Scientific Meeting of the Asian Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons (AAHRS). The meeting was held in Bangkok (Thailand) and his presentation was titled:

“Development Methods for the Cultivation & Cryopreservation of Dermal Papilla & Dermal Sheath Cells Derived from Hair Follicles”

Thailand is among the world’s leading nations when it comes to medical tourism and cosmetic procedures. It is home to a number of highly respected hair transplant surgeons such as Dr. Damkerng Pathomvanich. In fact, around two decades ago, “Dr. Path” was already a big advocate of using oral Minoxidil to treat hair loss rather than topical Minoxidil. Something that only caught on in the US and Europe a few years ago.

As is typical for so many of the new Asian companies that I have covered on this blog, the potential hair multiplication claims seem exaggerated. However, I am always hopeful that one of these Asian companies will be able to proceed with their clinical trials much faster than what we are used to in the West. And it should be noted that 60 percent of the world’s population resides in Asia.