Calecim, Elevai Labs, Exosomes

Topical Exosomes for Hair Growth

93 Comments

In 2019 when I first discussed exosomes for hair growth, most doctors were injecting them into the scalp. Recently, I also discussed the rarer intravenous (IV) delivery of exosomes to tackle hair loss. Now I look at the topical application of exosome serums into the scalp, due to three such new products being in recent news.

Note that some injectable products from exosome suppliers to the hair loss market can also be applied topically. The method of delivery will depend on your doctor’s or clinic’s preference.

Calecim (PTT-6) Advanced Hair System with Topical Exosomes

Calecim PTT- 6 Topical Exosomes
Calecim (PTT- 6) Advanced Hair System: Topical Exosomes and Growth Factors for Hair Growth.

Recently, HairClone (UK) announced a partnership in which the company will work with an interesting new exosome containing topical product called Calecim Advanced Hair System (that comes with a Derma Stamp).

Edit: The manufacturer has now given blog readers a 15% off discount code “HLC2020“ for purchases of the Advanced Hair System kit.

Per their website, Calecim includes PTT-6®, which contains over 3,000 proteins, including growth factors, cytokines and exosomes that signal cells to regenerate.

PTT-6 is derived from the secretion of cord lining stem cells isolated from the umbilical cord tissues of New Zealand red deer at birth. No deer is harmed during the extraction and harvest process of this rich source of stem cells.

Calecim Dermastamp
Calecim Dermastamp Included.

The full list of ingredients is PTT-6® and cord lining conditioned media (from stem cell derived fibronectins, glycoproteins, albumin, collagens and hyaluronic acid).

This Calecim topical serum is to be used with an included Derma Stamp for better absorption. A lot people underetrake at-home microneedling for similar reasons. This includes via dermarollers or dermapens or dermastamps.

Elevai Exosomes Combined with Yuva Biosciences Mitochondrial Technology

Elevai Topical Exosomes
Elevai Topical Exosomes for Hair Growth.

Elevai Labs (US) recently gave a positive update regarding the company’s topical Elevai “age zero” Exosomes™ product range for hair loss. In a year-long study that the company conducted, patients who used Elevai empower™ exosomes in combination with in-office microneedling saw favorable results. The company also makes Elevai enfinity™ for at-home use in repairing your skin.

The 12-month results were assessed using imaging analysis and showed a cessation in crown inflammation, a reversal of miniaturized hairs, and a recovery of hairs from the dormant resting phase. the still on-going research study is being conducted in partnership with Carly Klein, president of the National Hair Loss Medical Aesthetics (NHLMA).

Note that I previously also discussed Elevai in my post on Yuva Biosciences and BosleyMDs new hair loss product related to mitochondrial upregulation. Yuva is partnering with Elevai to release a hair loss product that will combine Elevai’s proprietary PREx™ exosome technology with Yuva’s Y100™ mitochondrial technology. The two companies jointly filed for a combination patent in August 2024.

Ultimately, Elevai is developing a new hair and scalp care product line, called “Elevai S-Series Root Renewal System” that will be powered by exosomes and mitochondrial technology. According to company CEO Dr. Jordan R. Plews, they are in the process of conducting a follow-on study. This will further analyze the combination of Elevai exosomes and Yuva’s Y100 mitochondrial technology to address hair loss and thinning concerns.

In January 2025, Elevai’s skin and hair care business was acquired by Carmell (US). In March 2025, Carmell announced a rebranding and name change to Longevity Health Holdings. The company plans to launch a hair growth serum in the second quarter of 2025. Most likely, it will be the exosome and mitochondrial upregulation product that I discusses above.

ExoCelBio Evovex Serum

Another company that makes a line of topical exosomes is ExoCelBio (US) via its Evovex serum. The company website says that these exosomes are derived from the chorion of placental mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs). Their Exovex™ serum Refine brand was launched in 2023 and has a concentration level of 75 billion exosomes per vial. Refine employs a high concentration of non-lyophilized, purified exosomes that results in fuller and stronger hair.

