Millions of men and women across the U.S. suffer from hair thinning or hair loss issues. Technically referred to as alopecia, hair loss can result from a number of causes including genetics (such as in male or female pattern baldness), poor nutrition, stress, pregnancy, drugs, or trauma. Hair loss can begin as early as before age 20 and often accelerates with normal aging.
There are a number of non-surgical hair restoration treatment techniques that can successfully treat hair thinning and hair loss.
Customized Hair Restoration Treatment Plans
Although each treatment method can provide great results independently, some individuals may require a treatment plan that combines two or more of these techniques in order to realize desired results.
Advancements in hair loss treatment have resulted in multiple new therapies that make it possible to regrow hair lost to male pattern baldness. While countless pills and lotions can be found on the internet, the effectiveness of these products is dubious at best. Hair transplants are effective for spreading hair around and creating the illusion of more hair and is an expensive prospect. One of the most successful treatments being used by qualified physicians today is Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP).
What Is Platelet-Rich Plasma?
Platelet-Rich Plasma, or PRP, is a substance created by drawing a patient’s blood and using a centrifuge to separate out the platelets for reinjection in the scalp. Platelets contain abundant levels of growth factor proteins that can accelerate healing and help restore fading hair. These properties also make them an effective method of improving the rate at which certain wounds recover, such as tendon tears, and can ease pain from arthritis.
How Does PRP Help Restore Missing Hair?
Male pattern baldness is caused by follicles in the scalp ceasing to produce hair. The injection of platelet-rich plasma has been shown to cause the growth of new hair follicles or stimulate existing ones that have gone dormant. The typical course involves three treatments, with results being seen in as little in six months. PRP is often used alongside hair transplants to help encourage hair growth in the newly transplanted hair and surrounding dormant follicles.
Are There Any Side Effects From PRP?
All medical procedures come with some possible risk of side-effects. Platelet Rich Plasma has few potential side-effects since it is composed of the patient’s own blood. Those who report side effects most commonly report tenderness in the scalp after the treatment. Other reported side-effects include swelling at the injection site, itching, and headaches. Some patients also report that the injection site will bleed for a short period after the injection has been made. Outside of these relatively benign side-effects, no major or life-threatening side-effects have been reported as being associated with this procedure.
How Long Will I Experience Regrowth Benefits from PRP?
It will be between six months and a year before you start seeing noticeable results in your mirror, though some report seeing results in as little as three months. To maintain these results often requires additional treatments being administered every six months to a year. Throughout this period, regular photographs will be taken to track your progress and clearly show whether you’re experiencing results from the treatment.
Research has shown that PRP is a very promising treatment for male pattern baldness, though studies are still coming in and being analyzed. Our physician has experienced great success with its use with patients and stands by its effectiveness as part of a hair-loss prevention or reversal program. If you have questions please call our office, or stop by our clinic location, we’d be happy to help.
AnteAgeMD Microneedling Hair Regeneration
The second-most requested treatment in the microneedling realm (second only to facial microneedling), is the treatment of hair thinning or androgenetic alopecia. Tiny perforations created within the scalp using our FDA-approved SkinPen Microneedling Device creates a wounding cascade within the dermal papillae environment that causes a natural expression of growth factors and cytokines and other protein molecules that instruct the hair to naturally regenerate itself.
Hair follicles have the unique ability to periodically regenerate themselves, allowing the follicle to produce new hair over time. This process is influenced and mediated by local growth factor activity within the base of the hair follicle due to stem cells and other cell populations that make up the micro-environment within the follicle. These natural growth factors and cytokines that influence hair growth start to decline with age, which leads to depleted hair within the scalp.
The primary mediating pathway to all hair thinning is the WNT or Wingless and Integrated Follicular Signaling pathway. Research has shown that when mesenchymal stem cells are cultured (in the case of AnteAGE® the bone marrow stem cell) with certain influences that drive and coax those stem cells down the WNT follicular signaling pathway, they will begin to produce growth factors that are specifically geared towards follicular regeneration, hair follicle morphogenesis, and allowing the follicular environment to better communicate from the dermal papillae stem cell to the rest of the follicle– pushing hair from the resting stage, to the robust growing stage.
