Is this stem cell serum the secret to great hair?
At nearly £300 for a six-week programme, Calecim’s at-home Advanced Hair System comes at a price. But with doctors seeing impressive results, could it be the antidote to thinning locks?
As seen in
Despite often being framed as an issue that only affects men, about one third of women experience hair loss at some point in their lives — some showing the signs as early as their thirties. Causes of female hair loss vary greatly and range from perimenopause and menopause to stress, thyroid issues, iron deficiency and, now, the rise in GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
Until recently there was only a small list of treatments on offer, such as a regular scalp maintenance routine to boost circulation or using traditional medication. The good news is, the hair-care and beauty industries have taken note of demand and there are now more hair-thinning treatments being produced designed with women in mind than ever before. Among them is Calecim.
The brand is part of the latest hair-care movement that involves the same powerful ingredients already making waves in the skincare market: growth factors and exosomes. Calecim’s Advanced Hair System is a six-week programme in the form of a handy kit, which contains the serum and a microneedling-like tool, available to use in the comfort of your home.
What sets the Calecim treatment apart is its proprietary ingredient PTT-6®. PTT-6® contains a powerful blend of more than 3,000 proteins, including regenerative growth factors, exosomes and stem cells derived from the umbilical cord lining of red deer. Originally developed for wound repair, the brand claims the active ingredients are specifically designed to help encourage and support hair follicles, in turn helping potentially to decrease scalp inflammation, which can cause shedding.
Results can be seen in as little as six weeks (the initial treatment phase, which involves application of the serum twice a week, after which a once-a-week maintenance phase begins). Dr Manav Bawa, an aesthetic physician and the medical director of the Time Clinic in London, says that after about six weeks many of his clients begin to see a noticeable difference.
He is currently carrying out trials in his clinic on 12 perimenopausal patients, aged from 37 to 54, with mild to moderate hair loss, and is pleased with the results so far. “I’ve seen a difference in every patient,” he says. Clinical observations have also seen a 14 per cent increase in the number of hair follicles on the scalp, a 16 per cent increase in hair-shaft thickness, and a 15 per cent increase in the number of follicles per sq cm of scalp.
According to Bawa, the knock-on effects are just as important as the science. “The women I’ve reviewed tell me their confidence has improved. They’ve received comments from their hairdresser and friends, who are saying, ‘Your hair looks thicker and healthier.’”
