This one you can see without a microscope

Not a study. Our own patients.

Almost everything written about exosome therapy for hair loss comes from somewhere else. A manufacturer’s trial, a small study in another country, a summary of a summary. Useful, but it is not us, and it is not you.

So we started keeping our own record. Every patient who has the treatment is scanned at the start and scanned again as they go, on the same machine, in the same clinic. We now have complete before and after scan data for 37 people.

Most of these stories have to be told through the scanner, because the change is real but small enough that you would struggle to see it in a photograph. This one is different, so we are going to start with the photographs.

Chapter one: what the first scan found

She came to us in February 2026. She is 50. What brought her in was not a general thinning across the top, which is the pattern most people picture. It was distinct patches on the crown, several of them, where the hair had gone and the scalp was clearly visible through the surrounding hair.

Patchy loss like this can have a different cause from ordinary age-related thinning, and it is one of the reasons we assess before we treat rather than the other way round.

Her overall scalp score came back at 60 out of 100. Against the 60,416 women aged 50 to 59 the scanner had on record, she ranked 56,182nd, which puts her in the bottom 7 per cent. The average for her age group is about 73.

One note on the panel above. That detailed breakdown comes from the full scan we run at the first appointment. What we track from then on is the overall score and the photographs.

Chapter two: what we did

She had four sessions of exosome therapy between February and May 2026.

She took no hair medication alongside it. No dutasteride, no hair concentrate injections, no scalp botox. That matters when you read what follows, because it means the change came from one treatment rather than a combination of several.

Chapter three: what changed

These two photographs are the same view of the crown, taken on 5 March and 22 May 2026.

In March there are several separate areas where the scalp reads through clearly. By May most of them have closed up, with new growth coming through across the crown. One smaller area is still visible, which is worth saying rather than glossing over.

Her overall score over the same period went from 66.4 to 72.5, a rise of 6.13 points, measured between 19 February and 22 May. The photographs start two weeks after that first scan, because that is when the first set was taken.

The same change under the scanner

Up close the front of the scalp shows the same direction of travel. There is less bare skin showing between the hairs in May than there was in February.

How we measured it, and where the measurement is soft

We use a scalp scanner in clinic called Becon. It takes magnified photographs at set points around the head, at the front, the crown, the back and both sides, then produces a single score out of 100 for the overall condition of the scalp and hair.

It is not a perfect instrument, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. When we went back through our own records, the same set of photographs re-analysed on different occasions came back up to 4 points apart. So we treat anything under about 4 points as too small to call a real change. That is the shaded band on the chart above.

Her 6.13 points clears that, but not by a huge margin. In her case the photographs carry more weight than the score does, which is not usually the way round it goes.

What this does and does not tell you

Patchy hair loss and general thinning are not the same problem, and they do not always behave the same way. What happened here should not be read as what would happen with a receding hairline or a widening parting.

Hair loss has a lot of causes, and what works for one person may do very little for another. Age, how long it has been going on, the underlying reason for it and general health all make a difference. Nobody can look at her photographs and tell you what yours would look like.

What we can say is that we measure, we keep the records, and we will tell you honestly what we are seeing in your own scans as we go.

Frequently asked questions

My hair loss is in patches. Is that the same thing?

Not necessarily. Patchy loss and general thinning can have different causes, and they are assessed differently. If yours is patchy, and particularly if it came on quickly, it is worth having it looked at properly rather than assuming it is ordinary age-related thinning. That assessment is part of the consultation, and in some cases we will suggest you see your GP as well.

Why is her score lower than the photographs suggest?

Because the score is an average across several points on the head, and her loss was concentrated in a few areas rather than spread evenly. A big change in one patch moves the overall number less than you might expect. It is a good illustration of why we look at the pictures and the number together rather than trusting either one on its own.

How many sessions will I need?

She had four, but there is no fixed number that suits everyone. It depends on how much thinning there is, how your scalp responds to the first few sessions and what we see on your follow-up scans. We would rather review as we go than sell you a package up front. At your consultation we will give you a realistic idea of what your own course might look like.

What is the scalp score, and can I see mine?

It is a number out of 100 that our scanner produces from magnified photographs of your scalp taken at several points around your head. Higher is better. You can absolutely see yours. We scan at your first appointment and again as you go, and we will show you the comparison rather than just telling you it looks better.

Are these results typical?

The photographs are at the striking end of what we have. The number behind them is close to the middle. Across the 37 patients we have complete before and after scans for, the typical improvement was around 7 points. Five showed a change too small to count as real, and one got slightly worse. The chart on this page shows all of them.

Is this available on the NHS?

No. Exosome therapy for hair loss is a private treatment and is not available through the NHS. The NHS does provide support for some causes of hair loss, particularly where it is linked to an underlying medical condition, so it is worth speaking to your GP if you have not already. You do not need a GP referral to come and see us.

Will my photographs be used?

Only if you say yes in writing. We take clinical photographs so that you and we can see what is changing over time. They stay in your record unless you give us specific written permission to use them elsewhere, and you can withdraw that permission at any time. Where we do publish them, we obscure the face.