In May 2024, the US FDA sent a violation warning letter to ExoCelBio in relation to the company’s marketing and lack of a biologics license. This is not surprising, considering the new stricter FDA guidelines governing exosome products. In the US, exosomes are regulated as both a drug and a biologic. In Europe, you are not even allowed to use human-derived exosomes to treat hair loss.

93 thoughts on “Topical Exosomes for Hair Growth”

  2. Hello admin, I know it has nothing to do with the post, but I simply wanted to thank you for the work you do with this blog, I have been following it often since 2022, I know it is recent considering that it has been around since 2014 if I’m not mistaken, but well it’s been 2 years now, and I wanted to thank you on behalf of all the readers who are not active but who follow and support your work. By the way, I would also like to thank other readers who help with the news and comments like Ben, Yoyo, Álvaro, etc… lately I have seen that there is a lot of tension in the comments and I simply wanted to say this.

    Reply

  4. Coegin Pharma announces Follicopeptide as the commercial ingredient brand name for FOL005
    Coegin Pharma’s INCI application for FOL005 was approved at the end of May 2024, and an INCI name was granted. This marked a significant milestone in the company’s preparations for the global launch of a product series for hair growth, as an INCI approval is essential for marketing cosmetic products globally. The company has since chosen to trademark the name and can now announce the commercial ingredient brand name “Follicopeptide”.
    https://news.bequoted.com/newsroom/coegin-pharma/pressreleases/coegin-pharma-announces-follicopeptide-as-the-commercial-ing-59408/

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      1. Rick C. I tried emailing coegin Pharma for more information on when the hair pigmentation peptide could be released but no reply from them and they seem more focused on skin pigmentation for now sadly.

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  6. Any idea how human derived exosomes stack up against salmon testes derived exosomes? As mentioned the E50 here in the UK contains 5 billion exosomes…I thought that was a lot until I read that the one above contains 76 billion!! I would try them but so expensive and so unproven!

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  7. Admin, I must have missed the announcement by Hairclone that you referred to. To me this partnership, and the grants that both Hairclone and Cell Research Therapeutics have received, lend at least some credibility to Calecim: https://hairclone.me/newlook/hairclone-awarded-innovate-uk-grant-to-explore-hair-growth-stimulants/ The announcement speaks in terms of not whether Calecim has positive effects on hair growth but in terms of studying how those the positive effects that have been observed are elicited. Very interesting.

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      1. Admin & Ben, To be honest, I had pretty much given up on exosomes so I probably glanced over it. You can see on the Calecim website that they have put a lot of time, money and thought into it……it looked a little too salesy to me……so I wasn’t inclined to try it. But when I read that link Admin posted about the grants the 2 companies received to study not whether but “why” Calecim delivered observable effects, I changed my mind. My very credible doc has some past background with Hairclone so I checked in with him. He didn’t know about it but asked me to keep him posted if I tried it. As Admin knows, I had a very noticeable response with PRP/Acell years ago when this site first started…but I would have needed to fly across the country 4 times a year to keep it going……..assuming it would have continued to maintain. Since I was a good responder, I figure I will give this a try.

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  8. Also, the Calecim website seems to change and I had some trouble getting back to info I wanted to re-read. Below is a link to the part that makes a distinction between women and men……men requiring at least 12 weeks to see results vs. at least 6 for women. The site appears geared toward women but I believe that is because PTT-6 is also used in their facial rejuvenation products and that line has been going for quite some time……I think the hair product is fairly new. Their Trust Pilot reviews (mostly for facial products) is rated excellent.

    https://calecimprofessional.com/pages/hair-science

    https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/calecimprofessional.com

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  9. Readers,

    I received several complaints recently about why I am re-publishing product related affiliate posts, Amazon Prime Day posts etc… on the home page in the top position. And why I have those annoying new video ads (which I truly despise) at the bottom.

    I have mentioned it before, but will repeat. This is all because I have only 3 private banner advertisers (shown on the right side if you view this blog on a desktop). I need 5 banner advertisers in order to stop the video ads and reduce the affiliate posts. Otherwise, I can’t devote this much time to this blog.

