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What is Follicle Banking?

Follicle banking involves surgically extracting around 100-120 hair follicles at a HairClone partner clinic (list of clinics below).

Follicles are sent to HairClone and cryopreserved at temperatures so low that cells enter ‘suspended animation’ and do not age.

Follicles remain the property of the patient and can be requested at any time for HairClone’s cell therapy or other potential treatments.

A single banking procedure provides enough follicles for multiple treatments.

Why Bank Now?

Hair cell quality and number decrease with age. Banking early ‘stops the clock’ and retains high cell activity.

Those with banked follicles will be first in line for HairClone’s personalised cell therapy as soon as regulatory approval is obtained.

Banking provides early revenue to HairClone in order to accelerate bringing our revolutionary treatment to the clinic.

How Do I Bank Follicles?

Follicles can only be banked at HairClone’s partner clinics that have been trained and licensed as procurement centres. Please see the list below for locations of our clinical partners.

UK Clinics

USA Clinics

Latin American Clinics

Canadian Clinics

Australian Clinics

  • The Knudsen Clinic, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra (Dr Russel Knudsen) Call 02 9327 0300

New Zealand Clinics

Frequently asked questions

What is hair rejuvenation?

Hair rejuvenation refers to rebuilding hair follicles. HairClone’s cell therapy aims to rebuild hair follicles by replacing dermal papilla cells that are lost over time.

What is Cryopreservation?

Cryopreservation at HairClone is a process using proprietary technology to cool follicles to very low temperatures (as low as -196 °C). Any chemical activity in the follicle cells is effectively stopped and cells enter a state of ‘suspended animation’. Follicles can be stored for many years and when appropriately thawed, their cells resume normal function.

What are Dermal Papilla Cells?

Dermal papilla (DP) cells are mesenchymal cells that are found in a flame-like structure at the base of the hair follicle . They are the focus of intense interest because the DP not only regulates hair follicle development and growth, but is also thought to be a reservoir of multi-potent cells.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3115771/

When will hair treatments be available?

HairClone plans to begin clinical work in 2025. The goal is to optimise the clinical process and find the most effective treatment method. Based on results, patients could travel to receive the treatment prior to clinical trials.

Results of this clinical work will be used to inform a multi-centre, international clinical trial with the aim of eventually offering treatments worldwide.

We will do our utmost with the financial resources available to offer this therapy as quickly and efficiently as possible.

How much will treatment cost?

At this point, we are unable to give exact figures; however, we anticipate costs to be competitive with hair transplants.

Does HairClone's research involve animal testing?

No! Many scientific advancements have been made through the use of animal studies; however, human hair is unique and cannot be readily modelled in animals. HairClone use human tissue and advanced omics techniques to translate laboratory findings directly into the clinic. This approach precludes the need to demonstrate efficacy in animal studies.

Will treated hairs continue to miniaturise?

DHT is a leading cause of hair loss due to initiating cell loss in susceptible follicles. HairClone’s treatment takes dermal papilla cells from follicles that are insensitive to DHT and multiplies them. When injected into thinning areas, miniaturising follicles will be rebuilt using cells that retain their original genetics and remain non-responsive to DHT, providing a long-term effect.

It is likely that treatment will need repeating every 2-3 years if or when new areas begin to lose DP cells and miniaturise.

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