Is Osteopontin Safe to Use Long-Term in Hair Growth Products?

Hair growth science continues to evolve beyond traditional treatments like minoxidil and finasteride. A relatively new candidate under investigation is osteopontin, a protein naturally produced in the body. Its role in wound healing and inflammation control has made it a subject of interest in hair growth research. But when we look at the bigger picture, the real question is whether osteopontin is safe for continuous, long-term use. The evidence so far is mixed and raises critical issues we cannot ignore.

Osteopontin is a glycoprotein, which means it is a protein bound with sugar molecules. It is present in bone, skin, blood, and many tissues of the human body. Its primary roles involve regulating inflammation, mediating wound repair, and helping cells attach to each other or to structural elements around them. Because hair follicles rely heavily on stem cells for regeneration, and because inflammation often contributes to hair follicle damage, some researchers have asked whether osteopontin matters for scalp health. However, its complex role in both protective and harmful biological processes complicates any simple conclusion.

Why Osteopontin Attracted Attention in Hair Research

We need to understand why scientists are interested in this protein in the first place. Hair follicles are mini-organs that repeatedly cycle through growth and rest phases. When inflammation damages the follicle environment, these cycles are disrupted, leading to thinning hair. In one mouse study, osteopontin activated hair stem cells (Wang et al., 2023), while an osteopontin-derived peptide pushed human hair follicles toward regression in scalp tissue (Alam et al., 2020). That explains why researchers are exploring whether it could improve follicular health. Yet, this does not mean it is automatically safe, nor that its long-term use would not trigger negative outcomes.

When we dig into the published studies, we find a story of duality. On one hand, osteopontin seems beneficial for tissue recovery. On the other, it is implicated in chronic inflammation and fibrosis, conditions that could make hair loss worse.

In 2018, Icer and Gezmen-Karadag reviewed the many functions of osteopontin. Their review describes roles in inflammation, wound healing and bone, and links osteopontin with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. This means osteopontin works in a context-specific way, and a treatment that raises it could have effects well beyond the hair follicle. An earlier review from 2000 by Sodek and colleagues described osteopontin’s roles in tissue remodelling and repair. Neither review tested osteopontin as a hair treatment, so they cannot show whether such use would be safe.

What We Still Don’t Know About Long-Term Safety

When we ask if osteopontin is safe long-term for hair growth, the honest answer is that there is no direct evidence. No clinical trial has tested osteopontin on human scalps for hair loss across months or years. The developer of the osteopontin-derived peptide FOL-005, Follicum, tested a topical FOL-005 formulation for 16 weeks in 210 men with hair loss; its 2021 top-line press release reported no significant difference from placebo (p=0.83), and the results have not been published in a journal. A 16-week trial cannot show long-term safety. What we do know is that osteopontin is a natural protein that already exists in our bodies. But this fact does not guarantee safety, because osteopontin has been linked to chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. That is highly relevant if we imagine applying osteopontin-based treatments daily for years.

Osteopontin is not approved for any hair-loss use. For male and female pattern hair loss, the FDA-approved drugs are topical minoxidil and (men only) oral finasteride. The absence of approval for osteopontin reflects the lack of data on safety and efficacy, and leaves it in the experimental stage.

If we want to know whether osteopontin is safe to use long-term in hair growth products, nobody can say today, because the research is not there. The available evidence shows both healing potential and possible risks. Without controlled, long-term human trials, safety cannot be assumed. For now, osteopontin is an interesting candidate but remains unproven. We should approach claims of its benefits with skepticism until proper clinical evidence is available.

User Experiences with Osteopontin in Hair Growth Products

The Tressless community has discussed osteopontin mainly in the context of emerging peptide-based treatments. One of the most notable developments is the compound FOL005, derived from osteopontin, which community posts say is planned for cosmetic release. Community members have expressed both optimism and skepticism regarding its long-term safety and efficacy. Some users hope FOL-005 will match finasteride, but no published trial shows this, and the developer’s own topical trial reported no significant benefit over placebo. Selling it as a cosmetic means it does not go through drug-level efficacy or safety review. In human scalp tissue, this peptide pushed hair follicles early into the regression (catagen) phase (Alam et al., 2020).

Other discussions link osteopontin to delivery systems for peptides and other growth factors. For instance, community members have considered whether methods like iontophoresis, sonophoresis, and microneedling could enhance osteopontin-based or related peptide treatments. While some users view these technologies as promising, others stress the lack of clinical data proving that osteopontin peptides can safely sustain hair growth over years of use. The general tone is cautious: enthusiasm about innovation is tempered by the reminder that many peptides have shown theoretical benefits without delivering meaningful clinical results.

Safety concerns are especially prominent in conversations comparing osteopontin with other experimental proteins, such as SCUBE3. Community members recall that signaling proteins like osteopontin are also linked to cancer biology, which fuels hesitation about long-term topical use. Some users think short-term cosmetic use may be low-risk, but there is no published safety data for either short-term or long-term use. This uncertainty has led many in the community to conclude that osteopontin-based products should be seen as experimental until more rigorous trials are completed. In summary, the Tressless community treats osteopontin as an interesting but unproven avenue for hair growth. FOL005 in particular has generated attention, with some hopeful it will provide a new option for those resistant to finasteride or minoxidil. Still, until more data are available, users continue to express caution about its long-term safety profile.

References

Icer, M. A., & Gezmen-Karadag, M. (2018). The multiple functions and mechanisms of osteopontin. Clinical Biochemistry, 59, 17–24. PMID: 30003880. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30003880/

Sodek, J., Ganss, B., & McKee, M. D. (2000). Osteopontin. Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine, 11(3), 279–303. https://doi.org/10.1177/10454411000110030101

Wang, X., Ramos, R., Phan, A. Q., et al. (2023). Signalling by senescent melanocytes hyperactivates hair growth. Nature, 618(7966), 808–817. PMID: 37344645. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37344645/

Alam, M., Bertolini, M., Gherardini, J., et al. (2020). An osteopontin-derived peptide inhibits human hair growth at least in part by decreasing fibroblast growth factor-7 production in outer root sheath keratinocytes. British Journal of Dermatology, 182(6), 1404–1414. PMID: 31487385. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31487385/

Follicum AB. (2021, May 6). Follicum reports top-line results from Phase IIa study of FOL-005 for treatment of hair loss (alopecia) [Press release]. https://news.cision.com/follicum/r/follicum-reports-top-line-results-from-phase-iia-study-of-fol-005-for-treatment-of-hair-loss--alopec,c3341890

Tressless Community. (2024, September 15). Coegin Pharma to release Follicopeptide (FOL005) by Q2 2025. Retrieved from https://reddit.com/r/tressless/comments/1fh9yhi/coegin_pharma_to_release_follicopeptide_fol005_by/

Tressless Community. (2024, August 6). Soundwaves & Electricity Grows Hair? | Peptide Delivery Model. Retrieved from https://reddit.com/r/tressless/comments/1elo36e/soundwaves_electricity_grows_hair_peptide/

Tressless Community. (2024, July 6). Peptides that Stop Hair Loss? | In-depth Literature Review Video. Retrieved from https://reddit.com/r/tressless/comments/1dwzqfs/peptides_that_stop_hair_loss_indepth_literature/

Tressless Community. (2024, March 23). Expectations control for SCUBE3. Retrieved from https://reddit.com/r/tressless/comments/1blefzz/expectations_control_for_scube3/