PRP is a hugely popular treatment for hair loss, thinning and patchy growth. In the ideal world, the results would be both instant and permanent! While that isn’t quite the case, most PRP patients see noticeable results within six months, with several variables that can impact the speed at which improvements become visible. Of course, results are never guaranteed.
As with hair transplants, responses to PRP therapies are unique to each patient. One individual might, for instance, have a small area of initial hair thinning, whereas another could have advanced pattern hair loss, which means the pace of their results may look very different.
Likewise, your follicles may be in a more advanced state of dormancy, or your blood might naturally have a higher concentration of platelet-rich plasma. Both of these factors can dictate the time between your first treatment, the end of your sessions, and the point at which your hair becomes markedly thicker, longer, or healthier.
Key Time Frames in PRP Treatment for Hair Loss
- Each PRP therapy session takes around 30 minutes and up to an hour if you require a greater number of injections. Patients normally have a series of treatments with a period in between and will need to commit to each session to see the best results.
- The norm is to start seeing visible changes to your hair in terms of the number of follicles or the density of your hair from at least four weeks, although realistically, the outcomes are more noticeable from the three to six-month point. But remember that results aren’t guaranteed.
- Maintenance top-up sessions are essential to sustain the results and ensure PRP continues to enhance the condition of your hair. Depending on your specific needs, we recommend follow-up therapies every six to 12 months.
Recapping How PRP Works to Tackle Hair Loss and Thinning
PRP can be used in two ways: either as a standalone treatment to combat hair loss and improve the thickness of your hair or as part of your post-transplant recovery. That implies that the timelines for your results will depend very much on whether or not you have had a transplant and the extent of your hair loss concerns.
The therapy works by extracting growth factors and compounds from your blood sample. These are known to play a role in reactivating follicles and boosting the levels of cellular activity in your scalp.
Administering injections in the specific areas where you are experiencing thinning hair or locations with hair loss works by creating an environment that is ideal for new hair growth and that encourages tissue and follicles to grow. This prompts hair to pass into the growth phase and produce a new hair strand.
However, PRP is also used to augment the blood supply to existing follicles, which can mean you see fuller, thicker and more youthful hair fairly quickly, especially if you have less advanced hair loss and are using the therapy to address early-stage thinning.
When to Expect to See Results After PRP Injections for Hair Regrowth
As we’ve seen, there isn’t a fixed timeframe because there are so many variables in terms of hair loss stages, the procedures or treatments you have had, and whether you’re treating areas with no hair growth at all or with modest thinning.
However, we’ve put together an indicative guide to show you how long you should expect to wait before PRP begins to work:
- After your first treatment and during the weeks afterwards, the PRP will have already got to work, even if you can’t yet see any marked changes. Some patients experience a slight tingling around the scalp, which means that dormant hair follicles may be becoming active. You shouldn’t see anything immediately noticeable over the first four weeks.
- From there, and up to the six-month mark, you’ll usually have the next treatment sessions and begin spotting more significant outcomes, with visible new growth and better density in areas impacted by thinning.
- Between three and six months, keeping up with your treatment schedule is key since this continues to activate hair follicles and encourages them to move into the next phase in the hair growth cycle. It’s common to see thicker, healthier hair now and a slowdown in hair loss or thinning.
After six months, you’ll usually be able to see the full impact of your PRP therapy, with greater coverage of your scalp. You can sustain and enhance those results by scheduling your maintenance treatment every six to 12 months going forward.
Get a cost for your PRP treatment
Looking for a consultation regarding the cost of PRP treatment? Book a free consultation with us today to see what we can do for you.
Comparing PRP for Hair Loss to Other Treatments
PRP is widely seen as the most effective non-surgical hair restoration intervention. It offers faster, more visible, and longer-lasting results than other alternatives, such as topical creams, shampoos, or dietary supplements.
It is also considered one of the safest ways to kickstart follicular activity because the therapy uses your own blood sample as the source of the platelet-rich plasma, avoiding anything synthetic that can potentially trigger a reaction.
That makes PRP suitable for almost any patient of any gender or age and as a treatment that can help to manage, correct, or improve the appearance of a wide range of hair loss concerns, including hormonal changes to hair thickness, pattern hair loss, and the recovery period following a hair transplant.
PRP Injections vs a Hair Transplant
Although PRP is an established treatment plan, it has limitations. Even the most concentrated injection of bioactive compounds cannot reactivate hair growth in follicles that have been completely damaged or that are no longer active.
Therefore, it is an ideal approach for earlier-stage hair loss or temporary hair thinning where the follicles are dormant but still can be revitalised and to augment the speed of recovery after a bespoke hair transplant.
The best way to compare these two options, discover the optimal treatment plan to correct your hair loss, or discuss the effectiveness of alternative therapies is to schedule a no-obligation, cost-free consultation with your nearest KSL Clinic practice.
Our expert hair restoration surgeons will examine your scalp and hair, discuss the outcomes you’d like to see, and provide tailored recommendations about the best way forward.
