Exosomes for Hair Regrowth: Tech with Potential

At the 2025 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting, Saranya P. Wyles, MD, PhD, a dermatologist and researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, delivered an enlightening presentation on the emerging role of exosomes in hair regrowth.

Dr. Wyles explained that exosomes offer a promising alternative to traditional treatments like platelet-rich plasma (PRP). These biologically derived products are being explored for their ability to stimulate hair regrowth through topical applications, presenting an accessible and minimally invasive option for patients.

"I think about exosomes as the greatest 'from trash to treasure' story," she said in her presentation at the 2025 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Orlando. "We thought about them as discarded waste, but when they're from a specific source like platelets, which have excellent capacity for wound healing and pain restoration, there is real potential that could be utilized here. The source comes from really drives the product."

Variability in Exosomes

In her presentation, Dr. Wyles emphasized the variability in exosome production due to their human origins, comparing as an example stem cell-derived exosomes to platelet-derived exosomes. She pointed out that stem cell exosomes often experience "phenotypic drift" during manufacturing, while platelet-derived exosomes are processed immediately, retaining their regenerative properties. This distinction, she noted, shows the need for and importance of standardization in exosome-based therapies, which she said is a challenge to overcome that is critical to advancing the field.

Dr. Wyles also shared data from a nine-month study evaluating a platelet-derived exosome topical serum applied once daily for the appearance of hair thinning. She shared results showing significant improvements in scalp coverage and hair density with the serum, (a 73% increase in large terminal hairs at the six-month mark of the analysis. She noted that while these findings are preliminary and not yet FDA-approved for injectable use, they show the potential of topicals in addressing hair loss.

Future Directions

Looking ahead, Dr. Wyles said that bioengineered exosomes could represent an exciting next frontier in regenerative medicine but cautioned that FDA approvals for these treatments could take five to ten years to materialize.

"I think that the next step is really going to be bio-engineered exosomes where we're loading a lot of these key hair regrowth pathways into the exosome so that we can have targeted approach," she said. "Of course, the FDA studies are vital and a lot of them are ongoing in the preclinical state. This will take time." -by Eric Raible

Source: Wyles SP. Unlocking the potential and evidence: Exosome biology in hair regeneration. Presented at: 2025 AAD Annual Meeting, March 7-11, 2025; Orlando.