Get Fuller, Thicker Hair Using Your Own Blood With PRP Therapy

By the age of 35, almost half of all men begin to lose their hair. And the news isn’t much better on the female side of the equation, with 40% reporting gradual hair loss. The good news for both men and women is that there’s a new treatment that’s showing great promise in reversing hair loss. And, as it turns out, the solution was under our skin the whole time.

At The Beauty Medics, our team, which is led by Dr. Syed Bokhari, provides the most advanced cosmetic tools available, ensuring that our clients in Riverside, California, have access to the latest evidence- and science-based treatments. And platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is one such treatment that we’re particularly excited about, as it helps solve problems like hair loss using our own powerful resources.

Here’s a look at how PRP therapy taps your own blood to halt and reverse hair loss through PRP therapy.

BEHIND THE HAIR LOSS

While it’s a popular myth that hair loss comes from your mother’s side of the family, the truth is that androgenetic alopecia — the technical name for hair loss — occurs when you inherit genes from both of your parents.

To better understand how the hair loss occurs, let’s take a look at the science of hair. To begin with, your skin is covered with millions of hair follicles, and each one goes through four stages of growth:

• Anagen (growth)
• Catagen (transition)
• Telogen (rest)
• Exogen (shedding)

During the growth stage, your hair follicle produces an entire shaft of hair nourished by blood vessels in your skin. When you have male- or female-pattern baldness, it causes your hair follicle to weaken. So each time it enters the anagen phase, your hair follicle shrinks and the strand of hair produced becomes shorter and finer. Eventually, your follicle stops growing hair.

With men, this effect generally takes place on the crowns of their heads while women with alopecia usually experience thinning hair all over their heads.

TAPPING YOUR OWN RESOURCES

Platelet-rich plasma therapy relies on the powerful growth agents found in your blood to stimulate tissue regeneration. The platelets in your blood are largely responsible for clotting, but they also contain proteins that aid in healing and repair. With PRP therapy, we isolate these powerful growth factors and redirect them into areas where you can use a regenerative boost — in this case, your scalp.

To do this, we draw some of your own blood and separate the healing agents from the rest of your sample by spinning it in a centrifuge. We then mix this concentrate back in with your plasma and inject them into your tissue.

Once introduced to the area, PRP regenerates dermal papilla cells in your scalp tissue. These unique cells regulate hair growth and development in your follicles. PRP not only activates new hair growth, but it also stimulates blood vessel growth in your skin, supporting strong and healthy hair.

THE PRP PROCESS

PRP therapy to restore your hair takes approximately an hour. After we draw your blood and isolate your platelets, we prepare the treatment area (your scalp) with a topical anesthetic to keep you comfortable throughout your injections.

After your appointment, you may experience some pinkness or redness in the treatment area, but this fades rapidly. There’s no downtime with PRP therapy, which means you can get right back to your life without skipping a beat. While you can usually start showering and washing your hair within a few hours, you should avoid harsh chemicals or hair treatments like perms and coloring for several days.

Most of our patients benefit from a series of treatments over a few months for the best results. With each treatment, we continue to stimulate your hair follicles and ensure that your hair growth progresses as planned.

If you’d like to explore whether you might benefit from this exciting therapy for hair loss, please give us a call or use the online scheduling tool to set up an appointment.