FAQ · NON-SURGICAL
Exosome Therapy
We all possess exosomes. They are found in every biological fluid and secreted by every cell — tiny vesicles, nature's envelopes, carrying signals from one cell to another. Their advantage is delivery: they fuse with the target cell and hand over their contents fully intact.
MECHANISM
How can they grow hair?
By delivering stimulatory contents directly into the regions of a follicle that control the cell cycle, hair can be shifted into growth phase — and kept there for a native duration of time, possibly years.
The regions known to hold the highest stem cell activity, the bulge and the bulb, both respond. Part of the reason is cargo: exosomes carry Wnt on their surface, which upregulates the signaling pathway, along with β-catenin, which promotes hair regeneration. They have also been shown to increase proliferation of a follicle's "engine cells."
- Dermal papilla cells
- Hair matrix cells
- Outer root sheath cells
EXOSOMES VERSUS PRP
A question of delivery, not of message
Platelets also release growth factors, so a fair question is what exosome therapy adds. Dr. Wesley explains it with newspaper delivery.
PRP
The paper boy on a bike
Papers flung in the general vicinity of each house. Occasionally one lands at the door; often it does not. And if it rains on an uncovered paper, the ink runs and the news is no longer legible. Growth factors released from platelets travel "naked" through the scalp toward nearby follicles.
EXOSOMES
Hand-delivered, wrapped
A meticulous courier who wraps the paper, walks to the doorstep, rings the bell, and places it in your hands. Signals — proteins and nucleic acids — arrive protected from rapid degradation. The follicle receives the message in mint condition: it is time to grow.
THEORETICAL BENEFITS
Improved efficacy over PRP
Attributable to the enhanced delivery system reaching the hair follicle intact.
Extended duration of growth
Vesicular contents are not degraded before they fuse into dermal papilla cells and the other engine cells of a follicle. One manufacturer (Exocelbio) suggests the effect may last years, as a healthy anagen phase can run four to seven.
Fewer side effects
At only 40–120 nm, and naturally synthesized from human cell contents, exosomes do not trigger an immune response. Patients report less swelling, less post-procedural soreness or itching, and little to no temporary shedding.
SOURCING
Which source works best?
Exosomes are naturally produced within mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) — the connective tissue cells we all carry in our earliest stages of growth, pluripotent and able to differentiate into more specialized cells. They can be drawn from several tissues.
- Bone marrow
- Fat (adipose tissue)
- Amniotic fluid
- Umbilical cord (Wharton's jelly)HIGHER YIELD
- Placental chorionHIGHER YIELD
Umbilical and chorionic stem cells yield more exosomes than bone marrow, and exosomes have been shown to increase cell survival in a dose-dependent manner — so it stands to reason that chorion and umbilical MSCs may prove more effective for hair stimulation.
