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
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.
This Calecim product 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.
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 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.
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.
Some discussion on topical exosomes for hair growth in this paper:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocd.15869
FYI — I might finally update this blog’s theme soon. Prior attempts were half-hearted and I gave up fast if things looked off. If anything goes wrong this time, please be patient.
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.
Thanks Alberto!
My man
Any update on Takashi tsuji?
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/
I hope the graph towards the bottom of that link indicates degree of hair loss and not their stock… :-/
Hi Bekoo, please post that in the Coegin blog post. Thanks!
I’d give it a try if it weren’t so expensive :(
1,5k for half a year….
Didn’t meant to reply to a comment* (!)
Wish they would hurry on and release the hair pigment peptide.
@Andy: I’m really interested in that pigment peptide too. That would be clutch
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.
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!
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.
I also missed the cooperation of Hairclone with „Calecim“. Is this a credible product?
https://calecimprofessional.com/products/advanced-hair-system
@admin, are the pictures realistic?
If so then this is definitely worth a try. Apparently you have to microneedle too.
The pictures were sent by 5 different clinicians, doctors etc… if you keep scrolling right. Hopefully legit.
I mentioned it in the bottom half of the IV exosomes delivery post, so many people likely missed it.
https://www.hairlosscure2020.com/intravenous-delivery-exosomes-hair-loss/
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.
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
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.
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.
Thanks!
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.
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.
What admin didn’t mention was that 9,000 of those emails were people asking for news on Dr. Tsuji ;)
Complaints? I hardly notice them, keep doing what you’re doing Admin, appreciate your work and that you need to keep the lights on!
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).
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.
Thanks Pinotq!
An interesting somewhat related article sent to me by “Pinotq”:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/well/placenta-donations-burns-wounds.html
More on Calecim:
https://www.theprivateclinic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/PTT-6-novel-topical-hair-serum-with-stem-cell-growth-factors-significantly-increases-hair-growth-in-patients-with-hair-loss-12-week-prospective-open-label-case-series.pdf
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.
Really interesting points Pinotq. Especially the part about micropen vs dermastamp.
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.
https://youtu.be/tUpa5IiNobQ?si=YTBQNS24wr9SajXP
https://www.honest.scot/skincare/hair-care/calecims-stem-cell-serum-for-hair-and-skin-rejuvenation-our-2-year-experience/
6/24 month results from this product applied at half the recommended dosage. These are decent results and could stack nicely with other treatments.
I dont see any progress…just hair comb different
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,
Most meds gives me sides. Calecim hasnt but I just started. Will give an update on any progress in time.
Can’t believe we’re about to enter 2025 and we’re still no closer to finding a permanent cure.
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
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.
In the middle of my 5th week with no sides.
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.
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.
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
At this juncture it’s just too little and too sketchy. Exosomes at current will do nothing. Save your money and your dignity.
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.
Started Calecim PTT-6 on 10/24/24. No sides, no hair so far…
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.
Great to hear Romulus! Wishing you success.
Hoping you get some good results. I started Calecim PTT-6 on 10/24/24. Nothing yet.