Pilofocus video

[Joker]

This is sort of funny because some people say Dr. Cole is supportive of the new technology, and then some people say he thinks it's terrible. Not exactly sure what to believe.

In any event, I think Dr. Cole's opinion is contrary to common sense (I am not a doctor, so I can't say for certain). With FUE, the "intradermal" scarring is still present because the FUE punch extends all the way down the length of the hair follicle past the bulb (bulbs are indeed present on FUE grafts). Yet this never seems to present a problem.

With the Piloscope, the only "intradermal" scarring is the removal of the bulb itself (again, something that is always extracted with every FUE graft). However, the extra scarring that comes with 1) cutting the surface of the skin, and 2) penetrating all of the skin's layers until the bulb is reached, is now eliminated. It is definitely - no matter how you look at it - a net reduction in scar tissue.

Dr. Wesley has already convincingly proven that there is no extra scar tissue caused by the "rummaging" because of the pocket that exists between certain layers.

Finally, with regard to follicle regeneration - and I'm saying this as a person who is still skeptical that follicle regeneration is even possible - Dr. Cole's critique is almost completely inapposite. He is criticizing the Piloscope for removing too much of each graft, failing to recognize that the Piloscope also has the ability to remove much smaller portions.

Not that it's a competition, but in my opinion Dr. Cole is being too critical of a study and a technology orders of magnitude more sophisticated than anything he has ever put together.

[hellouser]

Isn't Dr. Cole a strong proponent of Acell? Funny how he would negate Dr. Cooley's findings (and photographic evidence from Dr. Wesley) on Pilofocus + Acell itself creating regeneration.

Doesn't make sense... sounds like bias to me.

[youngin]

Finally a doc says this. This was my first thought.... "how can rummaging around deep under the scalp with scissors be 'scarless' or without damage?"

I would classify pilofocus as downright scary.

That's not what he said. He said deep tissue scarring due to taking large grafts from below. Not "rummaging around". I doubt there will be any scarring from that, or else everyone whos ever had liposuction has a shitload of scars.

[NeedHairASAP]

Dr Cole

"Also, recognize that Pilofocus is a long way off if ever technology at this point. The device harvests tiny plugs deep in the scalp. This will fill in with scar tissue so it's absurd to suggest that it is scarless. If anything there will be more scar. What we don't know is what all this subcutaneous and intradermal scarring will do to the donor area. Right now, it is more theory than substance. They are quite fortunate to have financial backing. What we do have with our techniques and donor are treatment is proven results and improved healing. Proven is a whole lot better than unproven theory. Pilofocus also removes all of the deep stem cells. Thus, it is highly unlikely you will have any follicle regeneration. Instead, you will have a thin donor area with lots of gaps and tons of deep fibrous scar tissue."

Finally a doc says this. This was my first thought.... "how can rummaging around deep under the scalp with scissors be 'scarless' or without damage?"

I would classify pilofocus as downright scary.

[didi]

Dr Cole

"Also, recognize that Pilofocus is a long way off if ever technology at this point. The device harvests tiny plugs deep in the scalp. This will fill in with scar tissue so it's absurd to suggest that it is scarless. If anything there will be more scar. What we don't know is what all this subcutaneous and intradermal scarring will do to the donor area. Right now, it is more theory than substance. They are quite fortunate to have financial backing. What we do have with our techniques and donor are treatment is proven results and improved healing. Proven is a whole lot better than unproven theory. Pilofocus also removes all of the deep stem cells. Thus, it is highly unlikely you will have any follicle regeneration. Instead, you will have a thin donor area with lots of gaps and tons of deep fibrous scar tissue."

[crafter]

i want hair doubling.

[youngin]

Fatter grafts = less chance of regeneration. The ACell thing is nothing new. Cole has been using it for awhile and getting regeneration. Everything in this video was already discernible in the patent.

[whammer]

It's fine if people were disappointed with the presentation, but in my opinion I don't think it makes sense to blame Artista. He's a good, loyal forum member who provides as much information as he can. The last thing we want is for him to say "f*** this" and never come back because people on this forum are let down by anything that isn't a 100% foolproof cure.

