Is PRP + Acell treatment for hair loss better than just PRP?

Question

I am curious to know which treatment option is better for hair loss. Is it PRP or PRP w/Acell? I've looked into both and read that the treatment is a bit more potent with acell than compared to without. It also tends to extends effectiveness and durability of the PRP. Can someone elaborate on the two options and explain why one would be better than the other?

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

I have been doing hair injections for over 13 years and YES acell+PRP is better than PRP alone and Exosome therapy also helps. fat stem cells often help even more.  transplant is the best but even with transplant you still need PRP+acell +/- exosome or fat stem cells.  regular maintenance is always needed, and you need oral medications and at home rolling as well (see link)
I suggest a formal consultation as there are a combination of treatments that can be done to improve har loss.  Oral finesteride has very little to no side effects in the majority of people; PRP/platelet-rich plasma + stem cells like A Cell help regrow hair and slow down the thinning process; rogaine and restorsea spray should be used daily; oral viviscal helps keep nutrients high in the follices as well.  Transplantation is a last resort but works early in the aging process as well.  A formal consultation and combination treatment is needed.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Ravi Dahiya, MD · Answer

I have been performing PRP with and without ACell for many years now. I have found both to be effective with the combination overall more so. However, it is difficult to quantify the difference (meaning is it 20% percent better than say 50% better) because to begin with we are often seeing improvements in the quality of hair not quantity per se. This simply means a lot of the hairs that are miniaturizing are made thicker again which gives the hair much more body or volume. The injections do not yield new hair where there are none to begin with. So this simply makes it harder to measure the changes after treatment (the hair density or # of hairs per square centimeter do not change). Also I tend to treat my tougher cases with the combination of PRP and Acell which biases my results. Having said all of that there are studies in the literature which corroborate what I have seen in my practice showing the combination treatment to being more effective. This is believed to be because the ECM or protein scaffold that Acell works in synergy with the growth factors in PRP to stimulate stem cells and improve growth of the hair follicles.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

PRP with or without ACell has little predictive value in improving hair thinning or balding. At the recent International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS annual meeting), the subject of the use and value of using Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) came up. Over the years, there have been many poorly researched reports on the use of PRP. Not only at the meeting did the papers reinforce the lack of value for using PRP, but the uses by those who advocate it make me wonder if this is a money thing for the doctor’s income. In performing PRP, the doctor draws blood from the patient and then spins the blood down to reveal the part of the blood that is known to be rich in platelets. It is not a complicated or a costly process. Platelets are the part of the blood that allows blood to clot when you cut your arm, or your beard when you shave. Not only is it valuable in clotting, but it supplies important elements for the healing process. The theory goes from there that if it helps healing from when you cut your face or arm, it must have strange healing powers, including stem cells that are derived by the platelets, I cannot say the results of any of the newest papers impressed me in any way.

Is PRP + Acell treatment for hair loss better than just PRP?

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Everything you need to know about PRP for Hair Loss

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Is PRP + Acell treatment for hair loss better than just PRP?

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Everything you need to know about PRP for Hair Loss

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.