Is Verteporfin Used as a Topical Treatment, Injection, or Oral Medication for Hair Loss?

Understanding What Verteporfin Actually Is

Verteporfin is a medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, a serious eye condition involving abnormal blood vessel growth beneath the retina. According to the FDA label for Visudyne (verteporfin for injection), the drug is administered intravenously and activated by a specific wavelength of light in a process known as photodynamic therapy. It is not approved as an oral medication, and it is not formulated as a topical cream or solution for skin or scalp application (FDA, 2000).

In ophthalmology, verteporfin works by accumulating in abnormal blood vessels and, when exposed to laser light, generating reactive oxygen species. These reactive oxygen species are chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen that damage targeted cells. This controlled damage helps close off unwanted blood vessels in the eye. This mechanism is well documented in clinical trials evaluating verteporfin for macular degeneration and chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), including systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in peer-reviewed journals and indexed in PubMed (Chan et al., 2003; van Dijk et al., 2015).

Importantly, verteporfin is not approved by the FDA, the European Medicines Agency, or the World Health Organization for the treatment of hair loss. Its use in hair restoration remains experimental and off-label.

Why Is Verteporfin Being Discussed for Hair Loss?

The interest in verteporfin for hair loss comes from research on wound healing and fibrosis. Fibrosis refers to the formation of scar tissue. In hair transplantation and scalp injury, scar formation can prevent new hair follicles from regenerating. Some researchers have proposed that if scarring can be reduced or altered, hair follicles might regenerate instead of forming fibrotic tissue.

A pivotal animal study published in 2021 in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open investigated wound healing in C57BL/6J mice. Researchers created full-thickness skin wounds and treated some wounds with verteporfin while others served as controls. The study followed the animals for 30 days, collecting tissue samples at 2, 7, 14, and 30 days. The evaluation methods included single-cell RNA sequencing, histological staining, and molecular pathway analysis. The researchers reported that verteporfin-treated wounds healed with reduced scarring and activation of developmental pathways associated with hair follicle formation. The authors concluded that inhibition of mechanical signaling through the YAP pathway could promote regenerative healing rather than fibrotic healing (Mascharak et al., 2021).

However, this was an animal study, not a human hair loss trial. Mice have a greater capacity for skin regeneration than humans, and translating results from rodents to people is complex. The study also focused on wound regeneration rather than androgenetic alopecia, which is the most common cause of hair loss and is driven primarily by sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a derivative of testosterone.

Human Evidence: Injection Combined With Dermal Wounding

The most relevant human data for hair restoration come from small case reports published in 2025 in the Journal of Dermatology Research and Therapy.

In one case report titled “Use of Verteporfin to Regrow Hair and Reduce Fibrosis After Transplantation” (2025), a 27-year-old female patient undergoing hair transplantation received verteporfin injections on one side of her transplant incision. The study duration was eight weeks. Verteporfin was administered subcutaneously at the surgical site. The researchers compared hair density and scar characteristics between treated and untreated sides. Hair density was measured using photographic analysis and surface area measurement in millimeters. The treated side showed increased density compared to the control side. However, this was a single patient, not a randomized controlled trial. There was no blinding, no placebo control, and the follow-up period was short (eight weeks), which limits conclusions about long-term effectiveness.

Another 2025 case report titled “Use of Verteporfin with Dermal Wounding to Regenerate New Hair in Androgenetic Alopecia” involved two male subjects with androgenetic alopecia. The intervention included dermal incisions followed by subcutaneous injection of 25 mg verteporfin. The participants were followed for several weeks, and hair density was assessed using standardized imaging and density counts. The authors reported a 63 percent increase in hair density in donor sites and a 38 percent increase in thinning areas, but no regrowth in completely bald regions. Again, the study included only two participants and lacked randomization, placebo control, and long-term follow-up. These limitations are significant and mean the findings must be interpreted cautiously.

In both human reports, verteporfin was administered as an injection into the scalp in conjunction with surgical wounding. It was not given orally. It was not applied as a simple topical solution in routine use. The experimental protocol relied on localized injection at the site of injury.

Laboratory Evidence: Effects on Hair Follicle Cells

A 2025 study published in FASEB BioAdvances examined verteporfin in rat hair follicle neural crest stem cells under hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions. This was an in vitro laboratory study using rat-derived cells, not a clinical trial. The researchers treated cultured cells with verteporfin and measured proliferation rates and expression of stemness markers such as SOX2, NANOG, and OCT4 using gene expression assays. The study duration was limited to laboratory observation periods typical for cell culture experiments. Results showed that verteporfin reduced proliferation and reduced expression of stem cell markers under hypoxic conditions.

