prp
DESERT BLOOM PLASTIC SURGERY
High Quality PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) for hair loss in
St. George, UT – Desert Bloom Plastic Surgery
Many treatments are available to those who face the challenging problem of thinning hair. While hair loss is normal, with most people losing between 50 and 100 hairs a day, those that find their hair thinning are losing more hair than they regrow each day. This problem is common in both men and women and can have a variety of causes. Androgenic hair loss, found in both men and women, is related to changes in hormones naturally made by your body that lead to faster shedding of hair.
PRP is obtained by separating your blood into the four parts: Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma. Once separated, the platelet layer, which is rich in nutrients and growth factors, is concentrated and placed in syringes for later use.
High-quality platelet-rich plasma has been found in multiple studies to increase the quantity and thickness of hair in patients compared to placebo and is natural and safe. If you are experiencing hair loss, contact us now for an evaluation by Dr. Wallin to see if PRP or other therapies are right for you.
WHAT CAUSES HAIR LOSS
The most common hair loss type is male-pattern baldness, which results in a thinning of the crown or receding frontal hairline. Female-pattern baldness commonly results in a widening of the part of the hair. Alopecia Areata results from an attack of your immune system and typically causes sudden circles of hair loss. Women are more likely to have frontal fibrosing alopecia with hair loss in the frontal area. These types of hair loss are different than traction alopecia, which is caused by excessively tight hairstyles.
Platelet Rich Plasma Preparation- It’s not all the same.
Important Questions to Ask Your Doctor about PRP
Dr. Wallin has worked with PRP for over 20 years for a variety of conditions. Most of the low-cost “PRP” treatments available in med spas are low-quality preparations, and little to no research is available to support their use for hair loss treatments. High-quality PRP requires a larger quantity of blood to spin down and obtain the tiny amount of PRP available in the blood sample.
How do you know if you are getting low-quality PRP? Simple, ask your doctor what the concentration of PRP is produced by their technique. If they don’t know, you are likely getting around 1.5x normal concentrations. Technically speaking, this isn’t even PRP, as it is actually called platelet POOR plasma (PPP). Platelet RICH plasma (PRP) is obtained by concentrating the blood’s thin layer of platelets and growth factors and is at least 4.5x normal blood concentrations.
Another way to know if you are getting low quality “PRP,” accurately called PPP, is to see how much blood is used in the process. You can be certain that if you only have one or two small test tubes removed and are getting back 5-10 cc of PRP, your platelet concentrations are likely close to whole blood. There is not quality research to support PPP for the treatment of hair loss.
At Desert Bloom Plastic Surgery, Dr. Wallin insists on offering the highest quality product for his patients. We offer ProGEN PRP Versa system, which allows for a 5x concentration of PRP. Our goal is to provide the best product to achieve the best result possible for our patients.
The most common question we hear is, “does it really work?” Hair loss has many factors, and we consider PRP to be one treatment option amongst many that patients should use to slow or stop hair loss. Many research articles have been written over the past decade with promising results. While not all have resulted in positive results, a large majority of the studies have shown hair counts to be increased by about 40 hairs per cm2 and hair density to be increased by 23%. PRP has been shown to work for hair loss in the crown, frontal area, and along parts.
We recommend all patients considering PRP for hair loss to have a treatment series for the best outcome. Dr. Wallin routinely recommends 4 treatments spaced at least 2-4 weeks apart.
Depending on the cause of hair loss, high-quality PRP for hair loss has been shown to last more than 6 months. It is common for patients to consider additional single treatments 6-12 months after the initial treatment series to maintain the best results.
The most common side effects are related to the small needle used to place the PRP into the scalp and include tenderness, swelling, bruising, pain, redness, and areas of firmness.
Dr. Wallin will discuss your goals and offer the best treatment options for you during your consultation. He will remind you that PRP is not a single treatment option, and often multiple different therapies such as topical and oral medications are used to give the best result.
While great results can be expected, they are not seen in all patients often due to genetics or medical conditions causing the hair loss. For those looking for much thicker hair in areas of baldness, he will discuss with you various options for hair transplantation.
If you would like to learn more about PRP for hair loss in Utah, please contact us today!
Schedule Your Consultation
If you’d like to learn more about any of these options, Dr. Wallin would love to talk with you. Call us at (435) 627-8150, or reach out to us online to set up an appointment to meet one-on-one
with a talented plastic surgeon.