PRP - can It work on its own for hair loss, or do I have to do a transplant?

[vinzaf19]

I wanted to find out more about PRP to see if goes well to promote healing after you surgery, or if that’s just a load of BS? I’ve heard it can help on it’s own too to put off more loss? I don’t want to spend the moeye if it doesn’t work that well. Thanks in advance.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Vinza,

Platelet rich plasma has been used as a standalone hair loss treatment however, it’s success appears to be marginal at best.   PRP is often used as a storage solution for grafts during hair transplant surgery and seems to keep them pretty well hydrated  during the procedure. Some hair surgeons even swear by it and believe it is a better storage solution than standard saline solution. 

 Personally however, I’ve never been overly impressed with any real results from PRP as a standalone hair loss treatment and personally wouldn’t waste my time or money getting it done.   However, others may have a different opinion and I would be interested to hear what other members have to say… In particular, those who had it done. 

Best wishes,

Bill

[Markee]

How about in conjunction with a HT ?

[vinzaf19]

22 hours ago, Bill - Managing Publisher said:

Vinza,

Platelet rich plasma has been used as a standalone hair loss treatment however, it’s success appears to be marginal at best.   PRP is often used as a storage solution for grafts during hair transplant surgery and seems to keep them pretty well hydrated  during the procedure. Some hair surgeons even swear by it and believe it is a better storage solution than standard saline solution. 

 Personally however, I’ve never been overly impressed with any real results from PRP as a standalone hair loss treatment and personally wouldn’t waste my time or money getting it done.   However, others may have a different opinion and I would be interested to hear what other members have to say… In particular, those who had it done. 

Best wishes,

Bill

Good to know and keep under advisement for certain. I’ve heard it can help with repair and healing of the grafts, but wondered if it would help with slowing or stopping miniaturization of the hair by possibly increasing the blood flow to my scalp! I’m just not sure I’m ready to jump to a full blown transplant yet. Thanks Bill!

[Sean]

Right now, from the prp results posted— it is soooo subtle.  Sometimes you don’t know if prp grew that hair or meds or a dietary change.  But it is very minimal that right now, it seems unlikely that a standalone prp injections can give you a full head of hair.  

As far as graft preservation goes, that’s pretty interesting.  

[Markee]

I just did a consult with Rahal and he  recommended PRP along with the HT 

Below is what he said 

PRP has healing qualities that will help post-transplant to reduce redness and speed up healing. PRP also contains a lot of growth factors that encourage the anagen (or growth) phase of hair to help with less shedding post-procedure and faster growth of the transplanted grafts.

Dr. Rahal will inject the PRP into your recipient area after he has created all the recipient sites and just before the new grafts are placed

Edited August 18, 2018 by Markee

[Sean]

The one thing about it is, i need to see an actual researched study for any claim made.  I have yet to see it.  Ive read studies for sports injuries and in conjunction with prp.  Does prp thicken scalp tissue or cause any scalp tissue to form?  

[Markee]

2 hours ago, Sean said:

The one thing about it is, i need to see an actual researched study for any claim made.  I have yet to see it.  Ive read studies for sports injuries and in conjunction with prp.  Does prp thicken scalp tissue or cause any scalp tissue to form?  

Sean I agree hard to know whats really working or not with out the facts but definitely  getting more common  just recently had other top doctors also recommending it like Dr. Baubac who includes it in his HT package plan free ?

With Rahal the cost of prp is so small I don't think he would even bother with it unless hes seeing some positive results ?

Actually  its the below crown SMP recommendation part of Rahals consult  that kind of caught me off guard and is giving  me something to think about what do you think ?

Heres what he said 

Dr. Rahal  its a  bit early to be targeting your crown area.  The diffuse thinning you are experiencing in that area means high risk of shock loss so the fear is you will not see enough benefit to be worth targeting this area.

So he recommends to do a small semi-permanent pigment to help boost the illusion of density in the crown area that he says  will last about 5yrs at the cost of $2800.00 CAN + Tax 

Anyways heres a study I found on PRP and hair 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4622412/

Edited August 18, 2018 by Markee

[Sean]

Thanks for sharing that study on PRP.  It is a study on 20 folks.  Here is another one.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/760709/

I am trying to locate longterm studies with followups, but have not found any.  If you do, please share.  

The only thing that makes me a little weary is scar tissue or extra epidermis skin formations over the scalp where either prp or smp is done.  Not sure to the extent of how much occurs.  Not sure if it will be detrimental to future graft growth/yield placement in that area.  This is as needles impact tissue or skin in those zones.  Aside from using it as a graft storage solution, Should prp be done prior to transplants, in between, or after when ALL lifetime hair transplants are completed?  

When it comes to smp, does its appearance last 5 years for most folks?  Most of us use rogain in the crown, does rogaine limit the effects for 5 year coverage?  If the crown is minor loss, toppik or couvre can probably help conceal it.  But no doubt smp may help with the hassle of constant applications of these and other products.  Crown is the black hole it seems, but results vary and some folks have gotten great whorls with minimal grafts.  It can depend on the texture of your hairs too i guess.  It is good to wait out crown hair restoration to see the amount of loss that you are headed towards.  After all, if you have weak native hairs they can die in the process of graft placement and cause shockloss.  Definitely think these are great questions and points, it may help to get feedback across multiple online venues and forums.  Even call up radio shows to see what other industry folks may think.  It is good to learn/help understand and see what the best course of action may be for your particular goals.

Not saying neither prp or smp is bad or good, just need more info overall to see the what the best course of action/decisions could be.  In the end, we all want a smooth journey and no setbacks or issues.  Best wishes.  

[Djlazerblue]

I've had prp myself 3 session was very pricey and saw no benefit as a standalobe treatment 

[Speegs]

In terms of the expense, the return on the investment doesn't seem to be worth it.

It may help with some thinning in the crown, that seems to be about the best case scenario for the PRP cases I've observed.

[vinzaf19]

On 8/18/2018 at 2:48 AM, Markee said:

I just did a consult with Rahal and he  recommended PRP along with the HT 

Below is what he said 

PRP has healing qualities that will help post-transplant to reduce redness and speed up healing. PRP also contains a lot of growth factors that encourage the anagen (or growth) phase of hair to help with less shedding post-procedure and faster growth of the transplanted grafts.

Dr. Rahal will inject the PRP into your recipient area after he has created all the recipient sites and just before the new grafts are placed

That makes sense, PRP promotes healing and recovery time I am sure! If a surgeon of Rahal’s caliber is recommending it it must be useful! So the PRP is injected before grafts go in? That’s interesting! I had assumed it went in afterwards. To help healing.