It’s completely normal to shed a few hairs every time you wash, brush, or style your mane. In fact, the average person loses 50-100 hairs every day as their follicles cycle through routine phases of growth, rest, and shedding.
Unfortunately, some 80 million adults in the United States — about 50 million men and 30 million women — shed more than the usual amount of hair on a regular basis. Noticeable hair loss occurs when the hair regrowth cycle is consistently outpaced by the hair shedding cycle.
Whether you’re faced with visible thinning or a receding hairline, chances are you wish there was a natural, nonsurgical way to stop the process and reverse its effects.
Thanks to groundbreaking advances in regenerative medicine, there is — platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has helped many adults reverse the effects of unwanted hair loss, and it can help you, too. Here’s how it works.
Hereditary hair loss
Genetics is the most common cause of hair loss among men and women alike. Male-pattern baldness, which typically involves a receding hairline, a bald spot, or both, may begin as early as puberty, while female-pattern baldness usually occurs later in life, and usually takes the form of thinning hair or a receding hairline.
Ongoing health conditions and short-term medical problems can also lead to hair loss. For some people, the problem is a byproduct of chronic stress; for others, it’s a result of thyroid disease, declining hormone levels, anemia, poor nutrition, or taking certain prescription medications.
But while hair loss that’s caused by a health condition, a dietary deficiency, or medication can often be reversed by addressing the underlying problem, hereditary hair loss can usually only be resolved with medication, a surgical hair transplant, or a well-made wig. Until now, that is.
PRP therapy: A regenerative powerhouse
Today, PRP therapy offers a simple and highly effective way to reverse the effects of hereditary hair loss and restore a fuller head of hair, naturally. But what exactly is this extraordinary new regenerative treatment, and how does it work to revitalize follicles and stimulate hair regrowth?
PRP therapy uses a concentrated serum of powerful growth factors derived from your own blood platelets. As an integral part of the blood clotting process, growth factors are potent catalysts for healing and regeneration that help fuel active cellular repair, renewal, and vitality.
When injected into your scalp in the areas affected by thinning hair, PRP’s remarkable growth factors quickly begin to encourage the release of stem cells from the walls of nearby blood vessels. As the growth factors and stem cells work synergistically to renew and revitalize vital high-function cells in and around the affected hair follicles, they effectively trigger the new hair growth.
Although PRP therapy can’t revitalize hair follicles in completely bald areas, it can foster rapid regrowth in areas affected by thinning or receding hair. In fact, most people see significant hair regrowth after a series of three or four PRP treatment, with continued improvement following subsequent maintenance sessions.
Natural, easy, and effective
PRP therapy starts with a quick, in-office blood draw. We create your personal PRP serum of concentrated growth factors by spinning your blood in a centrifuge machine that mechanically separates your platelets from the rest of the components in your blood.
Before the procedure begins, we administer a local anesthetic to ensure optimal comfort from start to finish. Then, after gently cleansing your scalp with an antibacterial wash, we carefully inject your PRP serum into your scalp around your dormant hair follicles.
While the number of injections you receive is determined by your personal degree of hair loss, most people require about one injection per square inch in areas of thinning or receding hair. Hair regrowth usually begins within a few weeks of your first session and improves with each successive treatment.
To find out how PRP Therapy can help you reverse the effects of hereditary hair loss, call your nearest SkinMD office in Chicago, Orland Park, Skokie, or Evergreen Park, Illinois, or use the easy online scheduling tool to book a consultation with one of our hair-loss experts.
