Millions of Americans, men and women alike, suffer from hair loss. It’s caused by a variety of factors, which boil down to the follicles shrinking and becoming less productive when it comes to hair growth. Luckily, there are tons of different hair loss treatments available out there. At Advanced Regenerative Therapies in Savannah, GA, we offer effective hair loss treatments that can help you regain your confidence and the youthful head of hair you’ve always enjoyed.
What Causes Hair Loss?
Hair loss can be caused by a number of different things, the most common of which is heredity. A receding hairline and bald spots are most often down to genetics for both men and women. When this happens, it’s known as male or female pattern baldness. Health-wise, it’s nothing to worry about and is completely normal. Many people, however, would much rather keep their hair. Luckily, there are a handful of treatments that can slow or stop the progression of hereditary pattern baldness, though; PRP therapy for hair loss is one of them.
Other causes of hair loss include hormonal changes and changes in certain medical conditions. Pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause can all result in thinning hair for women, and thyroid problems can also be a contributor. It can also be brought on by certain medications, including some used for cancer, heart conditions, depression, and high blood pressure. Radiation therapy is also famous for causing hair loss. Finally, a very stressful life event can cause rapid hair loss, although this kind of hair loss is usually temporary, and the hair will return to normal a year or so after the stress event is over.
The Best Treatment for Hair Loss
There are innumerable treatments out there for people who want to slow or stop the progression of pattern baldness, and some work better than others. It’s important to note that these treatments are specifically for hereditary pattern baldness, not for baldness brought on by medical conditions, side effects of medication, or stress and trauma.
Platelet-Rich Plasma
PRP is the hair loss treatment we at Advanced Regenerative Therapy offer. It works by reactivating hair follicles that have grown narrow or gone dormant over time thanks to the effects of pattern baldness. This non-surgical, minimally invasive treatment has been in use since the 1980s. It harnesses the power of platelets–the body’s healing cells–to heal damaged or aging tissues.
How It Works
Each PRP therapy treatment for hair loss has three main steps. First, one of our professional practitioners will draw blood and place it in a centrifuge. After ten minutes in the centrifuge, the blood will separate into three distinct parts: red blood cells, platelet-poor plasma, and platelet-rich plasma. For the third and final step, the platelet-rich plasma is drawn into a syringe and injected into the scalp with a thin needle.
The Science
This might seem like a strange method of treatment, but it’s backed up by science. Platelet-rich plasma has been used for years to treat other ailments thanks to its ability to promote cell growth. It can help wounds heal faster or repair blood vessels, for instance. When injected into the scalp, it improves blood flow to the follicles, which in turn opens them up and improves and lengthens the hair growth cycle. The result is stronger, thicker, healthier hair growth.
The results are not instantaneous, though. It takes about two weeks for new growth to start, but you can expect it to take three to six months for the full, measurable results to reveal themselves.
How Often Do I Need This Treatment?
PRP therapy usually involves three initial treatments spaced four to six weeks apart. By the time those treatments are finished, most people are able to see the beginnings of their results, which will continue to develop over time. Many people choose to undergo regular “maintenance” treatments every four to six months to ensure their results stick around long term.
Microneedling
Microneedling is another minimally invasive hair loss treatment that aims to wake up the follicles. Rather than an injection, this treatment involves piercing the skin with very thin needles to promote better circulation to the scalp.
How It Works
Microneedling is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It involves using a roller comprised of hundreds of tiny needles. When rolled across the skin, it creates tiny abrasions. As the body works to heal these minuscule wounds, it produces more collagen and fiber in the skin. Doctors will typically apply a topical anesthetic to the scalp prior to treating it to reduce pain, though some bruising and bleeding can occur post-treatment.
The Science
Similar to the way PRP harnesses platelets to wake up hair follicles, microneedling creates tiny abrasions that the body must then work to heal. In healing, the body strengthens the surrounding tissues and makes them stronger and healthier. Rolling these tiny needles over the scalp, then, forces the body to heal hair follicles. This results in a healthier hair growth cycle and thicker, stronger hair.
How Often Do I Need This Treatment?
To encourage the best possible results, most people will undergo three microneedling treatments within the first four to six weeks. As with PRP, the results are not permanent, so most will also undergo regular maintenance treatments every several months to hold on to their new hair growth.
