PRF Therapy

PRF Therapy Is Performed in Three Stages

First, approximately 60-100ml of blood is collected from your vein. It’s very similar to having a routine blood test performed at your doctor’s clinic. The blood is collected by a nurse or perfusionist and placed in a special container. The container is then placed in a machine called a centrifuge where your blood is spun for approximately 15 minutes.

When the centrifuge has stopped spinning, your blood components have now been separated. The concentrated platelets have been separated from your normal whole blood. The PRF that contains abundant growth fibers and stem cells is now ready to be applied to the scalp. The goal of this process is to increase the effects of PRF therapy on hair loss.

The rich concentration of platelets now has to be applied to the scalp where hair loss has begun. Therefore, preparing the scalp to receive the PRF is necessary. For this, the scalp is stimulated to activate the wound healing process. Topical anesthesia and a cellular matrix called EZ Gel is applied on the portion of the scalp where PRF will be injected. To prepare the scalp for PRF application, we expect all patients to have showered the morning of their scheduled treatment. Please avoid using any hair products on the day of your treatment. The PRF is injected very superficially into the scalp—primarily in the areas of concern.

Mild discomfort is expected during the treatment. You can return to your normal activity almost immediately, but your scalp needs protection from the sun and excessive irritation.

There are many benefits of using PRF treatment to promote healing for hair growth. Highly concentrated growth factors in the form of platelets have been shown to generate new hair growth, thicken thinned-out hair, and make hair transplants grow thicker and healthier.

However, not everyone is an ideal candidate to undergo this procedure. Patients who have an active infection in the scalp, a history of a viral infection like shingles, diabetes, or any clotting disorder, or patients who are on blood-thinning medications like aspirin and immunosuppressive drugs like cyclosporine are not candidates for this procedure.

Also, if hair follicles are completely lost, this procedure is less likely to help patients. Patients may need to opt for hair transplant surgery.

The procedure takes around one hour depending on the amount of hair loss. Since an inflammatory process is initiated at the wound site, there may be mild pain or discomfort felt by the patient at the site where PRP/PRF is injected. Patients are not advised not to take any anti-inflammatory medication since it may interfere with the natural healing process of PRP. Patients generally have to receive this treatment multiple times before they can see any results. However, some patients may only have to receive this therapy once a year.

The injected area may have mild swelling, it may even be tender to touch. Swelling may go away in a few hours after the procedure while tenderness may go away in a couple of days. There is a possibility of the area getting infected, but this is rare.

PRF does not pose any danger of allergy, hypersensitivity, or foreign-body reaction and it is a safe choice for many patients. If you have any questions or concerns, talk to the staff at Revive Clinic by phone or in person.