At the Toronto Hair Transplant Clinic we offer PRP, or platelet-rich plasma therapy, to assist all of our patients as best as we possibly can with their hair restoration plan.
PRP is a non-surgical, injectable treatment that has been showing some exciting and promising results for people who are suffering from hair loss.
How Does PRP Work?
Mesenchymal stem cells and autologous blood products that contain specific, essential growth factors that are very important in tissue regeneration and healing are found in the human blood. PRP is not meant to replace the long-time proven methods of hair loss prevention such as Propecia or Rogaine, but it is proving to be a very important adjunct to any hair restoration program.
The process works this way: a certified and registered nurse here at the clinic takes your blood out in much the same way you would if you were having a routine blood test.
We then use a specially designed centrifuge to spin the blood and separate the PRP from the blood. The PRP taken from your own body is created by spinning down the blood cells to a high concentration.
Before the injections begin, we ensure that our patients are feeling no pain by using an anaesthesia block on the nerves of the scalp.
We then inject the highly concentrated platelet rich plasma into the scalp in the areas surrounding the hair loss as well as in the areas of thinning loss.
After the procedure, we make sure to wash off the area. You are able to go right back to work, go pick up the kids from school, or carry on with whatever regular routine you have in the day. The overall process takes less than 45 minutes and leaves minimal aftereffects.
A full initial treatment consists of 3 full scalp injections over the first 2 months. After the initial treatment of 3, we typically recommend continuing with the treatments for a minimum of 2 single treatments per year.
Does PRP work?
Each patient will see different and varying results. It is impossible to guarantee results with PRP, but preliminary studies clearly show that patients have very successful responses to the PRP treatments.
PRP has been used for years in other medical and surgical applications with very high success rates. It is safe and natural because it focuses on the concentrated “good cells” from your blood and injects then back into the areas of the scalp where they are most needed.
There is no risk of blood infection or rejection from your immune system because, similar to a hair transplant, we aren’t introducing a foreign substance into your body. It’s your own blood being used.
The best part about the PRP treatment is that it can work alongside every other hair loss treatment, such as minoxodil, finasteride, and hair transplants, or it can be a great choice to use as a treatment completely separate from any other hair loss treatment.
