PRP Twilight Therapy: A promising new way to restore thinning hair.

Wouldn’t it be great to wake up follicles, so they start growing again? Most treatments for thinning hair attempt to either slow the loss with medications or replace problem areas with hair transplants, but PRP Twilight Therapy for hair loss is different.

By Emily Ruse,  Deputy Registered Manager

You are probably familiar with or will at least have heard of the “vampire facial”, a skin treatment, very popular with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, which uses your own blood to help facilitate a glowing, youthful complexion. But, what you probably haven’t heard of, however, is the same treatment can also be used to successfully treat hair loss.

Our hair is one of the many ways we express our identity – colouring, cutting and styling it in ways that not only improve our appearance but also, on a deeper level, reflect our personality. Suffering from hair loss can, therefore, be a devastating prospect and with up to 50% of men and women being affected by the age of 50, the issue is a common one.

The start of a hair loss journey is often very personal experience. We may notice more hair than usual falling out while showering or sticking to the brush when grooming our hair. Some people may find they can no longer style their hair in the way they used to. Others may not notice the change at all until it is brought to their attention by a comment from a loved one.

Whichever way it happens, it is important to remember that there are options which can help overcome the hair loss. After establishing whether it is an issue in the first place, all possible causes of hair loss need to be considered, this will guide our decision in seeking treatments, professional advice, or even choosing to do nothing at all.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections are becoming an increasingly popular way to encourage hair regrowth. PRP is a concentrated fluid which is extracted from your own blood and is loaded with growth factors and essential proteins. Our blood is made of two components, red blood cells and plasma. The plasma contains white blood cells and platelets, which are rich in growth factors. Growth factors, in a way, play the role of messengers, signalling skin cells to function. In fact, they’ve been used within medicine over the years to treat a whole range of health issues including arthritis, signs of ageing etc. The good news for anyone suffering from hair loss or thinning is that these growth factors can help to stimulate the activity or hair follicles and promote new hair growth.

The use of PRP Twilight Therapy for hair loss has a number of scientifically based articles which demonstrate its efficiency in increasing hair count, thickness and the growth phase of the hair cycle. The treatment has gained an incredible amount of popularity around the world over the last few years.

The process of PRP for hair regrowth begins with a standard blood draw from the patient’s arm. This is then placed into a machine known as a centrifuge, which spins the blood tube to separate the red blood cells from the plasma. The plasma, rich in platelets, is then injected directly into the scalp at the level of the hair follicles.

The process is meticulous – with injections beginning across the scalp, approximately at every half inch over the area of thinning hair – but typically, the entire procedure takes less than half an hour.

Most patients find the treatment comfortable enough to go ahead without any numbing cream, as there is minimal discomfort. However, cool air or ice packs may be used to minimise any pain.

Anybody who is experiencing hair loss is essentially a good candidate for PRP treatments, but those with early hair loss tend to respond best. PRP is very successfully used for patients with androgenic alopecia, which is a genetically determined type of hair thinning which typically occurs along the top of the head.

For best results, like with most non-surgical treatments, consistency is key. Treatments are typically performed once a month for the first three to four months and then every three to six months thereafter, depending on the individual patients’ response and results. Hair has a dormant period, a fast growth period, and then sheds. These three stages repeat themselves. One of the many reasons we normally advise a number of sessions spread out over time is because we want to hit all of the hair follicles when they’re coming out of the dormant stage and are ready to grow.

Though PRP to treat hair loss is relatively new, research has been promising. A small study published in the April–June 2014 issue of the Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery tested PRP on 11 men with androgenetic alopecia who had not had success after six months of medication. After three months, they had received four treatments and saw their hair count increase by about 30 per cent – an incredible result.

Our Aesthetic Nurse, Aksana, has treated many of her patients for hair loss using PRP Twilight Therapy and has seen extremely positive results, but she does stress that it’s important to have realistic expectations about what PRP can do “If a patient is in their sixties and wants hair as they had in their twenties, it’s just not realistic” she says. “We’re not aiming for perfection. We’re looking for improvement and many of my clients are astounded by the level of hair regrowth they see in just a few treatments.”