Is PRP Hair Regrowth Effective?
PRP therapy is one of the latest hair restoration treatments today. Moreover, this treatment accelerates the healing in various areas of the body. It can help restore and stimulate hair growth on the balding areas of the scalp.
PRP therapy addresses male pattern baldness. It contains growth factors and proteins that speed up and stimulate tissue repair, and it can help reverse the process that occurs in male pattern baldness.
Studies about PRP aren’t entirely proven yet. One theory says that the body operates more efficiently when the blood flows better. Red blood cells carry oxygen through your body, and they help your organs work well. Oxygen helps cells grow too.
The proteins in platelets are the most intriguing aspect of this notion. According to one theory, the proteins contain other growth factors such as the following:
- Epidermal growth factor (EGF)
- Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)
- Interleukin (IL)-1
- Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)
- Transforming growth factor (TGF)
- Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
The growth factors help new follicles form and cause new blood vessels to grow. PRP treatments in areas of the scalp where hair is thinning could help the follicles produce hair more efficiently. But enough blood flow needs to occur for the treatment to be helpful. More research is required in order to find out if stand-alone therapies are beneficial.
Few studies about stand-alone PRP treatments for hair loss exist. The studies that do exist were undertaken at an early stage of the research process.
For example, in a 2014 study, 11 people who had not experienced desirable results from using oral finasteride or topical minoxidil received 2 to 3 milliliters of PRP (a blood product) four times. Researchers found that hair loss slowed between the first and fourth injections of PRP. The researchers found that PRP treatments were effective for treating people with male pattern baldness.
This pilot study offers good news for people who want to try PRP for hair loss. However, more research will need to occur before it is proven effective as a stand-alone treatment. More studies will need to be conducted with more participants than this pilot study.
Some debate exists about whether stand-alone injections can work for restoring hair. But PRP has been proven to be very effective in healing wounds. That is why we almost always use PRP treatments with FUE (follicular unit extraction).
After the hair follicles get taken from your head, you can inject your PRP back into your scalp to help you heal.
It’s essential to take care of your hair after you’ve received a transplant. After the surgery, do not wash or brush your hair for a week. Don’t dye it for at least a month. These processes will help you have a successful transplant and let the donor site heal.