    The post writing takes up at most 50% of my time. e.g., last week I wasted 10 hours due to a contact form submission spam and plugin hack. I had to delete 10,000+ emails that got sent to me from the contact/newsletter subscription form, which I have now entirely removed from the site! I have wasted even more time in recent months trying to figure out how to deal with all the comment spam issues.

    Whenever you see a repetitively posted product post on the top of the home page with minimal or no changes, please ignore it and just check out the next few posts. It could be an advertiser paying me to promote a product on the home page (has only happened once or twice in all these years); it could be an affiliate link; and it could also be a product I believe has some very decent logic behind it (e.g., the Kintor KX-826 or Bosley/Yuva cosmetic or this one on topical exosomes). I try to never promote products that are clearly meaningless to hair growth.

    I hope to change the blog theme this year and make it more clear as to which posts are product related.

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    1. Admin, you’re doing us all a great service, providing top notch data and insights for free. We can handle a few intrusive ads. I’d rather get mad at YouTube for throwing a 1 minute ad into every 30 seconds of viewing, not the solo webmaster who is running a site on his own. Don’t mind the haters.

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    2. Please ignore those bozos, admin — or you could shove them onto a premium no-ads tier, and charge them $9.99 (like Netflix). There’s nowhere else like this on the web, and it elevates my mood periodically to know that there might be a salvation on the horizon. Much respect.

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      1. Thanks Kyle:-)

        I am not pleased at having to republish old product related posts on top (where people expect the latest news); and really dislike the video ads. So I wanted to address the issue, since I at least somewhat agree with those who complain. Hopefully a new theme (website look) will help, whenever I am able to do the update.

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  10. Complaints? I hardly notice them, keep doing what you’re doing Admin, appreciate your work and that you need to keep the lights on!

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    1. Thanks:-)

      One guy emailed me, one guy wrote an insulting comment that I did not approve, and one guy said there are too many intrusive ads on the page (I think only the bottom video ad is intrusive).

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  11. This site is objective, thoughtful, far reaching, well written and well policed…………….the best there is in my opinion! I could care less about the ads.

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    1. I saw that study and I thought there were several takeaway’s if you are using Calecim at home. One is that they applied all 5 ml in one session once a week only. The instructions for the version you buy for home use (exact same serum) say to apply 2.5 ml twice a week. In the study, they applied 2.5 ml, then micro stamped (.5 MM depth), and then applied the last 2.5 ml of serum….in 1 session. I am personally starting week 4 of Calecim and I feel like I have gone backward. The second takeaway would be that going backward would be consistent with this study as the average total hair count and width both went down until the end of week 4, not returning to baseline until about week 7. The 3rd takeaway concerns microneedling which sounds much more robust when having Calecim applied at a clinic since they use a pen at a deeper depth. I read in the article below that “…..the exact microneedling device used can differ by clinic, but the sweet spot for the length of the needles is at least 0.7mm (similar to the follica recommended depth of .8 mm) While the product is said to have some effect without microneedling, it’s the needling that really drives the results home – delivering the formula exactly where the hair needs it. ” https://thetweakmentsguide.com/brands/calecim/ Based on this article, it would seem that using a micropen, rather than a stamp, to create 1,000’s of deeper micro channels, as oppossed to hunderds, may give the best chance at producing results.

      Reply

        1. I use a clinical grade micropen I bought quite a few years ago. It has different speed settings. I use it on the high setting once a week with a 5 ml application. Then on the second weekly application, I use the pen on a lower setting with only 2.5 ml of serum…………so that theoretically, I don’t over needle my scalp. I apply in sections so the channels are freshly opened because I recall some research which said that the wounds close in a maximum of 15 minutes. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3921236/ I will report back in a few months if and when I see any benefit.

