It has been said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. And for the balding man, putting PP405 on the scalp might be something like casting a spell.
The molecule, developed by California-based Pelage Pharmaceuticals in partnership with U.C.L.A, has been shown in clinical trials to jolt dormant follicles back into hair production. Its test participants didn’t just hold on to existing hair; in previously bare patches, they grew back thick, fully pigmented strands, not the fine, colorless regrowth typical of existing treatments. And that’s because PP405 is unlike any other hair-loss solution you can get: Its mechanism is metabolic rather than hormonal, forcing follicular stem cells to break down glucose, which in turn pushes your hair back into the active growth phase. The company has pitched it as “a science-driven solution that works for everyone,” pointing to a trial that recruited women and men of all skin tones and hair types from the outset, which hasn’t always been the case. The results are so promising that Pelage has raised over $150 million in financing since it started publishing data in 2024.
It’s not the only treatment in the pipeline that may save some people a flight to Istanbul, a popular destination for hair transplants. Eirion’s ET-02, another topically applied molecule, has been shown not only to regrow hair, but also to address graying. Veradermics’ VDPHL01, an extended-release oral minoxidil, was designed to mitigate the cardiovascular risk that can come with the current medication.
Still, it will be years before any of these therapies are available at a pharmacy or a clinic. The F.D.A. hasn’t approved a new hair-loss drug in nearly three decades. And despite the optimistic headlines, plastic surgeons are busier than they’ve ever been.
The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery’s 2025 census found the average member’s patient load up 20 percent since 2021. What’s more, their clients are getting younger: Ninety-five percent of people seeking medical help for baldness now start treatment between ages 20 and 35.
Dr. Gary Linkov, founder of City Facial Plastics in New York, sorts the market into three buckets: stimulation, prevention, and augmentation. PP405 and its rivals mostly crowd the first bucket, one he says is already close to overflowing. “I don’t think it’s going to stimulate beyond what we’re stimulating with minoxidil, because [that] already stimulates so well,” he says. What’s actually filling his waiting room isn’t the new science, he adds—it’s patients returning for revisions after bargain surgery abroad went wrong, along with more women turning to transplants. Even lab-grown hair cloning, still years from any real trial, wouldn’t put him out of work: Someone still has to implant the cloned hair.
Dr. Ross Kopelman, a hair-transplant specialist with nearly 100,000 followers on YouTube, credits some of that expansion to telehealth companies like Hims and Roman, which he says normalized the conversation the way Ozempic did for weight loss. “It’s almost a rite of passage to say, ‘Hey, I’m taking care of my hair as well,’ ” he says. He’s similarly bearish on the new drugs. “If you’re bald, you’re bald,” Kopelman adds. “It’s not going to regrow hair.”
But perhaps these therapies represent a third way. Take Dezawa MuseCells, a Japanese stem-cell therapy that arrived in the United States this year. It was discovered in 2010 by Dr. Mari Dezawa, a professor at Tohoku University in Japan. The company’s C.E.O., Dr. Dominik Duscher, is a plastic surgeon by training, and he’s careful to frame the treatment as a companion to a hair transplant, not a wholesale replacement. “Hair transplants make total sense when you have patches of scalp where there’s no hair follicle at all,” he says. “But you need to flank it with [effective medication].”
For now, the safest bet in hair loss is the same one it has always been: Ask a doctor first and be suspicious of anyone selling certainty before the F.D.A. does. The hair transplant isn’t dying off. But it has gotten some interesting, handy new sidekicks.
Hair Raiser
Courtesy of Sisley
The name on Sisley’s shiny new bottle might be a mouthful (you try saying Revitalizing Fortifying Super Serum Advanced Formula five times fast), but it’s also hard-earned. Inside the glass vial lies the successor to the French company’s award-winning hair tonic, amped up with research into how the scalp’s microbiome influences your locks. The new version uses ginger extract and vitamin B12 to soothe skin and plant-derived peptides to help hair look thicker. Use it long enough, and it might even slow down your grays. $280
