What are regenerative treatments for hair loss?
Aesthetic medicine is changing. It is merging with my other passion project- healthspan and regenerative medicine, aka biohacking but with science- where we are looking for new modalities to improve how we age. As with most of these regenerative treatments, starting early is key. We do not know how to reverse aging well, but slowing it seems achievable.
In my office we offer many treatments to improve mitochondrial health, like NAD and creatine. If you are peri or post-menopause, hormone support is likely warranted. We refer out for those treatments.
One of the most exciting treatments is stem cells. This is where we can stimulate your hair stem cells to act younger and preserve them. I have used stem cells for years when I do fat transfer and nanofat, and show example after example of skin improvement. It does not surprise me that it also helps hair.
This goes beyond the well known androgen hormone issues which lead to hair loss. (DHT, dihydrotestosterone, which is treated by Finasteride).
Secretome, Exosomes, Stem Cells, Growth Factors. Definitions.
I believe in stem cells and growth factors. I think this is an exciting area of plastic surgery where we are using regenerative medicine to help slow or reverse aging of cells. I believe getting human based, “Age Zero” (where the stem cells are from embryo or umbilical tissue) is important. I only use two brands which I have vetted well and are included in my blogs.
- Secretome is all of the proteins transported out of cells- which is 13-20% of all proteins. This includes all the building blocks for the house- cytokines, growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins. Stem cells release a cocktail of these healing molecules, which are thought to help with tissue repair and regeneration and reduce inflammation.
- Exosomes is a broad term for extracellular vesicles released by cells that act as messengers, carry proteins, growth factors, lipids, and genetic material to influence what other cells do. They promote tissue repair, reduce inflammation, and stimulate healing without direct stem cell transplants (stem cell transplants can have immune rejection). The ideal exosome is young (age zero) and human based for maximum efficacy. All exosome products are NOT equal.
- Stem Cells. Are the fountain of youth as they can do self renewal, they have plasticity, and they can transform into specialized cells with distinct functions. Embryonic stem cells (which all of you had when you were forming into a person) are pluripotent, which means they can become any cell type in the body. Adult stem cells (which in my plastic surgical practice I get from harvesting your own body fat) are multipotent. What do we see with that? We see skin quality improvement
- Growth Factors are signaling proteins that trigger cell behavior, used to rebuild damaged tissue, direct stem cells, and other cellular processes. Common ones you hear of? Vascular endothelia GF to make new blood vessels. Fibroblast GF for wound healing and tissue repair. Epidermal GF for skin regeneration IGF Insulin like GF to support muscle and bone regeneration.
How do you apply them?
We focus on age zero, human based products. The current application method used for the secretome and exosomes is topical. As you cannot inject exosomes for hair restoration, we apply them topically. We do this with microneedling.
Stem cells I obtain during surgery by harvesting your own body fat. As it is your own tissue, this is okay to inject, so I carefully place the fat doing a microfat droplet or nanofat technique depending on the area. Stem cells and the corresponding growth factors are found naturally in fat grafting. This is not new. I have been doing fat grafting for over a decade. The skin quality improvements can be awesome, and the science confirms the true histologic improvements seen. See histology blog on fat transfer.
Growth factors can be transferred (via secretome or fat grafting), or they can be stimulated to be produced by your own tissue via exosomes or procedures like microneedling.
Hair restoration at Dr. Greenberg’s Bay Area office
LOVE THIS. I am a huge fan of microneedling of the scalp combined with Age Zero Exosomes and 5% Minoxidil. I have written many blogs on the science behind it, but I also have seen the results. For those struggling with hair thinning, menopause, aging, genetic hair loss and more, this works. I love that it isn’t something that needs to be done daily, which can be difficult with pills which affect the whole body or topical foams which require washing the hair daily or the results can be lost if you stop.
See our hair loss page and the hair restoration blogs for Dr. Greenberg.
The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider for any questions regarding your health or medical condition.
