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Millions of men and women who suffer from premature baldness or hair loss could soon be able to regain their original lustrous locks — by cloning their remaining hair in the laboratory, research suggests.

The new technique, known as “follicular cell implantation,” has already shown positive results in continuing clinical trials on human beings. The work, being carried out by a British team, is being hailed as a major advance in hair restoration and is backed by a $3.7 million government grant.

The cell therapy has the potential to provide a limitless supply of an individual’s hair to replace that lost because of burns, cancer treatment or simply the onset of age, and could be available to patients within five years.

The latest results of the Phase II trial, presented at a conference of leading hair replacement surgeons in Rome, suggest that the technique can increase hair count in at least two-thirds of patients after six months, and four out of five if the scalp is stimulated beforehand through gentle abrasions that encourage hair growth.

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