Put through the rigors of clinical testing, the AnteAGE MD® Hair Microneedling Solution has proven to be the best topical, most highly targeted, and most efficacious approach to hair thinning. While the industry gold standard of PRP shows benefit for hair, it is not a targeted approach. When the AnteAGE MD® Hair Microneedling Solution is applied, the scalp is flooded with specific, targeted protein molecules that instruct the follicle to regenerate itself.
The AnteAGE® At-Home Hair System
To fully optimize the results of any in-clinic follicular regeneration protocol, it is vital for patients to use topically applied, daily solutions. The AnteAGE® Hair System saturates the scalp with all of those additional protein molecules on a continuous basis, allowing patients to experience long-term results. This home care system was created for daily, at home use to augment and support the results patients receive from their clinical treatments, and is a combination of two products.
- AnteAGE® Polybotanical Solution
The AnteAGE® Polybotanical Solution is a blend of 24 of the most researched, proven botanicals for follicular health, follicular regeneration, and controlling the hormonal influence. The heart of these botanicals has been extracted in a lipid soluble base. Patients are to apply the polybotanical three days a week to the localized areas of thinning in order to allow the product to naturally seep into the scalp. - AnteAGE® Stem Cell Solution
The AnteAGE® Stem Cell Solution is to be applied twice a week. This solution is a modified version of the microneedling solution for hair, containing the same powerful and regenerative growth factors that are found within the bone marrow stem cells and specifically geared towards hair regeneration and combined with a few additional biological molecules. To apply the SCS, patients massage it into the scalp and then apply our point .25 mm dermal stamp. This stamp contains shallow depth needles that allows the product to penetrate fourfold. This added penetration increases the ability for the solution to go deeper into the follicular environment and flood the area in order to maximize that regenerative capacity.
This simple to use home care system, three days a week with the Polybotanical and two days a week with the SCS, provides patients with the best approach to treat hair thinning and loss in the long-term. The best success is achieved by combining in-clinic treatments with professional at home systems like the AnteAGE® Hair System.
Stem Cell Hair Restoration
If you’re yearning to restore lost hair but are wary about undergoing hair transplant surgery, you should know that there are less-invasive alternative techniques involving regenerative medicine. They are injection-based PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy and stem cells, which are being used as a combined treatment for hair loss.
What Are Stem Cells + PRP?
Stem cells are basic building-block cells that have the unique ability to develop into specialized cell types in the human body. They, therefore, have the ability to repair and heal rapidly. Stem cells are taken from umbilical cord tissue and, when concentrated and injected into your scalp, can reverse the shrinking of hair follicles and thus promote hair growth. Platelet-rich plasma, on the other hand, is a concentration of platelets and plasma-derived from the patient’s own blood, not fat. PRP is a rich source of specialized proteins containing growth factors and cytokines, which can promote hair growth and healing.
Who Can Benefit from Stem Cells + PRP?
Stem cell therapy and PRP therapy have been shown to be most effective for:
- Those in the early stages of hair loss
- Patients who are not viable candidates for surgery
- Women who prefer to avoid hair surgery
- Those who don’t have enough quality donor hair for a transplant
Stem Cell + PRP Therapy for Hair Growth
Stem Cell + PRP therapy is a relatively simple procedure performed in our office. A small sample of your blood is drawn, and then it is spun at a high rate of speed in a special centrifuge. This is done in order to separate the platelets from the other components of your blood. Platelets are best known for their healing role in scabs.
Dr. Sholar then administers the concentrated Stem Cells + PRP via a series of injections directly into the areas of your scalp where your hair is thinning. This only takes about 10 minutes, with no downtime afterward, so you can resume your regular activities right away following the procedure.
Ordinarily, the entire procedure of stem cells plus PRP takes less than a few hours. For best results, your we recommend 3 treatments within a 3- to 6-month period.
There is no risk of rejection by your body to the PRP or stem cell therapy.
How Long Does It Take to See Results?
Hair regrowth from Stem Cell + PRP therapy, like other hair restoration treatments, may take up to 8 months before you notice an improvement in hair density. But in time, the therapy will trigger your body’s natural healing processes, and you will see significant results.
For those who want faster results, hair transplant surgery is usually recommended.
To find out more about Stem Cell + PRP therapy and whether you are a good candidate for this effective alternative to hair transplant surgery, contact our team at Skin Science Soul.
