You may have heard about, or evenseen the video of Kim Kardashian’s face covered with her own blood in an attempt to improve her skin tone and beauty. While you shouldn’t believe everything the self-made celebrity promotes, this type of procedure, PRP Therapy or the Vampire Facial, uses your own blood to promote cellular growth and healing, and it actually does work.
At For The Face, we offer Vampire Facials (MicroPen with PRP) to improve a patient’s skin tone, but we also apply the same technique for hair loss sufferers because it turns out your own blood can actually stimulate new hair growth as well as enhance the results of a hair transplant.
What is PRP and How It Works
PRP, Platelet Rich Plasma, is your own blood, put through a centrifuge and condensed to contain the good stuff – platelets, growth factors, anti-inflammatory molecules, and cellular signaling elements. When this cocktail of plasma is injected into areas of thinning hair, it activates blood flow and encourages newly implanted hair follicles to return to the active growth phase.
Stand Alone PRP Treatments
Before undergoing a hair transplant, some patients opt for a series of stand-alone PRP treatments because in some cases, the additional platelet rich plasma is all it takes to get hair growing again. However, because the therapy stimulates existing follicles, it will not work for someone like Dr. Lieberman who is bald and who lost his hair many years ago. PRP is a relatively new therapy used only by hair restoration experts like Drs. Lieberman and Parikh, and the results have not been well studied. Some patients need a more aggressive treatment, like a hair transplant.
PRP For Surgical Patients
During hair transplant surgery, PRP helps out in two distinct ways. Because the PRP contains platelets that aid in the formation of new cellular growth, we place the harvested follicular hair grafts into a holding dish before they are reimplanted so they can absorb some of the good nutrients. Once the PRP-enriched grafts have been implanted, we use an Eclipse MicroPen and PRP to accelerate the speed of tissue healing and help the hair grow back faster and thicker.
So, while covering your head in your own blood does sound unappealing, PRP therapy is worth discussing with your doctor if you are looking at options for restoring your full head of hair.
If you have any additional questions on PRP Therapy or hair restoration options, please call our practice at (650) 327-3223