3D Printed Hair Replacement

L'Oreal said that 3D printed hair follicles could one day be used as implants.

18:54 30 September 2016

L'Oreal said that hair follicles that are created using a process similar to 3D printing could provide an innovative solution to hair loss. The cosmetics firm is partnering with a French bio-printing company called Poietis, which has developed a form of laser printing for cell-based objects.

 

L'Oreal is already using 3D printed skin in its product research.

 

Jose Cotovio, the director at L'Oreal's Research and Innovation division, said: "If we manage to bio-print a hair follicle we will enhance our knowledge of both hair biology and some of the mysteries of hair growth and loss.”

 

He added: "Hair loss is very emotional for some people and very distressing - if we succeed in identifying some ingredients that can fight this it will be a huge revolution.

 

"The next step is, will it be possible to implant? This is the holy grail."

 

Meanwhile, Poietis’ chief executive Fabien Guillemot admitted that the project can be challenging.

 

"It's of the most complex objectives so far of all the bio-printing projects that we have created," he said.

 

On the other hand, Amy Johnson, the spokeswoman for Alopecia UK, said that it is too early to get excited about the technology.

 

"It is encouraging to know that companies such as L'Oreal are investing in technology that may help those with hair loss in the future.”

 

"However, we would suggest it's still very early days to be getting excited about what this potentially could mean for those with medical hair loss. At this point it is unclear as to whether this technology could benefit those with all types of hair loss.