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  15. Have there been any safety trials with this? People that understand biology know you shouldn’t be putting thousands of proteins and growth factors into your skin and not expect side effects assuming absorption. This seems like a desperate kitchen sink approach rather than a targeted approach and strikes me as potentially dangerous,

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    1. hairlosscure2220. best advice is to buzz cut and own it. so glad I didn’t go with a transplant. a guy at work looks like a candy apple that was rolled through a barber shop

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      1. Two guys at work had HT and I would have never known if they didn’t tell me. Sounds like the person you’re referring to had a bad surgeon. But I agree owning it is sometimes the best solution.

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  18. I am sure there are those that will disagree (and the lighting is no doubt much harsher in the 1st pic), but, to me, the before and after pics at 6 months at the 5:35 mark of this video show clear evidence of growth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUpa5IiNobQ Maybe not remarkable but one of a growing number of pics I have seen for Calecim, that give me hope it might maintain with just enough of a boost to know it is working.

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    1. Sorry mate – the video establishes nothing. The subject doesn’t have hairloss. Further, the 6 week photo is actually worse than the original. Same old story I’m afraid.

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  19. Frank, I think you are looking at the wrong pics. I agree the husband doesn’t have hairloss……..and whether he has any improvement is very difficult to tell. But I was referring to the father (who is 79) at the 5:35 mark of the video…….there is a set of 3 pics. Resonable people might disagree whether the father has more hair in the May pic but I doubt anyone would say he doesn’t have hairloss. Also, see the link below showing multiple examples from different clinics of how patients have responded to Calecim.

    https://www.pebble.by/calecim/PTT6_Haircare?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=W46E1%20-%20What%20consistency%20with%20AHS%20looks%20like%20%28Black%20Friday%29&_kx=FcnsbECGorqMiv8GDUBBEedbOIy5yynsb2mxcnmPuG4.XtTJww

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    1. At this juncture it’s just too little and too sketchy. Exosomes at current will do nothing. Save your money and your dignity.

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  20. I tried it. Remember drawing it up and shooting all over the scalp. No luck. Had a weird smell. Onto to the next. Pyri, tried that too, got old weird sides just like Fin.

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  22. Hi everyone. Today I had a microneedling + exosomes treatment at my dermatologist office. She showed me some pictures of her previous patients and I definitely saw some improvements after just one session. The pictures were 3 weeks apart. I’ll report back in 3 weeks if I do get some response :). btw dermarolling my scalp was not pleasant, it was painful :S. Kudos to those that do it regularly.

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  23. Hi all. New to the site at least as far as commenting. This is the most trustworthy and informative site on hairloss that I’ve found.
    I am an older guy and my hair started thinning about 1 year ago. I am looking for some advice as far as a topical. Tried minox but pretty worthless. Not interested in anything oral. I know that not much can bring back your hair but at a minimum I ‘d like to keep what I have left. I’m in good shape and really don’t look my age. Don’t think that older guys don’t stress out about hairloss too. Believe me they do. Any advise would be appreciated.
    Thx to all for your help.

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        1. I would start with finasteride first and then move up to dutasteride later, but it depends on your risk tolerance.

          If I was over a certain age, maybe I would not care about some of the sides that younger people worry about :-)

          If you have a dermatologist, best to discuss each topical product and the evidence behind each one’s ingredients and topical delivery mechanism. None have gone through clinical trials as it would be too expensive.

          Oral finasteride or oral dutasteride are also options of course, but it seems like you prefer a topical? These drugs will reduce your PSA levels in case you get those numbers tested regularly.

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          1. Thx for the advice I’m going to give the topical finasteride a try. As I said physically I am in good shape and don’t want to risk the possible side effects with anything oral. I will continue to monitor this site for all the great info. Thx again.

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    2. J, I am at 3.5 months. I couldn’t tell you with certainty if it’s working or not but I am not expecting to see any concrete evidence (if it even works) for at least 6 months. Calecim promotes some examples of quicker time lines, although many are of women who aren’t fighting the same dht battle. Calecim does suggest a longer time line for men. I had prp/acell years ago and I had a very noticable response but it wasn’t for at least 6 months. And it seemed to work by first thickening existing terminal hairs (which you can’t really verify but which can make your hair look bushier/thicker), and then starting to thicken the weaker/thinner/hairs near the perimeter of the worst areas (which you can definitely see). While the prp/acell was probably much stronger, I am hoping the consistent weekly application of Calecim can make up for that. My doctor said not to expect anything for at least 6 months. I will give a further update in a few months.

