Though often associated with aging and genetics, hair loss can happen any time throughout adulthood to anyone for a variety of common reasons.
Balding occurs when hair follicles begin to shrink, allowing the hair to fall out.
In the world of sports medicine, doctors have used PRP (platelet rich plasma) to help heal muscle and tendon injuries.
With hair loss, research suggests injecting the natural platelets found in a patient’s blood and activating growth factors can improve the blood supply to their hair follicles and increase the thickness of their hair shafts.
Before every PRP procedure, Dr. Yazdan and the team at Modena Hair Institute will discuss realistic expectations with you. Improvement in hair health and thickness is highly probable and has been documented in several peer-reviewed studies and in tens of thousands of case studies.
Your hair will gradually improve, becoming thicker and fuller as months pass. PRP injections are recommended serially over three to six months.
PRP therapy, also known as platelet rich plasma therapy, is an increasingly popular technique for hair restoration. To give some context, a platelet is a cell particle without a nucleus, lacking DNA, and is responsible for proper blood clotting. What most people don’t know, though, is that platelets also contain a significant amount of healing factors and growth proteins. These characteristics, then, make it very effective in treatment for hair loss. This plasma, of course, can only be obtained by extracting it from a patient’s blood.
During a PRP treatment, patients have their blood drawn & stored in small vials. These are then brought to a separate room where they’re placed in a machine & rapidly spun in different directions. This multi-spin technique is a special touch by Dr. Yazdan & Modena Hair Institute, and it means that there’s a near-total extraction of PRP in the end, which is almost unheard of otherwise.
To fully understand PRP therapy, it’s also vital to understand two things: stem cells & ACell.
Let’s start with the former. As far as stem cells go, there are two types: embryonic and adult. The former are extracted from, well, embryos, and have many potential applications in medicine, but in this context we’ll focus on the latter. Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body after development; they multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells, and regenerate damaged tissues in turn. This combination of platelets and stem cells creates a hair growth serum that can quickly promote strong, stable hair growth. As for the other version of this procedure, the additional factor that comes into play is a product known as ACell, which is made out of multiple carbohydrates, collagens, proteins, and other components that facilitate a regenerative process. It, like stem cells, is mixed in with the PRP to enhance efficacy.
While this procedure tends to be considered an option for people who need an alternative to a hair transplant, PRP can also be used in combination with FUE or FUT hair transplant surgery procedures. During an FUE procedure, the PRP is harvested and injected primarily in the donor and recipient zone. In FUT/Strip procedures, the PRP is injected in the donor scar as well as the recipient area. We have noticed that patients who undergo PRP with their surgery tend to see decreased graft shedding after the procedure, along with faster healing, improved strip scar outcome, and quicker visible results.
The procedure starts with the doctor drawing 100ml of blood, similar to a regular blood draw at the lab. The blood is then put inside of a centrifuge in Dr. Yazdan’s proprietary method which includes multiple spins at different RPM’s to separate the platelet rich plasma from the platelet poor plasma and red blood cells. The PRP is then harvested and injected with a microneedle by Dr. Yazdan in the areas where a patient is experiencing hair loss. The process generally takes about 45 minutes, and there is usually no downtime after having a PRP procedure; many patients are even able to have it done during their lunch break. Patients can sometimes experience some soreness in the scalp for up to 24 hours, which is normal, and resolves by itself.
A patient of Dr. Yazdan undergoing PRP therapy.
Dr. Yazdan, here at Modena Hair Institute, is one of the few doctors who actually performs the injections and PRP procedure himself, while other clinics will irresponsibly let technicians and assistants carry it out. Technicians may be cheaper and helpful to the doctors who don’t feel like doing their own procedures, but the fact of the matter is that they haven’t undergone the years of education and vigorous training that a board certified physician has. This inexperience can increase the risk of poor results, even including loss of hair after the procedure. It’s imperative to search for a licensed physician, such as Dr. Yazdan, who specializes in hair restoration and hair loss, bringing the experience to help you achieve your desired results.
If you are interested in learning more about PRP procedures, you can find Dr. Yazdan at one of our offices located in Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, and Las Vegas.
A little known treatment, PRP therapy has revolutionized the way hair restoration specialists approach female hair loss. If you’re like many other people out there, you probably tend to associate hair loss with men exclusively. However, you might be surprised to learn that there are far more women suffering from it than you might expect. In fact, according to the American Hair Loss Association, 40% ofwomen end up experiencing it by the age of 50.
