Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP is a new and revolutionary treatment for hair loss. It is versatile and can be used with hair transplant surgery or as a stand-alone treatment for thinning hair. Many hair transplant surgeons are already using this technology in their hair replacement surgery, and since expert presentations to over 400 surgeons at the ISHRS conference in July, many more will soon be using the procedure.

PRP therapy is performed in 3 stages. First, an amount of blood between 60 and 100 ml is taken from the patient and centrifuged. The fraction containing the largest amount of platelets and growth factors is removed and saved. The platelet rich fraction can be split and a part lysed to release more growth factors and then combined with the other whole platelet factor. This additional treatment is claimed to increase the effects of PRP therapy, especially for hair loss.

Second, the scalp is stimulated to activate the wound healing process. This process must be activated in order to use the growth factors and platelets provided by PRP therapy. Previously, PRP activation had to be completed with a single needle. Hundreds of punctures are needed for the activation step, so using a single needle was impractical and caused the patient a significant amount of pain. Now a new product called Scalproller made by Nanogen is widely used for the activation step. The Scalproller is a microneedle roller that uses 192 unique titanium needles to open the skin to the same depth every time, and because it uses less pressure it causes less pain. Since the Scalproller glides over the scalp, it also saves the surgeon time.

The third step in the PRP process is the reinjection of the platelet-rich fragment and growth factor into the scalp. This provides high levels of all the factors necessary for healthy hair growth and healing, the factors are used by stimulated cells, including hair follicles.

Stimulation and access to high concentrations of growth factors have been shown to generate new hair growth, thicken existing hair growth, and cause hair transplants to grow thicker and healthier. In one case, a patient with alopecia areata was treated and the PRP treatment caused hair regrowth.

These findings were presented at the ISHRS conference in conjunction with the launch of Nanogen’s Scalproller, and PRP with Scalproller pretreatment is looking to go mainstream as a treatment for hair loss.