Hair loss is a common condition affecting both men and women. There are many factors that may hair loss including stress, nutrition deficiencies, autoimmune disease, thyroid disease, anemia, and hormonal changes.
At Vibrant Dermatology, Dr. Ip will perform a comprehensive exam that may include laboratory tests and a scalp biopsy. Once a diagnosis is made, Dr. Ip will review your treatment options. One of the most successful treatment options for hair loss is platelet-rich plasma.
By using your body’s own regenerative growth factors from your blood, platelet-rich plasma injections help your body regrow hair that was lost.
PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy for hair loss is a three-step medical treatment in which a person’s blood is drawn, processed, and then injected into the scalp.
PRP injections trigger natural hair growth and maintain it by increasing blood supply to the hair follicle and increasing the thickness of the hair shaft. Sometimes this approach is combined with other hair loss procedures and medications.
While PRP is a great option to treat hair loss for many people, not all types of hair loss can be helped by this procedure. Since there are several different causes for hair loss, your body simply may not respond to this treatment if it is not addressing the cause for your individual hair loss.
To learn whether you have a type of hair loss that can benefit from PRP, you must see a board-certified dermatologist.
In some cases, Dr. Ip will not recommend PRP for hair loss in your case if you are on blood thinners, smoke heavily, or have a history of alcohol and drug misuse. Conditions like liver disease, acute or chronic infections, low platelet counts, metabolic disorders, and thyroid disease may also make you ineligible for PRP for hair loss.
If you’re a good candidate for PRP treatments for hair loss, you can expect a visible increase in the amount of hair regrowth you experience. This treatment happens through a three-step process where you will come in for 3 separate appointments that are 4-6 weeks apart. Once you finish your initial period of treatment, a maintenance treatment at 6 months may be recommended.
The first step of the PRP treatment process is a blood draw. Your blood is then put into a centrifuge, which is a machine that spins rapidly to separate fluids of different densities.
The second step of the PRP treatment process occurs after your blood has spent around 10 minutes in the centrifuge. At that point, your blood sample will have changed from a typical blood sample to a three-layer specimen. These layers consist of platelet-poor plasma, platelet-rich plasma, and red blood cells.
This is how Dr. Ip can extract the mostly clear, platelet-rich plasma from your blood.
Step three of this procedure occurs when the platelet-rich plasma is drawn into a syringe that is then ready to be injected into areas of the scalp that need hair growth boosted.
PRP injections for hair loss are a straightforward and relatively comfortable procedure. Many patients report feeling a tiny prick when the needle is inserted, and they do not need numbing to get through the procedure.
Recovery from PRP for hair loss is almost nonexistent. Dr. Ip recommends lightening up on your normal hair routine for a day or two after the procedure in order to allow your scalp to heal.
The results you can expect from PRP for hair loss are a marked regrowth of hair. While it is not a cure for all types of hair loss, many men and women love the gorgeous hair that comes in to fill in spaces where the scalp was previously visible.
Hair loss is a frustrating and oftentimes embarrassing condition for men and women of all ages. While so many people experience hair loss at one point in their life, it’s a condition that is often avoided in conversation and covered up as much as possible.
For this reason, Dr. Ip highly recommends PRP for hair loss as a way of restoring the hair and confidence of people affected by hair loss.
Leave your skincare to the experts. To learn more about how PRP and other hair loss treatments can work for you, make sure you work with a board-certified dermatologist. If you would like to experience premier dermatological care to achieve beautiful and healthy skin, please schedule your appointment with Dr. Ip today.