This finding is important because it suggests verteporfin may suppress certain stem cell activities in some contexts. The study did not evaluate hair regrowth in living humans. Laboratory conditions differ significantly from human scalp biology, and the findings cannot be directly interpreted as proof of hair restoration potential.

Is Verteporfin Used Topically or Orally for Hair Loss?

Based on all currently available published research, verteporfin is not used as an oral medication for hair loss. There are no clinical trials evaluating oral verteporfin for androgenetic alopecia, and the FDA-approved formulation is intravenous only for ophthalmic use.

There is also no established, FDA-approved topical verteporfin formulation for scalp application in hair loss. While experimental discussions exist in research and community forums about topical or microneedling-assisted delivery, published human case reports to date have used subcutaneous injection combined with dermal wounding.

Therefore, in current research settings related to hair restoration, verteporfin has been administered as an injection directly into the scalp, typically during or after surgical procedures that create controlled injury. It is not used as a routine cream, foam, pill, or over-the-counter solution for pattern hair loss.

“User Experiences” From the Tressless Community

Within the Tressless community, verteporfin has generated significant discussion, particularly regarding its potential to reduce scarring after hair transplantation and possibly regenerate follicles in donor areas. Community posts from 2024 and 2025 reflect both excitement and skepticism.

Several threads discuss updates from surgeons experimenting with verteporfin during follicular unit transplantation (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE). Users frequently mention its proposed mechanism of inhibiting YAP signaling, which is part of the Hippo pathway, a regulatory pathway involved in tissue growth and mechanical signaling. Some users speculate that combining verteporfin with microneedling may improve regenerative outcomes. However, many commenters emphasize the lack of large-scale, peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials.

Other community members highlight that even if verteporfin improves donor-site healing, this does not necessarily mean it reverses advanced baldness such as Norwood stage 6 or 7. Several discussions note that completely bald areas in published case reports did not show meaningful regrowth.

Overall, user sentiment in the Tressless community suggests cautious optimism, but there is widespread acknowledgment that verteporfin remains experimental and not a proven cure for androgenetic alopecia.

Final Answer: How Is Verteporfin Used for Hair Loss?

Verteporfin is not approved as a topical or oral treatment for hair loss. In the limited human research available, it has been administered as a localized subcutaneous injection into the scalp, usually in combination with dermal wounding during hair transplant procedures. Its current role in hair restoration is experimental and investigational.

Large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials in diverse populations, with long-term follow-up and standardized hair density measurements, are still needed. Until such evidence exists and regulatory agencies evaluate the data, verteporfin should not be considered an established treatment for hair loss.

References

Chan, W. M., Lai, T. Y. Y., Lai, R. Y. K., Tang, E. W. H., Liu, D. T. L., & Lam, D. S. C. (2003). Safety enhanced photodynamic therapy with verteporfin for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy: One-year results of a prospective study. Ophthalmology, 110(5), 975–980. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12750095

Food and Drug Administration. (2000). Visudyne (verteporfin for injection) label. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2000/21095lbl.pdf

Mascharak, S., desJardins-Park, H. E., Davitt, M. F., Griffin, M., Borrelli, M. R., Moore, A. L., Chen, K., Duoto, B., Chinta, M., Foster, D. S., et al. (2021). Multimodal molecular analysis reveals divergent trajectories of wound regeneration versus fibrosis. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open, 9(7S). https://doi.org/10.1097/01.gox.0000769936.79898.fc

Use of Verteporfin to Regrow Hair and Reduce Fibrosis After Transplantation. (2025). Journal of Dermatology Research and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.23937/2469-5750/151013

Use of Verteporfin with Dermal Wounding to Regenerate New Hair in Androgenetic Alopecia. (2025). Journal of Dermatology Research and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.23937/2469-5750/1510133

Inhibition of the Hippo Pathway by Verteporfin Reduces the Proliferation and Stemness of Rat Hair Follicle Neural Crest Stem Cells Under Hypoxia. (2025). FASEB BioAdvances. https://doi.org/10.1096/fba.2025-00025

Tressless Community. (2024–2025). Verteporfin discussions and clinical updates. https://community.tressless.com/t/verteporfin-phase-1-human-clinical-trial-in-the-works/1635

Tressless Reddit Community. (2024–2025). Verteporfin updates and transplant outcomes. https://reddit.com/r/tressless/comments/1dr9v9o/verteporfin_fut_9_month_update/