Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy – The Vampire Hair-Lift

Bizarre and brilliant cosmetic treatments were big news in 2014 with the vampire facial, which involves drawing the patient’s own blood and then injecting it back into the face, topping the most requested list.

The facial, made famous by fans Kim Kardashian and supermodel Bar Refaeli, saw an 800 per cent increase last year and it seems that surgeons can’t get enough of the bloody treatment.

So popular and effective has it become that cosmetic doctors are using the technique on patient’s hair to help stimulate growth.

The procedure, named Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP), is being used on the scalp as it can apparently stimulate dormant hair follicles and encourage them to start growing again.

It is a potential form of treatment for men or women who suffer with hair loss either through genetic predisposition, hormonal issues, trauma or alopecia.

So how does it work?

The treatment, which takes around an hour and a half, involves taking four syringes of the patient’s blood and putting it in a centrifuge (a rotating piece of medical equipment) to separate the plasma from the red blood cells – this is the same technique as PRP for the face.

Local anaesthetic injections are then injected into the scalp, which will ensure the area is numb. The scalp is then stimulated with a dermaroller. Once the syringes are ready, the PRP is injected into the scalp – primarily in the areas of concern. The patient then has to use the dermaroller every day for around a month at home following the treatment.

A spokesperson for the governing body commented on the revolutionary procedure said: ‘It is quite common not to see any changes for six weeks and then you should start to feel the hair becoming thicker in the treated areas. ‘The optimum results can be seen at three months. At this stage it is decided whether a second treatment is required or not.’

This treatment can be used as a standalone treatment or alongside a hair transplant procedure (usually one month pre-procedure).

It is becoming available in the UK and industry insiders believe it will be big news. You’ll have to start saving though because a single treatment will set you back anywhere from £1,300.

A spokes person from Harley Street said ‘PRP to treat hair loss has been championed by many surgeons quietly for the past few years, and studies underway are showing promising results that the procedure does stimulate the growth of new hair follicles.

‘Patients should keep in mind that PRP is not be considered as alternative to a hair transplant, in fact the two procedures combined provide optimum results for thinning hair.

‘The role of PRP in hair restoration is to stimulate inactive or newly implanted hair follicles into an active growth phase, and this treatment should be repeated (number of treatments will vary per case) during the re growth stage following the hair transplant.’

Platelet Rich Plasma is available from Nu Cosmetic clinic. You can find out more by clicking here.