Platelet rich plasma is one of the most exciting and relatively new areas of cosmetic medicine and surgery. It’s seeing applications in a number of areas.
One of the most popular current uses is in the treatment of hair loss in both men and women. While not all patients with male or female pattern hair loss respond to it, there have seen some very exciting results. What seems to be most effective is combining PRP treatments with medicines, such as finasteride and minoxidil.
PRP has also been combined with microneedling to treat aging skin. In some cases, PRP has been injected directly into facial skin. This is the so-called “liquid facelift” or “vampire facelift.”
Platelets are part of your blood and much smaller than red blood cells. They’re important in clotting. They also contain a wide variety of growth factors, which improve healing and stimulate hair growth.
Platelet rich plasm (PRP) is produced by taking the your own blood and placing it in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets. Concentrating the platelets also concentrates the growth factors. This concentration of platelets (or “PRP”) is then injected into the area to be treated.
PRP is injected into the scalp to treat thinning hair. It can also be injected into aging skin, or it can be applied to the skin at the time of micro needling.