Hair Multiplication: What Is Hair Cloning?

Cloning as a general term refers to the process of producing genetically identical organisms. On the other side, hair cloning is an attempt to develop a method in which healthy follicle stem cells are harvested and multiplied. The production of new hair follicles will enable multiplication and these are then transplanted into the recipient area. Hair cloning will induce the stimulation or production of “hair seeds”, which are actually follicles that are produced from an isolated stem cell.

Science research is putting high hopes that this concept of hair restoration will make all other procedures obsolete, including hair-growing medications.  So far, it is still under intensive development but they are optimistic about taking it to the next level.

What it is not

Researchers who are working on this technique would not call it cloning but “hair multiplication”.

It is not hair that is generated automatically but it is the follicle cells that are multiplied. Follicles are necessary because it is the main organ that brings about the growth of new hair strands. Without the living follicle, your hair will not grow.

Theoretically, hair cloning could end up substituting traditional hair transplant techniques like micro-grafting.

The real idea

What is the concept of hair multiplication? The scheme is to take these cells from the bulb of the hair, grow them through a medium, and the result comes out with an increased number of hair seeds. These are actually follicle cells you could inject into the scalp for hair to grow in it. These follicles or hair seeds are generated from the stem cell and not from the strand of hair.

If this research will fully develop into a refined technology, all other procedures will be superseded. Implantation will be the method of introducing hair into the scalp. It will no longer be hair transplant surgery and grafting.

A closer look

The hair follicle is a tiny organ with an extraordinary power. It contains stem cells that can regenerate it. At the base of the follicle is the hair bulb, an elongated case that eventually produces the strand of hair. A little farther up the follicle is where follicle stem cells live.

When the follicle stems cells get the right set of chemical signals, these self-renewing cells divide. They don’t divide like normal cells do, wherein each half will become new cells that keep on splitting and developing into other cells.  For this tiny organ, only a half of the follicle stem cell does the splitting. The other half will be left and the leftover becomes a new stem cell. This will stay put for future regeneration, to split and divide into new cells again. This is how it preserves itself for further multiplication.

The theoretical advantage

Researchers have found out that some of these follicle cells do more than just grow again. They send chemical signals to nearby follicle cells, those that have shrunk through the normal aging process. These follicles that have shrunk respond to these signals by regenerating and once again grow healthy hair. In effect, these new implants induce other weakened follicles to work again. This was observed in experiments with laboratory mice.

Another interesting aspect in this research is that donor cells can be transferred from one person to another without being rejected. Unlike hair transplantation, only the tissues which are from the donor itself can be accepted by the body.

Positive signs are already surfacing with these ideas that researchers have formulated. There are optimistic estimates that predict that it will be in the market before 2015.  However, this procedure needs to be fine-tuned and there are still many aspects to consider and issues to address.

The obstacle for this technique is its unreliability.  They may be able to culture and multiply the cells but the number of new ones that will emerge cannot be predicted. If this will be implanted in human skin, the result will be a disorganized patch of hair. Moreover, the hairs can grow into different angles since they have free growth. Likewise, the hair follicles that were induced by hair multiplication do not have an even distribution over the skin. If this is used for cosmetic restoration, it will be an unacceptable condition. The aesthetic considerations will be defeated.

There will be other issues that will arise prior to its realization, aside from the problem on its accuracy as a restoration procedure. This all has to be dealt with first. For now, the concept remains in the laboratory and only the mice know the true direction that it takes.