Non-Surgical Hair Enhancement with PRP: Carlos K. Wesley, M.D. (NYC & LA)

[Billena]

This 33-year-old woman underwent an autologous (his own) platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatment with Dr. Carlos K. Wesley.

 

With this non-surgical approach to treating hair loss, she was able to reverse the biologic course of the thousands of miniaturized follicles atop her head and generate more hair fullness. She also noted an increased ease of hair styling. Dr. Wesley previously delivered an in-depth lecture on PRP scalp treatment for genetic hair loss detailing all aspects of this procedure. The benefits and limitations of PRP procedures are described for all interested patients who would like to learn more about this novel therapy.

 

The patient returned nine months after her PRP treatment series (involving 2 procedures) and images of the patient can be seen below.

 

 

[aWidowsPeek]

Looks like she just simply dyed he hair darker. Does anyone have any real proof that PRP treatment works?

[Spanker]

Definitely an increase in hair caliber. Please keep posting.

[Sean]

Definitely a difference noted. Patient must be happy. Dr Wesley, can prp be used to revive follicles in areas of shockloss? Can it also reduce scar tissue in impacted recipient zones? Thank you.

[Dr. Carlos Wesley]

Thanks @Spanker and @Sean, for your comments. While platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatments are certainly not a replacement for hair transplantation, they can provide help to patients that would otherwise not benefit from surgery (e.g. patients with a very high percentage of miniaturized hairs and/or diffuse thinning). We have certainly seen patients benefit from PRP in areas that underwent shock loss (it's a common treatment for women after pregnancy to prevent shock loss). The key is the presence of miniaturized hairs that can benefit from increased caliber, length, and number of hairs per bundle.

 

So, @aWidowsPeak, your observation of darker hair is not uncommon. It's not, however, due to hair dye but rather reactivation of melanocytes. This feature especially helps patients being treated for alopecia areata and patchy loss of hair coloration. The best I can do for you in terms of "real proof" is refer to the Grand Rounds Lecture I delivered to an NYC dermatology department recently in which I detailed the pros and cons and findings of PRP thus far.

 

I've also included magnified images of the patient seen in this thread. Hopefully, this is helpful.

 

[BaldPatient2]

Looks like she just simply dyed he hair darker.

I disagree. If she has white scalp, coloring the hair will make it look even thinner because it would show the contrast between dark hair and white scalp,