PRP for hair loss: what it does and what it cannot
Platelet-rich plasma thickens hair that is still there. It does not bring back hair that has gone. Both halves of that matter.
Written and clinically reviewed by Dr. G. Revanth, MBBS DDVL DNB · August 2026 · 3 min read
PRP concentrates the platelets from your own blood and injects them into the thinning area, where the growth factors they release thicken miniaturised follicles and reduce shedding. It cannot create new follicles, so it cannot restore an area that is already bald. A course is typically four to six sessions three to four weeks apart, assessed against baseline photographs at month four to six.
What is actually happening
Blood is drawn, spun in a centrifuge until it separates into red cells, a thin buffy coat and clear plasma, and the platelet-rich fraction is injected into the dermis of the thinning zone. Platelets carry growth factors. Delivered into a follicular environment, those signals appear to prolong the growth phase and increase the calibre of hairs that have begun to miniaturise.
The honest ceiling
- ✓Reduces shedding, usually noticeable by session two or three
- ✓Increases the calibre of thinning hairs, so coverage reads denser
- ✓Supports transplanted grafts when used alongside surgery
- ✓Useful as an early intervention while a pattern is still establishing
- ✕It does not create new follicles where none remain
- ✕It cannot restore a bald area — a slick scalp has nothing left to thicken
- ✕It is not a substitute for a diagnosis, and it will not fix hair loss with a medical cause
- ✕It is not permanent. Maintenance every four to six months is part of the deal
The interval is the treatment
The follicular response to a single session peaks and then declines. A course is designed to stack those responses, which is why the three-to-four-week interval matters. Six sessions spread over a year do not do what six sessions spread over five months do, and a clinic that lets you book them whenever suits is not running a protocol.
The rules nobody explains
- •No anti-inflammatory painkillers for seventy-two hours. PRP works partly through a controlled inflammatory signal, and ibuprofen works directly against it. Paracetamol only.
- •Nothing on the scalp for twenty-four hours. No shampoo, no oil, no serum, no minoxidil.
- •No gym, sauna or swimming for twenty-four hours.
- •Photograph before every session, same light, same parting. Memory is unreliable and this is how the course is judged.
How you know whether it worked
At month four to six the photographs are compared against baseline. Shedding should have reduced first and calibre should have improved. If there is no measurable change, the honest answer is to stop rather than book another course, and that is the conversation you should expect to have.