3D-Printed Hair Follicles Are Coming to Conquer Baldness

L'Oréal is betting big on "bio-ink." Should you?

September 29, 2016 9:00 am

“Women love a self-confident bald man,” says Larry David.

Know what most bald men love? Hair. So much so that they spend around $1 billion a year trying to reverse the curse.

The newest solution (scheme?): 3D-printed hair follicles. As reported by the BBC, a French lab called Poietis — with a healthy investment from L’Oréal — is aiming to laser print cell-based substances similar to hair that they call “bio-ink.”

How does it work?

First: they digitally map where the follicles have faded on your dome. Then they determine the growth patterns of your unique biological structure and feed that information to a computer that readies the bio-ink. Then they transplant droplets of the bio-ink into place by way of a pulsating laser that creates about 10,000 droplets per second.

And then you wait for it to grow. Presto change-o, you’re now a Chia pet.

If balding is a concern and this appeals to you, Poietis thinks it’ll be about three years before the treatment is ready for the public.

In the meantime, might we suggest an alternative with minimal associated costs and an outcome that will make you feel better, both physically and mentally: Get fit and work on your personality.  

Win the Ultimate Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix Experience

Want the F1 experience of a lifetime? Here’s your chance to win tickets to see Turn 18 Grandstand, one of Ultimate Formula 1® Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix’s most premier grandstands!