Hair Transplants
Surgical hair transplants have proven effective for many people with more extreme hair loss. It works by taking hair from thicker parts of the scalp, or even other areas of the body, and transplanting it to the places where it’s thinning. Hair transplants are, however, much more invasive and have a longer recovery period than the minimally invasive options above.
How It Works
The hair that’s transplanted is most often taken from the back of the scalp and transplanted to thinning or bald spots elsewhere. The area is first numbed with local anesthetic before a surgeon removes a strip of the scalp about six to ten inches long. The area of this strip is then stitched together, and the scalp strip is divided into tiny pieces. The hair from those pieces is then grafted into the transplant area.
There is another method of hair transplant that involves removing whole healthy follicles from one area of the scalp and moving them to thinning or balding areas elsewhere on the scalp. Those healthy follicles will then produce new hair growth.
The Science
The idea behind hair transplants is different than that behind less invasive hair loss treatments. With PRP and microneedling, the goal is to rejuvenate aging, ineffective follicles. Hair transplants, on the other hand, put whole new follicles into the area of treatment. These healthy new follicles grow new, natural hair in the areas of hair loss.
How Often Do I Need This Treatment?
Hair transplants are designed to be a permanent solution to hair loss. The recovery time, however, is much longer than it is with non-invasive hair loss treatments. It’s an outpatient procedure, which means you’ll be able to go home the day it’s completed. The surgery itself, however, can take several hours to complete.
Once you’re home, you can expect some swelling, pain, and soreness in the area of the surgery for a few days after. Most patients are able to return to normal daily activities after about three days, but the newly transplanted hair must be treated with special care for at least three weeks. And there can be patchy results for some people.
Minoxidil
Minoxidil is an over-the-counter topical treatment for hair loss, more commonly known by its brand name, Rogaine. This FDA-approved treatment comes in liquid or foam form and is suitable for both male and female pattern baldness.
How It Works
Rogaine is what’s known as a “vasodilator.” That means it promotes the dilation, or opening, of blood vessels. It aims to improve blood flow to the scalp in a similar but much slower-acting way to PRP and microneedling treatments. By promoting blood vessel dilation, it promotes the enlargement of hair follicles in the area of treatment.
The Science
Enlarging the hair follicles promotes a longer growth phase for the hair inside the follicle. When it emerges, it’s thicker and stronger than hair coming from weaker follicles. With more follicles in the growth phase growing stronger hair, the result is more hair coverage on the area of treatment.
It must be noted that minoxidil is meant to thicken hair for men only at the back of the head, just beneath the crown where many men develop bald spots. For women, it can treat thinning hair atop the crown of the head. It does not, however, treat a receding hairline or baldness at the front of the scalp. It also works best for people under 40 years of age who still retain some hair; if you’ve gone entirely bald already, it won’t do much at all for you.
How Often Do I Need This Treatment?
The biggest downside to minoxidil is that it must be used continuously. If you decide to go with this over-the-counter remedy, you’ll have to apply it twice a day, every day. If you discontinue use, you can expect to see the hair loss process start all over again. Your new growth will fall out over the course of three to four months, and from there, the balding process will continue as it had before. Rogaine, therefore, might seem like an easy and effective solution, but it requires maintenance every day, which may become wearing on some people and gets very expensive.
Which Hair Loss Treatment Is the Best?
The best hair loss treatment depends in part on what you hope to achieve. Hair transplants, for example, are expensive, painful, and require a longer recovery period than other options, but they are effective for those with more widespread pattern baldness and those who want a more permanent solution. Minoxidil is effective, but only on certain areas of the scalp. It also requires users to apply it twice a day, every day, or risk losing the hair it’s helped grow.
Between microneedling and PRP, the effects and costs are similar. Microneedling, however, is more painful and has a much greater chance to cause bleeding and bruising. PRP is less invasive, with much less chance of bruising and bleeding. It offers similar results to microneedling and better results than Rogaine, with none of the pain or recovery time of a hair transplant. That’s why we recommend PRP treatments for those who want a reliable hair loss remedy.
Wrapping Up
There are plenty of options out there for people who hope to improve their appearance by easing or even reversing the effects of pattern baldness. Platelet-rich plasma is one of the safest, least invasive, and most effective of those options. Contact us at Advanced Regenerative Therapy in Savannah, GA and schedule your consultation today to learn more.