The Basis of Your Hair
The scalp is composed of 3 basic layers of skin: the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutaneous layer. Within these 3 layers there are blood vessels, nerves, muscles, glands, and hair (or keratin).
Hair is supported by blood flow, which in turn requires oxygen and nutrients to promote cellular activity and new growth. As hair grows in the follicle, it is lubricated by the sebaceous gland that secretes oil in the follicle, coating the hair for smooth growth and creating healthy luster and sheen.
Good hair nutrition is vital for healthy hair, requiring that blood and nutrients reach the papilla area. When fewer nutrients reach the papilla hair cells reproduce at a much slower rate. Slower cellular activity produces thin, poor quality hair.
What causes Hair Loss ?
DHT, or Dihydrotestosterone, causes 95% of all hair loss. DHT miniaturizes hair follicles by shortening the anagen (growth) phase and/or lengthening the telogen (resting) phase. This causes the hair follicles to slowly shrink and die, especially if DHT is involved. The net result is an increased number of short, thin, fine hairs barely visible above the scalp. For healthy hair growth, DHT Inhibiting, is needed once increased hair loss occurs. The interaction of DHT with androgen receptors in scalp skin and follicles appears to cause male and female pattern baldness. The sebaceous oil building up causes sebum. Sebum collects in the hair follicle and hardens, causing a sebum plug that hinders hair growth. This compounded with existing weak hairs causes increased reduction in hair growth.
The good news is, even with thinning, fine hairs, there is still life in the follicle and it can be repaired with a proven treatment regimen of proper hair nutrition, DHT blocking and good scalp hygeine.
Who is suitable for Hair loss Treatment ?
Candidates for hair restoration are males and females of varying ages suffering from male or female pattern hair loss. Patients will respond better to treatment the sooner they attend. Those with long standing hair loss and large bare areas of scalp tend not to do well from treatment and in these cases hair transplant is often the only option.
Platelet Rich Fibrin for Hair Loss (I-PRF) / 2nd Generation PRP
Injectable platelet rich fibrin or (iPRF) is a unique rejuvenation technique that uses the patient’s own blood plasma, enriched with platelets (source of healing proteins and growth factors), fibrin (the wound healing and regeneration matrix) and stem cells (the conductors of our body’s own healing and regeneration molecules). This product is injected, resulting in activation of accelerated healing and regeneration. As a result, the body’s own powerful regenerative properties are concentrated and focused on the area of concern.
iPRF intensifies the functioning and reproduction of cells, thus having a gentle, gradual yet long lasting and accumulative effect. i-PRF is used for the treatment of hair loss. It is used to reverse the hair loss in men and women as part of a multi-step treatment of the scalp that is done under local anaesthetic. It appears to ‘reset’ the hair follicles and reduce the impact of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in those with Androgenetic Alopecia (pattern hair loss) and there is also growing evidence that PRP is the new ‘gold standard’ for Alopecia Areata.
Platelet Rich Plasma for Hair Loss
Over the last few years there has a been huge interest in the potential of platelet rich plasma to treat hair loss. The combination of microneedling and platelet rich plasma has been shown recently to significantly increase hair thickness, hair count and thereby hair density. Studies over the last five years have demonstrated approximately 20% increase in hair thickness following on average 3 sessions over 3 months with maintenance sessions every 9 to 12 months. PRP tends to be more effective when started early before large bald patches appear. However, not all clinics are able to achieve similar results. This is because not all PRP is the same. PRP is only effective if the concentration of platelets achieved is greater than 4 to 5 times baseline levels. The majority of clinics offering PRP use PRP preparation methods that can only achieve concentrations 2 to 3 times greater than baseline. At Cleo Clinic we perform a strict close-system protocol of PRP harvesting in specific centrifugation rate and temperature. This system is guaranteed to yield PRP with a concentration of platelets greater than 5 times baseline and hence our treatments tend to perform much better than other clinics (although individual results may vary).
How is the i-PRF / PRP procedure performed?
The i-PRF/ PRP injections into the scalp are performed via multiple mini injections. Topical anaesthetic will be applied prior to injections for 30-40 minutes, whereby the entire scalp is numbed before hand.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IPRF & PRP?
Both PRP (platelet rich plasma), and PRF (platelet rich fibrin) are platelet based growth factor treatments that are extracted using centrifuge. PRF is different from PRP in that there is no anticoagulant(blood thinner) added during the spin.
And here is the technical detail:
The avoidance of clotting is physiological and is achieved through negative charge of the collecting tube to mimic the conditions within our own blood vessels (their lining is negatively charged) that prevent fibrin from creating a clot within them, thus, obtaining a platelet rich injectable fibrin. Once PRF is injected in the tissue it transforms from liquid into a gel, which not only lead to filling of voids in folds and wrinkles but also provide a powerful regenerative matrix that releases platelets’ growth factors in a physiological controlled slow manner that enhances tissue regeneration is a better way than PRP.
In addition, the enrichment of platelets in these two products is not the same. In PRP, the platelets are enriched two to four times above the physiological concentrations available in blood and there are very few circulating blood stem cells. In contrast, PRF contains all the platelets with no elimination of the powerful regenerative matrix (fibrin) in addition to another very rich source of growth factors and tissue regeneration: the circulating blood stem cells.
Low Level Laser Hair Therapy
Low level laser hair therapy has shown some promise in hair regrowth. The LLLHT non-surgical cosmetic treatments utilise a device containing 110-170 therapeutic soft low light level lasers. LLLHT delivers light energy directly from 110-170 laser diodes covering your head. LLLHT functions on the same scientific principle, as that of photo-bio-stimulation; laser light stimulates cell metabolism and helps damaged cells to repair themselves. This breakthrough technology has recently been featured on national newscasts across the country. Physicians are praising this new technology as an effective hair loss treatment , when used in conjunction with proper scalp and hair hygiene products.
Other Threatment for Hair Loss
There are numerous treatments available at present for hair loss. Initial treatment is in the form of topical foams and shampoos, most well known of which is Minoxidil and must be applied to the scalp every night. Minoxidil usually takes about 9 months to take effect and can result on average in reduction of hair loss and about 1% increased hair growth. If stopped patients often suffer from a ‘rebound loss’ with increased hair fall. Caffeine based shampoos have also been touted as a treatment for hair loss. Numerous supplements are available over the counter and through prescription. These supplements replace vitamins and minerals that are potentially implicated in the cause of hair loss. Their success is limited. Prescription medications in the form of finasteride have been shown to help and most patients awaiting a hair transplant are started on finasteride although this is not an option for women of childbearing age. Often once these treatments have failed patients jump to hair transplantation as the solution. This is not the answer in the majority of cases and is at best a camouflage solution. This is clear to see when you consider 3000 to 4000 grafts cannot make up for upto 60,000 hairs.
If you are having a hair loss problem or would want to improve your hair growth problem, contact us to schedule a consultation session with our experts.
