Do you have thinning of the hair? Is the density of your hair decreasing to the point where you can see more of your scalp? One of the most popular non-surgical treatments for enhancing hair growth is the use of platelet rich plasma, or PRP. JH Medical Spa and Dr. John Hilinski are considered leading experts in San Diego for hair restoration using PRP.
PRP and Hair Growth
The advantages of using PRP for cosmetic enhancement are well established. Over the last several years, there has been even more focus on the benefits of PRP specifically for improving hair growth and restoration.
One component of thinning hair and/or hair loss is the fact that some hair follicles go into a more dormant, or resting, state. PRP works by helping to stimulate these more dormant follicles to resume hair growth. This is accomplished by PRP because it contains a number of natural growth factors that help to encourage the hair follicles to grow once again. As this response takes place over several weeks to months, new hair growth can be seen, which leads to less thinning of the scalp.
Hair Loss Overview
One of the most common types of hair loss is termed androgenic hair loss, or androgenic alopecia. This form of hair loss or thinning is quite frequently seen in both men and women. In the former, this is referred to as male patterned baldness. With androgenic alopecia, the pattern of hair loss often times begins above the ears in a so-called temporal (in reference to the temples) distribution. This temporal pattern of hair loss will then commonly expand to give an even more receding hairline in an M-shaped pattern. If the hair begins to thin even more around the crown of the scalp, patients can really start to notice more pronounced or complete baldness.
Women tend to suffer hair loss in a different manner compared with men. Instead of losing hair in certain patterns, women commonly see hair loss more globally around the scalp. In addition, women tend to not have a receding hairline as much as men do with hair loss.
How is PRP Performed?
PRP for hair loss is done in the office setting without having to undergo anesthesia. The PRP process begins with a blood draw. The harvested blood is then processed over a 10-20 minute period where the platelets are isolated from the red blood cells. The portion of the solution that contains the concentrated platelet rich plasma is then carefully extracted. The PRP is then injected into the scalp where the hair thinning and/or hair loss is most notable. In most cases of scalp hair treatment with PRP, about 12 injection sites are needed. The most common areas for PRP hair treatment include the frontal, temporal (sides) and occipital scalp. The entire process takes approximately 1 hour to complete. Patients can typically resume most normal daily activities right after treatment.
How Many PRP Injections Are Needed?
PRP treatment for hair loss cannot be achieved with a single injection session. On average, hair loss patients will require 3-4 PRP treatments to achieve an ideal outcome in terms of hair restoration. These are typically spaced apart 8-10 weeks between PRP injection sessions.
Example of PRP for Hair Loss
Here is a quick case example of how PRP can help with hair loss. This is a female patient from San Diego who noted thinning of her hair all over – but particularly along the fronto-temporal region. This corresponds to what many people refer to as the anterior hairline. You can see in her before photo that she had quite a bit of thinning, or loss of hair density. She subsequently underwent a series of PRP treatments for hair loss, which were performed in the office setting with essentially no downtime. After several months, she began to notice that her hair was indeed growing in more dense in the area of treatment. When you look at her comparison photos, you can readily see how the area highlighted in red has been stimulated by the PRP injections to grow more hair.
PRP for Hair Loss in San Dieg
If you having thinning hair and desire more hair growth using an all natural treatment approach, contact JH Medical Spa today to schedule your personalized consultation with one of our PRP injection experts.
