---

Are you looking forward for hair cloning? If yes, I can ascertain you that a lot of people too are anxious simply because it might the ticket out of hair loss forever. The problem is, there are still a handful of obstacles in hair cloning that first needs to be resolved.

Although with the latest technology at hand, scientists still have to overcome some major issues that are synonymous with the complexity of cell biology. As hair cloning is a totally different kind of hair loss treatment, it involves a lot of new understanding in how cells work, their behavior, how to manipulate them and not to mention developing new tools to do the job.

---

Trials and Issues

So what are the major obstacles in hair cloning? There are a few actually, to be more precise, there are currently 5 major issues that scientists are looking to solve. These are

• Inconsistent Quantity
• Cell Differentiation
• Hair Alignment
• Uneven Hair Growth
• Cell Reaction

These are all the major obstacles in hair cloning that will determine how soon the technology will be available for you. Bear in mind, even after rectifying all these problems, there will still be multiple trials before the final product will be introduced to the market. So let’s hope that they are solving these issues as fast as possible! Now let’s take a deeper look at each of them below.

---

---

The 5 Major Obstacles in Hair Cloning

Inconsistent Quantity

Practical and theory are two very different things. Even though experiments have shown some successes in generating new hair growth by injecting dermal papilla cells alone to the scalp, the results of new follicle formation are still very doubtful.

Two major companies from the UK and Japan that are currently undertaking trials in hair cloning reported that new hair follicles generated by implanting cultured dermal papilla cells directly into the scalp are not that promising.

The results clearly indicated that cultured cells alone might not be the only component that will stimulate new follicles to form. One of the suspected reasons is the lack of a chemical ‘trigger’ that the cultured dermal papilla cells require for communicating with the nearby cells. Fortunately for us, researchers have currently isolated these possible triggers and are on the way rectify this problem.

Cell Differentiation

Another major obstacle in hair cloning is how to keep the cultured cells differentiated. As discussed by Dr. Bernstein in his blog on cell differentiation, that one of the major obstacles in hair cloning is that dermal cells that are multiplied in culture might not retain its original genetic traits after extraction.

One of the main reasons for that is because extracted dermal cells each are 'genetically programmed' to perform a unique function like communicating with nearby cells to form into a hair follicle. When these cells are cultured, over time, these cells might lose the ability to perform its original task. So plainly speaking, if these cells cannot trigger nearby cells to form to a hair follicle, these cells are practically useless in hair cloning.

This discovery has been linked to why success rates in cultured cells to form new hair follicles are much lower compared to the original extracted cells. The way to overcome this matter is to keep these cells differentiated. One way suggested is by inputting new genes into the cell’s nucleus to reprogram the existing genes to force it to remain undifferentiated. The other way is preserve the cell’s orientation during multiplication by culturing them with other cells in hoping that these cells will maintain its ability to form new hair follicles.

If you are keen to know more, you should read the above link on cell differentiation from Dr. Bernstein's blog.

Hair Alignment

How your new hair follicles align after formation is also one of the most troubling obstacles in hair cloning. During fetal development when the hair follicles started to form, they arranged themselves in a spiraling ‘grain’ pattern that starts from the center of your head.

However, the issue is not the same with newly induced hair follicles. Each newly formed hair follicle might end up slanted at a different direction causing the new hair to sprout out at different angles. Imagine how awkward it will be to see your new hair growing at all directions!

So the issue is, even after they managed to grow new hair follicles on your scalp, it’s also equally important to make sure that the hairs grown are aligned properly.

Uneven Growth

Unlike Mother Nature who miraculously distributes your hair follicles evenly and neatly throughout your scalp and body, our creation tends to be a little clumsier. That is simply because that besides getting the cells to grow and getting it to align properly, scientists must also make sure that the cells are evenly distributed across the scalp. If not, you might end up with patches of hair growth like a badly laid lawn!

As the success rates of consistent new follicular formation are still not reliable, it's important that scientists find a way to ensure that the hair density throughout the scalp is balanced.

Possible Allergies, Rejection and Mutation

After figuring out all of the above problems and getting them right, the final part is to always make sure that the cultured cells will blend in properly. Allergies, rejections and possible cell mutations are common issues especially if you are using cells from another donor.

However, short term research indicates that the dermal papilla cells have a special immunity status which will not cause any allergic reactions from the recipient. Still, to be safe, yet more extensive trials will be required.

---

They are Working on It!

Like any kind of new science and technology, countless men hours are put into it to make sure that it works the way it wanted before they can be introduced into the market. As we speak, these obstacles in hair cloning are steadily overcame, avoided and eliminated one way or the other.

So in the meantime, take a deep breath and let’s take a look at all the available clinical trials and the latest hair cloning updates!

Chapter 4 - Hair Cloning Updates

Return to Top of Obstacles in Hair Cloning
Back to Hair Cloning
Return to Surviving-Hairloss.com

---