If you’re unhappy with your appearance because of thinning hair or bald spots, it’s time to consider restoring your hair with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy at Balcones Dermatology & Aesthetics in Austin, Texas.
This treatment stimulates the growth of new hair by using powerful healing elements from your own blood. In this blog, board-certified dermatologist David A. Bushore, MD, explains more about what PRP therapy is and how it may be able to help you grow stronger, thicker, healthier hair.
Unfortunately, hair follicles in both men and women can shrink with age or due to genetic issues, such as androgenetic alopecia. The shrinking follicles can then cause hair to grow thin or fall out prematurely. This is where PRP therapy comes in.
Your blood contains many elements, including platelets. Platelets are powerful substances, because they contain essential growth factors, which help your body replace injured or diseased cells with new, healthy cells.
With PRP therapy, we harvest some of your blood's platelets in a special tube containing an ingredient to activate the 17 different growth factors in your platelets. These activated platelets are then injected into the thinning or balding areas on your scalp to stimulate your hair follicles to produce healthy, new hairs.
First, board-certified dermatologist David A. Bushore, MD, draws a sample of your blood. Then, Dr. Bushore places it in a fast-spinning device called a centrifuge, which separates the platelets from the rest of the substances in your blood.
Then, Dr. Bushore takes the resulting PRP serum and injects into your scalp to stimulate new hair growth. Injections are fast and are usually well-tolerated. We can also numb the area before treatment to ensure your comfort.
Typically, you need a series of treatments to maximize your PRP hair restoration results. Dr. Bushore can let you know how many sessions you’ll need during your initial consultation based on your goals for treatment. He generally recommends three treatments spaced 4-6 weeks apart to support healthy hair growth.
You should be able to return to your usual routine right after your injections. Side effects of PRP therapy are minimal, and no one will be able to tell that you’re undergoing hair restoration treatments.
Because it takes time for your body to produce new cells to support hair growth, you won’t see immediate results from your treatment.
Many people begin to notice new hairs developing in the treatment area within a month of treatment. It can take several months before you can see the full benefits of PRP therapy.
To maintain your results in the long term, you may need to schedule maintenance injections every 4-6 months to prevent additional hair loss and support ongoing hair growth.
To learn more about PRP therapy and to see if it could help you grow new, healthy hair, call 512-459-4869 or book an appointment online with Balcones Dermatology & Aesthetics today.
