Does PRP Work For Hair Loss In Men?
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In previous videos, we have looked at Finasteride, Minoxidil and Laser treatment for male pattern hair loss.
Platelet rich plasma treatment, also known as PRP, is a controversial treatment option. Some people swear by PRP as a safe, natural and effective hair loss treatment. On the other hand, some think of it as a complete waste of time and money. In reality, the truth is probably somewhere in between.
To make PRP, we first need to draw a sample of blood. This blood is then separated into its various parts by spinning it for about 10 minutes in a centrifuge. The PRP component can then be extracted into a syringe.
PRP is a concentrate of several growth proteins and hormones that the body uses in healing (reference as next sentence). It takes about 30 milliliters of blood to produce about 5 milliliters of PRP, although this varies depending on the method used [1].
PRP is thought to help with hair loss by stimulating hair follicles to remain in their growth phase. [2] PRP is injected directly into the scalp. The injecting process can be painful – some hair experts will use a local anaesthetic to numb the scalp before injecting. Short term side effects of PRP treatment include pain, headache and injection site bleeding.
Although there is no standard treatment protocol, most hair experts will conduct a PRP treatment session once a month for 3 months, then follow up with booster sessions once every 3 to 6 months. Each treatment session can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars, to a few thousand dollars depending on the clinic.
So does PRP actually work? Well the answer is… kind of.
I found 10 published trials that looked at whether PRP helps with male pattern hair loss. [3-12] The exact treatment protocols were different among these trials, and the largest trial had 75 participants. Out of these 10 trials, 6 of them showed a benefit for PRP, but 4 did not.
One review article reports the overall effectiveness of PRP to range between 25 to 43 percent. [13]
So what this means is that PRP may work for some men but not for others. In other words, it is an inconsistent treatment option. We also don’t have ways to predict whether someone will respond to PRP. The only way to find out is to try it and see what happens.
A key advantage of PRP treatment is that it is a clinic based treatment and requires infrequent visits. No need to remember daily pills or lotions or worry about their side effects.
The downsides of PRP treatment include the fact that it can become very expensive with some clinics charging thousands of dollars. It is relatively invasive as it requires drawing blood and then undergoing multiple injections into the scalp. And, most importantly, it provides inconsistent results. Some men may benefit from it, but others may not.
Many hair experts suggest using PRP only if someone hasn’t responded to other standard treatments such as Minoxidil or Finasteride. It can also be used in combination with other treatments for men with highly resistant hair loss. An experienced hair loss expert can help you decide whether PRP is something that would be right for you.
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References:
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338460/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8664169/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4622412/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27035501/
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27593381/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC5561716/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30141776/
[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30287324/
[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31532574/
[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31823902/
[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32735021/
[12] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32653577/
[13] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33421285/
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