PRP Treatment for Hair Replacement
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There has been a lot of talk and articles written about platelet-rich plasma treatments for knee, shoulder, back pain and even face lifts. But were you aware that the same PRP therapy can be used for hair restoration?
Platelet-rich-plasma therapy is now offered as a non-surgical treatment that naturally stimulates the scalp to restore thinning hair. It can be used in conjunction with other hair transplant treatments or as its own treatment.
This therapy works by using platelets to stimulate stem cells in the skin near the base of the hair follicles, called dermal papillae. There are blood vessels in the dermal papillae provide nourishment to all the follicles in the hair and also deliver nutrients and oxygen to the bottom layers of the skin cells.
The platelets are prepared by taking your own blood and placing it into a centrifuge. It spins the blood at a very high rate, separating the red blood cells from the platelets. Nothing further is done with the red blood cells and they are discarded. The platelet solution is then put into a syringe and injected into the predetermined sites on the scalp.
Once the injection occurs, the platelets help accelerate healing as well as promoting new cellular growth. PRP therapy takes hair follicles that are inactive or the recently implanted hair follicles and stimulates them to actively grow again.
PRP therapy can be done without doing a hair transplant procedure to help regrow hair. This is done by applying an anesthesia lotion on the area of the scalp where treatment will be given. This will completely numb the area so that it is a painless procedure. To stimulate cells in the scalp, the doctor uses a specific needling accessory to activate the platelet-rich-plasma and stimulate cells. Then the PRP injection is applied to areas of the scalp where the hair is thinning.
Results vary from individual to individual, but generally, hair regrowth in men takes more than one injection, and can take at least five to six months to see noticeable results. It can sometimes take up to a year, depending upon the amount of hair loss, the cause of the hair loss, the use of other treatments and the health of the recipient of the therapy. If the hair loss was hereditary, the patient can expect to repeat the PRP treatment annually.
There are many reasons women lose their hair or it becomes thin. Some are:
- Heredity
- Nutrition
- Stress
- Medications
- Surgery
- Illness
- Hair product usage
These indicators can cause hair follicles to weaken and therefore stop producing hair.
The main reason men lose their hair is heredity. At least 60 million men in this country suffer from mail pattern hair loss. The follicles become smaller and weaker, causing the hair to fall out and become thinner, revealing balding areas of the scalp.
When selecting to participate in PRP for hair loss, be sure to choose a professional with extensive experience with PRP procedure for the scalp. The technique is different for the scalp than with other parts of the body. The specialist can discuss what the treatment is comprised of and if it is indeed a good option for your hair restoration needs.
Resources:
Wikipedia, Hair Transplant
