The Big Business of Battling Baldness

With tech-driven solutions climbing into the five figures, dealing with hair loss is becoming über-exclusive.

- BY SAMANTHA HOLENDER

Taking a walk down the drugstore aisle a few years ago, it was clear: Balding was a boy's club. The majority of products were aimed at men, with boxes of Rogaine and BosleyMD taking up the majority of real estate on the shelves—ironic given that, according to UCLA Health, 40 percent of women will experience significant hair loss by age 50.

But the industry is changing. The stigma around going bald as a woman has begun to recede in recent years, with more women opening up and opting to seek out treatment. "There's been an explosion of young women that I'm seeing for hair loss," says Yael Halaas, M.D., a double board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City who specializes in aesthetic hair restoration.

As conversations have flourished, so has the market. Companies are increasingly creating hair-growth treatments crafted with the specific needs of women in mind. Brands like Hers and California Naturals have invested in minoxidil and rosemary-oil-powered serums, with clinical trials to boot. The Sephoras, Bluemercurys, and Ultas of the world have aisles and web pages dedicated to inclusive hair growth remedies, with plenty of under-$200 options to choose from.

But you'll find the most impressive, fastest fixes in dermatologists' and plastic surgeons' offices, creating something of a new problem: As innovation soars, so do the prices, setting up a scenario where it won't be about whether we can treat baldness and hair thinning but who can afford to.