PRP - platelet rich plasma

Hair Restoration

Platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, is extracted from your own blood and has been used for years to treat musculoskeletal conditions, and more recently, skin conditions.

PRP has garnered attention as a promising solution for one of the most challenging problems in dermatology: hair loss.

Platelets and hair growth: What’s the connection?

Platelets are one of four primary components of blood (the other three are red blood cells, white blood cells, and plasma). Platelets promote cell growth and regeneration. As the term “platelet-rich plasma” suggests, platelets are generally about five times more concentrated in PRP than in regular blood. This concentration of platelets is useful, because platelets secrete growth factors than are thought to assist in wound healing and tissue regrowth.

When it comes to hair loss, the theory is that platelets, injected deep into the scalp to reach the bottom of the hair follicle, may stimulate a specialised population of cells named dermal papilla cells, which play a critical role in hair growth.

Obtaining and injecting platelet-rich plasma

The process of obtaining PRP involves a blood draw (by our registered nurses) and a centrifuge. To yield PRP, blood is drawn from your arm, then spun down in a centrifuge (a machine that spins at high speeds to help separate blood components). After centrifuging, the plasma rises to the top, and the lower part of the plasma is the PRP. Sometimes, a second spin is performed to increase the platelet concentration of the plasma.

PRP SYstem - not all created equal

We use a very high quality system, the EmCyte Pure PRP TM, to ensure that we extract and inject the highest quality of blood products to give you the best possible outcome. EmCyte Pure PRP TM extracts the purest samples of any PRP system.

What to expect

Your blood is drawn and prepared into syringes. We have a variety of options to keep you comfortable including, local aneasthetic, oral painkilling and sedation as well as laughing gas. Your own plasma is injected into your scalp with very small needles and does not take long.

There is no downtime.