What are PRP hair loss treatments and how do they work?
PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma for skin and hair loss is an natural, autologous, non-surgical, safe treatment using the patient’s own blood, via a specialised treatment process. After the area of concern is identified, evaluated and measured.
Sterile techniques and equipment are used to separate and concentrate the platelets and plasma from a small sample of blood.
The skin or scalp is prepared with antiseptic solution and anesthetic is used to completely numb the scalp for a 100% painless procedure. Small injections of the PRP deliver the powerful platelet-derived growth factors into the skin at the level of the weak follicles.
Who is the ideal candidate for PRP treatments for skin and hair loss?
At Dynamic Regenerative Medicine, we focus on two types of hair loss patients when it comes to PRP treatments: patients with areas of “weak quality” hair growth on the scalp, where functioning hair follicles can still be observed, and patients with small areas of alopecia. These are the patients who appear to have the greatest success with PRP hair regrowth treatments.
When can you expect results from PRP and how long do they last?
Most patients notice improvements in skin or hair density within 1-3 months post treatment. But it can take between 6-12 months to fully judge the results of PRP visually. Measurements are taken every three months, so the plateau phase of improvement can be tracked.
What are the risks and benefits of PRP treatments?
PRP is a safe, very well tolerated, non-surgical procedure that takes about an hour start-to-finish. Most patients notice mild soreness, that is well-tolerated and short lived. Swelling is rare and if it occurs it is normally short-lived. Hair growth improvements can typically be measured in about three months.
Patients with certain blood disorders or on certain medications are not candidates for PRP treatments. PRP is immunologically neutral and poses little risk of allergy, hypersensitivity or foreign-body reactions.
How long do the benefits of PRP treatments last?
PRP tends to improve hair caliber and hair growth for about four to six weeks, requiring multiple repeated treatments initially, usually 3-6 treatments over 4 week intervals, then maintaince from there. On average, most patients will require their repeat PRP treatments after an average of 6-12 months in order to maintain the hair growth effects.
Is there a recovery period or downtime after PRP treatments?
There is no activity restriction after a PRP treatment. Patients may shower/shampoo/condition their hair normally just several hours after the treatment and resume normal daily and athletic activities. As mentioned previously, some brief mild inflammation noticeable as redness/pinkness and numbness of the scalp may be present for several hours. No harsh chemical colouring or perming treatments should be performed for at least 72 hours. Use of topical hair growth treatments like Minoxidil or similar can resume the next day. Laser therapy treatments can also be resumed the next day.
Are there any contraindications or other factors that would make someone ineligible for PRP?
Different areas of the scalp may respond differently to PRP depending on the amount of weak hair follicles present in each zone. Generally, with the exception of small round areas of alopecia areata, locations where severe depletion of follicles has occurred should not be treated. The vast majority of healthy individuals can easily undergo PRP treatments. Certain conditions like blood and platelet disorders, chronic liver disease, presence of an active severe infection, cardiovascular or hemodynamic instability and/or the presence of anti-coagulation therapy (e.g. warfarin) would make PRP contraindicated. Recent steroid treatments and smoking are relative contraindications and should be discussed.
Further information can be found on our website under the page, platelet rich plasma.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to contact us direct at clinic@dynamicregenmedicine.co.uk.