PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy for hair loss is a three-step medical treatment in which a person’s blood is drawn, processed, and then injected into the scalp.

 

Some in the medical community think that PRP injections trigger natural hair growth and maintain it by increasing blood supply to the hair follicle and increasing the thickness of the hair shaft.

 

Sometimes this approach is combined with other hair loss procedures or medications. PRP therapy has been in use since the 1980s. It’s been used for problems such as healing injured tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

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PRP therapy process

PRP therapy is a three-step process. Most PRP therapy requires three treatments 4–6 weeks apart.

Maintenance treatments are required every 4–6 months.

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Step 1

Your blood is drawn — typically from your arm — and put into a centrifuge (a machine that spins rapidly to separate fluids of different densities).

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Step 2

After about 10 minutes in the centrifuge, your blood will have separated into in three layers:

• platelet-poor plasma

• platelet-rich plasma

• red blood cells

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Step 3

The platelet-rich plasma is drawn up into a syringe and then injected into areas of the scalp that need increased hair growth.