Here are some of the many reasons why certain women endure hair loss in their lifetime:
Genetics
As it is with men, a genetic predisposition to hair loss, referred to in this case as Female Pattern Hair Loss, is the most common cause of thinning & balding in women. Unlike men, though, women will begin to notice this occurring as the center part in the middle of their scalp begins to widen, rather than experiencing thinning in the front.
Telogen Effluvium
This form of hair loss is relatively common as well, and refers to when a large amount of hair follicles shift into the resting phase of their life cycle known as the “telogen” phase. As a result, one tends to experience a dramatic shedding of hair. This can be caused by anything from stress, to trauma, to drug use, to hormonal imbalances & nutritional issues.
Alopecia Areata
In short, this is an autoimmune disorder that can cause varying degrees of patchy hair loss in women, along with men. This can either just amount to scattered thinning, or progress as far as advanced balding with a few patches of hair clinging on.
Scarring Alopecia
As implied by the name, this refers to hair loss that results from scarring on the scalp. This can be caused by tight braiding or other hairstyles that put high stress on your hair, as well as pulling, ripping, and tearing.
Trichotillomania
This can essentially be described as a compulsion to pluck one’s hair. It might just happen while you’re performing other activities & your mind wanders off, but some also find themselves doing it in habitual patterns. This, of course, causes scarring alopecia over a long period of time, along with permanent hair loss. In this case, before any treatment can be done for the hair, the psychological issue has to be handled.
The varying degrees of female hair loss.
Regardless of how women encounter it, it can be a devastating ordeal for them to suffer through, oftentimes making a significant impact on their self-esteem. Since a lack of confidence can lead to difficulties in many other aspects of life, it’s vital that this issue is tackled head on & in the most effective way possible. For women, we’ve found that the one true way of accomplishing that task is through the use of PRP Hair Regrowth Therapy.
The acronym stands for platelet-rich plasma, and as discussed on the Modena Hair Institute site: “PRP is a concentration of your own autologous platelets which have reservoirs filled with powerful growth factors and healing agents.”
In carrying out the procedure, “It is ‘harvested’ from your own blood. This is done by collecting a small volume of your blood and spinning it down to separate the red blood cells from the platelet cells.” After that process is completed, the extracted plasma goes through activation & gets reintroduced into you through various minor injections into the scalp. In the process, growth & stem cells that are already in the body are called to action to assist in the hair regrowth process.
This procedure has been used since the 1970s across many different medical disciplines, including pain management, sports medicine, cosmetic surgery & dentistry, along with hair restoration. It’s been clinically proven to work across multiple studies, and there’s even specific science behind why it works.
As discussed by Dr. Amir Yazdan of Modena Hair Institute:
“The presumed mechanism is that elements within the plasma, such as: platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor beta, fibroblast growth factor, [etc.] help stimulate the immune and endocrine systems to decrease hair loss”
The treatment is often implemented along with hair transplant surgery, but for those who aren’t eligible for those types of procedures, like many women, PRP Hair Regrowth Therapy is an excellent way to get started on the path to a full, luscious head of hair.
There are key factors, however, that we think you should keep in mind when picking out a clinic. For starters, the person performing the procedure needs specialized equipment to fully extract the necessary PRP from the patient’s blood. As discussed in the video above, Dr.Yazdan utilizes a special procedure called the “multiple-spin technique”, along with taking advantage of natural growth factors & activators to maximize the results. As for the final factor, seeing as this is a medical procedure, we can’t stress enough that the only person who should be performing it for you is a licensed physician. We understand that here at Modena Hair Institute, and that’s why Dr. Yazdan, a board-certified hair restoration surgeon & physician, performs these procedures at his Newport, Beverly Hills & Las Vegas locations. Utilizing specialized equipment & years of experience, we’ll have your hair coming back quickly, fully, and naturally.
Learn more about the procedure & the many other services we offer on our website, and make sure you contact us to set up your consultation.
One of the most fascinating things about studying hair loss and hair restoration is that new discoveries are being made almost every day. From new surgical techniques and equipment to improved hair transplantation results to advanced non-surgical hair maintenance treatments that can help prevent patients from losing hair early in life, Dr. Amir Yazdan at The Modena Hair Institute has been at the forefront of hair restoration research. In that time, he has had the opportunity to experiment with many different treatment methods – one of the most exciting and versatile he has found is the use of platelet rich plasma, or PRP, which relies on the natural healing properties of a patient’s own blood to significantly improve both surgical and non-surgical hair restoration results. How Does Platelet Rich Plasma Work?