Having said that, Artista has always - very consistently - stated that the presentation he saw had more information than the presentation we saw. MY HOPE is that the longer presentation has actual proof of donor regeneration, whereas this video just talked about the theory behind it.

Spencer is the one who really hyped this up.

He was quite enthusiastic on his show when they discussed pilofocus.

[locke999]

That's a good question Hellouser. Pilofocus can take more than one graph at a time so taking leg hair would be quick I would think.

If you were to transplant leg hairs onto the head, how long would it grow? Hair never stops growing but leg hair does.

If transplanted on the head, will it grow longer or will it stay permanently the same length?

[hellouser]

If Pilofocus can be done on body hair, a lot of people will be set. My legs are really hairy, and all the hairs are just as thick and long as the hair on my head. I like my hair typically around 1-2 inches in length.

Does anyone know if a BHT with Pilofocus could be done? That plus safe donor zone hair should give some serious options for some people.

As for the regeneration bit, here's a screenshot from the presentation of the possible regeneration:



Now, if that photo is legit, then regeneration DOES happen... with Acell. Let's hope Cooley and Wesley pull it off. They do that, I'm making a large 'donation' to the both them in the form of copious amount of champagne and other alcohol.

I get the feeling that with the regeneration bit, there may not be so much 'hype' from Dr. Wesley right now is due to:

a) Pilofocus has been in the works for a while, thus all the focus will be on THIS being presented
b) Regeneration hasn't been ironed out, so to me it'd be stupid to hype it up before we could reproduce the results consistently. Otherwise, it has the potential to ruin his credibility

Dr. Wesley *did* mention in the presentation that regeneration will be further investigated in 2014.

Having said that... looks like 2015 is going to be a pretty big year for hair loss sufferers with more confirmed news from Replicel, Histogen, Dr. Wesley's/Cooley's regeneration and potentially something from Follica seeing how theyre halfway through clinical trials. The race is tight..... and money is more important to any of these guys than the sympathy card.... or even integrity.

[Joker]

It's fine if people were disappointed with the presentation, but in my opinion I don't think it makes sense to blame Artista. He's a good, loyal forum member who provides as much information as he can. The last thing we want is for him to say "f*** this" and never come back because people on this forum are let down by anything that isn't a 100% foolproof cure.

Having said that, Artista has always - very consistently - stated that the presentation he saw had more information than the presentation we saw. MY HOPE is that the longer presentation has actual proof of donor regeneration, whereas this video just talked about the theory behind it.

[Kalio]

So pilofocus is also less labour-intensive than FUE is. Does this mean that in the future, undergoing a pilofocus treatment will be cheaper or at least be in the same price range as a FUE treatment?

[Arashi]

Video wasn't too exciting for me. With pilofocus, there won't be any scarring or white dots. However, donor regeneration is only a possibility, which is basically what everyone else is saying about their own procedure.

I see no point in getting a scarless procedure if I am going to continue to lose hair later down the road and my donor is already used up. Doesn't put my mind at ease at all.

Artista hyped it up to a point where this was a huge letdown.

Well, my expectations were pretty low so I'm actually slightly happily surprised after seeing this. The interesting thing is that for the first time a trustworthy doctor says he saw regeneration (using acell). Ofcourse there are no numbers and it might be a disappointment in the end (if it happens almost never), but I do see it as a positive sign.

[locke999]

Video wasn't too exciting for me. With pilofocus, there won't be any scarring or white dots. However, donor regeneration is only a possibility, which is basically what everyone else is saying about their own procedure.

I see no point in getting a scarless procedure if I am going to continue to lose hair later down the road and my donor is already used up. Doesn't put my mind at ease at all.

Artista hyped it up to a point where this was a huge letdown.

[Arashi]

So, no data on regeneration yet, but they did see it in some instances and are now going to investigate in 2014 in a trial.

Eventhough the technique causes a 1 cm scar, I think this is an interesting innovation. And if they can get some good regeneration numbers using Accell, then it's going to be REALLY interesting.