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      1. Appreciate your input, Pinotq. I’m going to stay the course and hope for some results after the 6 month mark. Best of luck to you with your progress.

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        1. J, You can find a lot of reviews on Calecim by 3rd party clinics and I thought this one was relevant to the time frame for seeing results: https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/style/health-and-beauty/review-calecims-revolutionary-stem-cell-hair-treatment/. To summarize: “After six weeks you should notice the first signs of new baby hairs starting to sprout but ideally invest in three to four kits and keep going as palpable results are evident around the six to eight month mark.”

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  25. At this point in time anyone trying to sell even a weaker treatment needs to show the goods. The truth is Calecim does not do this. Having indirect text with insinuations on a web page is not enough.

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  26. As each day passes, another follicle dies and so does a piece of me inside.

    Been on the forum off and on since 2017 when everyone thought 2020 was the year. HMI 115 is the only hope left.

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  27. Exosome manufacturers either have the best or the worst economists when they sell exosomes at that price. As if there are two red deer in New Zealand that are on the red list of protection. The price is so high that they go to Jupiter to get those exosomes. I saw an even higher price on the internet: Elevai Exosomes at $500. Who is crazy here?

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  32. If anyone is interested, Musely recently released Hair Topical Solution -Modern which contains exosomes from umbilicial cords as well as Latanoprost, Caffeine, Cetirizine , Melatonin, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Biotin. The exosomes are listed under the inactive ingredients, go figure. But it is cheaper than these other options if people want to see if it’s an option that works for them.

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    1. It’s for chicks not dudes. BTW, I bought topical Min/Dut from them, very misleading on application/cost, I raised hell, they refunded my money. Yoda gives Musley two thumbs down. :-(

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  33. I haven’t used them but was thinking about it. To clarify, you mean they are misleading by how many applications you get for the cost of one bottle? Also, regarding it being for women vs men, the one with exosomes doesn’t really have any hormonal related ingredients so I assume it should be fine for both. For their other solution (classic), there is a formula for men and one for women given it has spiro or dut, respectively.

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    1. Yes, how many applications you get. The one with exosomes only shows women, you know what that means…it’s weak as sh*t! Go ahead, try it, I’m sure you’ll be amazed. Make sure to report back.

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      1. For context, I am a female, but I did check to make sure it was listed under male treatments as well when you raised the question. I’ll be sure to report back!

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        1. Possibly a little better but in doing quite a bit of research, I believe that, at current strength levels, the growth factor approach isn’t going to counteract DHT driven hair loss unless it is very mildy driven by DHT (i.e. as in most women). My AI research suggests that Calecim may be helpful in combination with other topicals (dutasteride for example) to add a component that tilts the scalp toward a more favorable environment for growth but not as a preventative with respect to DHT.

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  36. Didn’t really know where to put this.
    Was listening to Dave Asprey podcast on Hair regrowth.
    Yeah, Dave has a history with bulletproof and … uhm … yeah.

    Anyhoo, He had a researcher on from OneSkin, they have a new Hair regrowth product that says it is better than minoxidil.

    Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSY1x40N2ys

    Any thoughts?
    It is very expensive at ~$100/mo (before Dave’s discount)

    Maybe someone could look into this? The ingredients and any research?

    Thanks

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      1. Yeah, might be.
        I hear good things about the OS1 face cream. Mind you, every podcaster raves about OS1, AG1 and mattresses etc etc.
        After shipping it’s ~$100 a month (they’re adding 25% to people north of the border. Not sure if another 25% will be added at the border. Might order if they can confirm no further charges).

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    2. It is expensive but it’s less expensive than kintors 1% formulation of kx-826 aka pyrilutamide….I’m thinking of switching from pyri to this peptide…I can get two bottles for the price of one bottle of kx 826 with tax..so if it works, it would be cheaper for me than kx-826.

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