The blood in your body is made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which are small, disk-shaped cell fragments that facilitate clotting, promote tissue regeneration, and secrete growth factors that initiate cell regrowth. Platelet rich plasma is created by spinning a sample of the patient’s own blood in a centrifuge to separate out a concentrated solution of platelets and plasma components. Platelet rich plasma contains approximately five to seven times the number of platelets found in normal circulating blood along with bioactive proteins that aid in wound healing and is frequently used to help speed the recovery of patients who have suffered from sports injuries and other forms of trauma. The Amazing Results of PRP
At Modena Hair Institute in Orange County, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas, we use platelet rich plasma in one of two ways. First, platelet rich plasma serves as an excellent, nutrient rich transport material for donor follicles that are harvested during follicular unit grafting or follicular unit extraction (FUE) surgical hair transplantation procedures. By keeping these follicles in a healthy state we can significantly improve their survival rate and overall hair transplant results. Moreover, our research has found that injecting concentrated PRP directly into the patient’s scalp can increase both the size and healthiness of hair follicles that have begun to shrink as a result of androgenetic alopecia, or common genetic pattern baldness. This means that injections of platelet rich plasma can create thicker looking hair by promoting growth if the dormant follicles, slow the progression of some forms of hair loss, and help maintain hair transplantation results.
Every patient and every case of hair loss is unique, so platelet rich plasma is not necessarily the right treatment for everyone. At Modena Hair Institute we carefully diagnose the nature of your hair loss so that we can create a customized treatment plan that is right for you. Commonly asked questions about Platelet Rich Plasma Treatments:
Q: How long does it take to recover from PRP?
A: Most PRP patients can continue their daily activities immediately following the injections.
Q: How long does it take for PRP to take effect?
A: We recommend a set of three initial treatments that are each six weeks apart, followed by a repeat treatment one year after the first to achieve the best results.
Q: Can PRP grow new hair?
A: PRP has proven effective as a standalone treatment for patients with specific types of hair loss, particularly for genetic pattern hair loss and some forms of traction alopecia. It has even been effective with some cases of alopecia areata, eyebrow hypertrichosis, and chronic telogen effluvium.
Q: How long does a PRP treatment session take?
A: Each treatment generally takes less than an hour.
Q: What are the side effects of platelet rich plasma therapy treatments?
A: Side effects are minimal, with the most common being some pain with the injection, pinpoint bleeding, and redness at the site of injection. Less common, but always a risk with any type of injection treatment, are injury to blood vessels or nerves, infection, calcification at the injection points, and scar tissue.
Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.
PRP stands for Platelet Rich Plasma. PRP therapy refers to a treatment used to reverse or treat hair loss as well as rejuvenate skin on the face or other areas of the body.
PRP involves taking a small amount of your own blood and separating out plasma and other healing agents that stimulate cell turnover and collagen regeneration. PRP therapy works to stimulate hair follicles, promoting hair growth and reduce scarring and wrinkles on the skin.
While PPR has shown great results in balding and wrinkling individuals, it’s important to note that not all PRP treatments are created equal.
Due to the higher cost of PRP treatments compared to other hair loss or wrinkle reduction treatments on the market, we see many patients who ‘shop’ around in an effort to find the best deal in town. The problem with this is that when it comes to PRP therapy, you generally get what you pay for. Cheaper prices correlate to cheaper processing equipment and less doctor involvement which correlate to less efficacy.
See, PRP therapy is a very involved procedure that involves advanced hands on technique by the doctor as well as high grade equipment to efficiently and effectively separate plasma and added components for increased benefit. Cutting corners to save money means cutting crucial aspects of the therapy.
Therefore, it matters greatly who does your PRP therapy. You can’t expect to have the same great results we see with true PRP therapy if you choose a provider who uses subpar separating mechanisms, no added nutrients, and is minimally involved.
Keep this in mind when exploring providers for PRP therapy, especially when seeking PRP for hair loss.
If you’d like to learn more about PRP for hair loss or facial rejuvenation, give us a call today.
PRP stands for Platelet Rich Plasma. PRP therapy refers to a treatment used to reverse or treat hair loss as well as rejuvenate skin on the face or other areas of the body.
