Hair loss treatments have been around for decades. From transplants to hair loss drugs, we have tried valiantly to help people regain full heads of hair. In recent years, platelet rich plasma (PRP) has emerged as a new treatment. PRP hair restoration is pretty popular right now.
Who are the ideal candidates for this therapy? Likewise, what kinds of people make poor candidates for PRP hair restoration? Let us explore these questions and their answers.
The Basics of PRP
Lone Star Pain Medicine, a Weatherford, TX pain management clinic that offers a variety of PRP treatments, says that the therapy is categorized as regenerative medicine. Whether it is PRP hair restoration or injections to ease the pain of soft tissue injuries, the idea is to encourage the body to regenerate lost tissue.
PRP therapy is an injection therapy. Blood from the patient is drawn, processed in a centrifuge to isolate platelets and plasma, and then injected at the treatment site. In a hair restoration setting, the platelet rich plasma would be injected into the scalp with either a single needle or a multi-needle roller.
PRP contains a concentration of platelets and growth factors. It is believed that the growth factors are responsible for stimulating the body to regenerate tissue. It is believed that such action stimulates follicles to regrow new hair. In an injury situation, the body is stimulated to begin healing the damaged tissue.
Candidates for PRP Hair Restoration
The most important thing to know about PRP hair restoration is that it’s not a foolproof treatment. Like every other treatment for hair loss, PRP works for some but not others. That brings us to the question of the ideal candidate. Who sees the most success from PRP therapy?
According to Lone Star, there are two groups of ideal candidates:
Early Stage – The first group consists of people in the early stages of hair loss. Generally, this means people who have only been experiencing hair loss for a couple of years. The longer a person waits to try PRP therapy, the less likely it is to work.
Androgenic Alopecia – Also known as male or female pattern baldness, androgenic alopecia is a common form of hair loss related to a genetic predisposition. PRP therapy may reverse a person’s response to androgens, which is believed to be the main cause of alopecia.
Just as there are ideal candidates for PRP hair restoration, there are groups of patients who make poor candidates for the procedure. Poor candidates include people with:
- Active cancer
- Certain blood disorders
- Chronic liver disease
- Thyroid disease
- Certain autoimmune disorders
- Certain skin conditions
- Low platelet count
Regular smokers are also poor candidates for PRP therapy. Smoking reduces the impact of each injection, at the very least. It could nullify the benefits of PRP injections altogether.
An Outpatient Procedure
PRP hair restoration can be painful, but it’s a pretty simple outpatient procedure conducted right in the doctor’s office. The blood draw is no different than a draw for testing purposes. Processing the patient’s blood in a centrifuge only takes minutes.
When it comes time to do the actual injections, a doctor may offer a local anesthetic to numb the skin. Once injections are complete, the patient is free to go and carry on with the rest of his or her day.
There is a lot more to learn about PRP hair restoration. If you are in the early stages of age-related hair loss or androgenic alopecia, PRP therapy may be the answer you’ve been looking for. Do some research and see what you think.
