The solution to baldness is in 3D printing

L'Oréal and Poietis come together to curb hair loss thanks to the creation of hair with a three-dimensional bioprinter

  During the year, men and women lose on average between 100 and 150 hairs, which are replaced by new hair. However, autumn is not the best time for big hair as the fall increases compared to other seasons.

In this period, what experts call 'telogen defluvium' is produced, a phase in which the hair goes into rest and fall and in 2-4 months gives way to a hair in the phase of growth and strength. If the hair does not recover, the dreaded androgenic alopecia appears.

   Baldness has generated a lot of millions in the industry, a market in which it has decided to land the technology. Although it is not the first attempt, L'Oréal and Poietis, two galas companies, have come together to "print a hair follicle with a bioprinter". For nearly 30 years L'Oréal invests in tissue engineering with industrial achievements in the field of skin and has a unique knowledge and experience in the field of hair biology.

"Our goal for the future is to be able to test innovative molecules that use follicle systems created in vitro, but also to increase our understanding of the key processes behind phenomena such as hair aging, loss and growth," he explains to this newspaper. Julien Demaude, head of the group of evaluation of predictive models of L'Oréal Research.

The hair follicles are the organs that produce hair. There are about 150,000 on the surface of the human scalp. "It is one of the most complex organs in the human body, due to its structure and behavior, and its structural complexity is due to the presence of more than fifteen cell types in each follicle," says Bruno Bernard, an expert in hair biology of L'Oréal.

The collaboration between the two companies aims to "print" these biological tissues through a laser developed by Poietis that allows placing the cells in 3D with great precision.

"The difficulty lies in the complexity of this body with fifteen types of cells and an organization of high complexity." Our 4D laser-assisted bioprinting technology is a real breakthrough in the control of space and time, thanks to its advantages over other technologies " says Bruno Brisson, co-founder of Poietis.

Follicles printed

This unique bioprinting is carried out by successive deposits of microdroplets of biological inks containing some cells, layer by layer, by means of a rapid scanning of the laser beam. The living biological tissue thus created then goes through a maturation process of about three weeks before being exploitable for the tests. This exclusive technology could lead to the obtaining of a functional hair follicle capable of producing hair, a joint objective of both companies. This unique knowledge associated with that of L'Oréal in the field of hair biology allows us to glimpse real possibilities of reproducing the follicle by bioprinting.

"We are very proud to team up with L'Oréal, and the adoption of our technology by a company known worldwide is a great step for Poietis," says Fabien Guillemot, president of the company. "The collaboration with L'Oréal should lead to the development of innovative applications in tissue engineering," adds Brisson.

The multi-year collaboration of Poietis and L'Oréal to carry out joint research in biology and hair engineering will eventually open up new fields in hair knowledge and have exclusive efficacy tests on "printed" hair samples. from cells.