For the past several years, we here at Maine Laser Skin Care have been performing injections of platelet rich plasma, or PRP, into the scalp to enhance hair regrowth in both men and women with very gratifying results. New studies have recently been published that assessed the effectiveness of this treatment compared to other hair restoration methods and medications.
PRP is derived from your own blood, which we draw from your veins just before the planned procedure. After we deposit the blood into a specially prepared and sterile tube, that same tube is placed into a specifically-designed centrifuge that spins the blood at a rapid rate, resulting in separation of the PRP from the red cells and other components.
The platelets within your blood help to clot the blood in response to injury and bleeding, but also contain numerous growth factors. When it comes to hair stimulation and regrowth, there are at least five specific growth factors within platelets that experts believe to be helpful.
The platelet growth factors appear to bind to receptors on hair follicle stem cells, and stimulate growth of new hairs. They thicken existing hairs while also increasing circulation to the hair roots and lengthening the amount of time that hairs proliferate and lengthen.
A recent review of this topic presented 61 medical studies that assess the effectiveness of the use of PRP on the treatment of hair loss. The majority of these studies concluded that the use of PRP for both male and female hair loss caused a significant increase of scalp hairs, hair density, and hair shaft diameter when compared to the placebo.
All these studies also deduced that combining PRP with other therapies such as minoxidil (e.g. Rogaine) and supplements was superior to one therapy alone. Additionally, unlike more invasive therapies such as hair transplants, PRP can be completed in a medical office and within an hour of treatment versus a full day transplant procedure. PRP patients can also resume normal activities right after the treatment with little or no downtime.
The use of PRP for treatment of hair loss is an increasingly popular procedure for all these reasons. Maine Laser Skin Care has had the most and longest experience with PRP in the state of Maine, having received training and certification from Dr Charles Runels himself
Dr. Runels is the inventor of the PRP procedures, which are commonly known as Vampire Facelift and, in this case, Vampire Hair Regrowth. Future developments in this area continue, and we update our protocols as medical advances continue to be published and reviewed.
If you have any questions about the use of PRP in skin and hair care, call the experts at Maine Laser Skin Care at either (207) 303-0125 in Scarborough, or at (207) 873-2158 in Augusta. We can answer any questions you have, or schedule a free consultation or an appointment for this exciting solution to a vexing problem for both men and women.