PRP for Hair Loss: What It Actually Does, and Who It Helps

Hair loss is the thing people research for months before they ring anyone. By the time someone books a consultation they have usually read a great deal, tried at least one supplement, and formed a fairly firm view about whether anything works.

So here is a straight account of what PRP is, what it does, and the situations where it will not help you.

What is PRP? and What is PRP for hair loss?

PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma. We take a small amount of your blood, roughly what you would give for a routine blood test, and spin it in a centrifuge. That separates the blood into layers and concentrates the platelets into a small volume of plasma.

That concentrate is then injected into the scalp across the areas where hair is thinning.

Nothing is added. There is no drug in it and no synthetic material. It is your own blood, separated and put back, which is why the allergy risk is close to zero.

What platelets have to do with hair

Platelets are best known for clotting, but they also carry growth factors. These are signalling proteins the body uses to coordinate repair and to tell surrounding tissue to get on with something.

The working theory behind PRP for hair loss is that delivering a high concentration of those growth factors around the follicles improves the local blood supply, extends the growth phase of the hair cycle, and encourages follicles that have shrunk to produce thicker hair again.

What tends to change first is calibre rather than count. Existing hairs come through thicker and hold on longer, which reads as density. Genuinely new hair from a follicle that had stopped is less common.

Who it suits

PRP does best in people with early to moderate thinning where the follicles are still alive but underperforming. That includes:

• Androgenetic hair loss, the pattern kind, in both men and women

• Diffuse thinning across the crown, which is the pattern most women notice first

• Widening of the parting

• Thinning after a period of shedding, once the cause has been addressed

• People who want to support results after a hair transplant

The single biggest predictor of a good outcome is how long the thinning has been going on. Early is better. Considerably better.

Who it does not suit

This is the part worth reading twice, because it saves people money.

A scalp that is genuinely bald. If an area has been smooth for years, the follicles are gone. PRP stimulates follicles that exist. It does not create new ones. No injection does.

Hair loss with a medical cause that has not been investigated. Thyroid problems, iron deficiency, and a number of other conditions cause hair loss, and treating the scalp while ignoring the cause is pointless. Anyone who has not had bloods done recently should start there. Your GP can arrange it.

Scarring hair loss. Where the follicle has been destroyed by a scarring condition, there is nothing left to stimulate. These need a dermatologist, not an aesthetic clinic.

People who cannot commit to the course. One session does very little. Which brings us to the next part.

What the course involves

A typical course is three to four sessions spaced roughly four weeks apart, followed by maintenance every four to six months.

Each appointment takes about forty five minutes to an hour, most of which is the blood draw and the spin. The injections themselves are quick.

It is uncomfortable rather than painful for most people. The scalp is sensitive and there is no getting around that, though we use topical anaesthetic and the sensation is brief. Expect some tenderness that evening.

You can wash your hair the next day. There is no downtime beyond that.

What to expect

Nothing for the first couple of months. Hair biology is slow and there is nothing to see early on.

Most people notice reduced shedding first, somewhere around the second or third session. That is usually the earliest sign it is working, and it is easy to miss because you are looking for new growth rather than for less hair in the shower.

Visible changes in density tend to show at four to six months. Photographs help enormously here, because gradual change is almost impossible to judge in a mirror you look into every day. We take them at each visit for exactly that reason.

Results are not permanent. PRP does not stop the underlying process, and without maintenance the benefit fades over roughly a year. Anyone telling you otherwise is overselling.

The evidence base is reasonable rather than overwhelming. There are good studies showing benefit in androgenetic hair loss, and there is also variation between them in protocol and in how results were measured. It is a treatment worth trying for the right person, not a certainty.

Questions we get asked

Does it work as well for women as for men? Yes, and in some ways the diffuse thinning pattern women tend to get responds well, because the follicles across the area are usually still viable.

Can I have it alongside minoxidil or other treatments? Often, yes. Combining approaches tends to work better than any single one. Bring a list of what you are already using to the consultation.

How much hair will I get back? Nobody can tell you that, and the honest answer at consultation is a discussion about your particular pattern and how long it has been happening rather than a number.

Is it safe? It is your own blood, so the risks are mainly those of any injection: bruising, tenderness, a small infection risk. It is done by a doctor here, under sterile conditions.

Hedonia Clinic is a doctor-led aesthetic clinic at 31 Brown Street, Salisbury SP1 2AS. Consultations include an assessment of your pattern of loss and a frank conversation about whether PRP is the right thing for you.