Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy:-I’m going to explore how does PRP or platelet-rich plasma work for hair loss? Does PRP stop hair loss? And what are the success rates of PRP hair loss treatments?
If you don’t know anything about PRP treatments, or you’re feeling a bit lost about it. Don’t worry! Sit back, relax and I’ll go through it with you.
What Is PRP? Does PRP Work For Hair?
PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma which is given as an injection for hair loss. And PRP has been around for a long time, since the 1980s.
But it’s become quite trendy recently. In fact, in 2006 a couple of scientists discovered that injecting PRP into problem areas like elbows that have chronic issues such as epicondylitis reduces the healing time.
And since then, this is spurred on a whole host of new medical professionals trying it out in different conditions.
One of which is hair loss which is associated with androgenetic alopecia.
How Does PRP Work? PRP vs Stem Cell
Platelet-rich plasma contains several growth factors and proteins that are important in promoting tissue healing.
It is thought that PRP therapy could help regrow hair by reversing the process that occurs in androgenic alopecia.
What Is The PRP Process? Eclipse PRP
PRP therapy is a three-step process. Most patients require 3 treatments that are spaced 4 to 6 weeks apart. With 6 monthly maintenance injections.
- Step 1. Your blood is taken from your arm and put into a centrifuge. A machine that spins the blood rapidly to separate it into the different blood components.
- Step 2. After about 10 minutes in the centrifuge, Your blood separates into three components: platelet-poor plasma, platelet-rich plasma, and red blood cells.
- Step 3. The platelet-rich plasma is drawn up into a syringe and then injected into areas of the scalp that need increased hair growth. The injections are given over about three minutes and there are usually about thirteen of them. Please be warned that this process is quite painful and that’s because your scalp is very sensitive to injections. After all, it’s got lots of blood vessels and nerves.
What Are The Side-Effects Of PRP?
Because PRP involves the injection of your blood, there is no risk of catching any blood-borne disease from somebody else, which is great news.
But there are some things that you might expect afterward (after the procedure), which I’ll list.
- Mild pain at the scalp injection site
- Scalp tenderness
- Temporary bleeding at the injection site
So, specifically, you might get some scalp tenderness, some mild pain at the injection site, some swelling or a headache, you might notice some itching or temporary bleeding at the injection site.
Immediately after the procedure, you mustn’t shower or wash your hair for about a day.
You don’t want to also have any scalp massage or endure any scalp trauma in the first two days.
Also, be on the alert for any signs of infection. So redness, heat, fever, spreading rash, and – please see your doctor immediately.
The other thing to know is that it’s uncommon, but some people do develop some calcification and scar tissue that forms at the injection sites.
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Is PRP Effective And Covered By Insurance?
There have not been any large randomized controlled trials to answer this question.
But in 2019, a group of researchers carried out a systematic review of the research and their findings are published in the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Journal.
This looked at eleven research papers with a total of 262 participants who had androgenetic alopecia.
The findings of the research showed that PRP therapy reduced hair loss, it increased the diameter of the hair follicles and increased the density of hair growth.
This was level 3 evidence which is pretty good but it’s not the ultimate, which is level one.
What is still needed is larger studies, with larger population sample sizes, with standard protocols to confirm whether these findings were real.
PRP is not a cure for conditions that cause hair loss, as you have to keep doing the injections to keep seeing the results.
So it’s similar to medications like finasteride or minoxidil that you would use and need to keep using to see the effects.
In terms of how long PRP takes to start seeing the results, it’s usually about two to three months after having started having the PRP procedure.
How Much Does PRP Cost?
The price typically ranges from about 1,500 through to $3500 for three treatments, or three injections. With each injection costing around about $400 or more.
The price varies depending on who is doing the procedure, the quality of the equipment that’s used, and whether there are any additives needed, for example, other nutrients or local anesthetic is used.
What Is The Bottom line In PRP Theraphy
In terms of treatment options for hair loss, you can start with topical treatments like Minoxidil, or you can use tablets like Dutasteride or finasteride, then you can use natural products like saw palmetto.
Moving on to PRP therapy, hair transplants or you can become a Mandalorian.
All of them have pros and cons to treatments and PRP probably falls somewhere in the realms of “this is a promising treatment but we still don’t have enough evidence to say whether it’s worthwhile”.
I think if you’re pursuing this decision, I would weigh up how much like what kind of budget that you want to spend on hair loss treatment and also try and have realistic expectations of the outcomes from PRP therapy, as it’s still not a proven treatment just yet.