Minoxidil Tablets & PRP Therapy

I do not recommend oral minoxidil for hair loss, but topical minoxidil is a good option. This can be used in various forms with or without PRP. PRP has the potential benefits of improving hair density and slowing hair loss, and the potential risks of bleeding, bruising, swelling, discomfort, and infection (rare).
A fellowship-trained hair restoration surgeon can help talk you through all the hair restoration options in detail.
All the best,

PRP has very promising results in androgenetic alopecia (female pattern hair loss). Most patients require multiple treatments up front; I usually recommend 3 treatments spaced out 4-6 weeks. Particularly in combination with extracellular matrix products (Acell is most commonly used) and low level light, the results can be very impressive.Minoxidil is rarely taken in oral form for hair loss, but the foam can be quite useful is slowing down the rate of hair loss. It rarely promotes new hair growth, and thus should be used to maintain the results from PRP treatment. It should not be viewed as a replacement.Hope this helps! Sam Jejurikar, MD

Thank you for your question. You’re asking about the effectiveness of minoxidil tablets and the use of platelet-rich plasma in treating hair loss, which is something I can certainly help you with.A bit about my background — I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, practicing in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years. I’m the founder of Trichostem™ Hair Regeneration Centers, which offer a non-surgical alternative treatment for hair loss in men and women that makes use of platelet-rich plasma.Now, minoxidil was originally a blood pressure medication which displayed side-effects of hair growth. It works by prolonging the hair growth cycle of thinning hair, but does not stop hair loss progression. Currently, minoxidil comes in 2% and 5% topical solutions for women.PRP, on the other hand, is used frequently in our practice, for everything from acne scars, fine lines and wrinkles, dark under eye circles, to keloid scars or hypertrophic scars. We do have quite a lot of experience with it. Based on my experience, PRP alone can produce short-term hair growth, but also cannot stop the progression of hair loss.What we use to treat hair loss in our practice is called Hair Regeneration, which is a treatment that combines platelet-rich plasma and extracellular matrix. This treatment was derived from a system we were developing to help improve the results of hair transplants, and we observed that some of the its side-effects included the thickening of existing thinning hairs, the reactivation of the hair growth cycle, and the reversal of the progression of hair thinning in both men and women.Having performed this treatment for several years and collecting more than 5 years’ worth of data, we have observed that more than 90% of women with pattern hair loss will see an improvement. This is a welcome option for women everywhere because prior to Hair Regeneration, women only had two options: topical minoxidil or a hair transplant. In fact, hair transplants are not even advisable for diffuse-type hair loss, which is usually the type of hair loss women exhibit, thus limiting their options even further. The reason why hair transplants are not advised for diffuse hair loss is because native hairs are often damaged during the transplantation process, thus further reducing the number of hairs on the scalp through collateral loss.How we perform this treatment is by first administering one injection session to the scalp. We then meticulously follow up with our patients every 3 months to monitor progress. For certain patients, we’ve been seeing the benefit of doing a second injection in 12-15 months. During these follow-ups, we do digital photography and microscopy to really get a sense of how our patients are responding to the treatment. In our practice, most women see significant improvement in 9-12 months, but we’ve also had patients who notice short hairs growing across the frontal hairline in the first few months. It really depends on how the individual reacts to the treatment.I recommend that you learn more about your options, though. Judging from your photos alone, it’s difficult to determine whether or not you really have significant hair loss, and a proper analysis is important before diagnosis. It’s very common for women to experience telogen effluvium, which is stress-related hair loss that manifests via a lot of shedding. I suggest that you meet with a hair loss specialist, get a proper diagnosis, and learn more about the options I described, so hopefully you’ll be able to find a solution that works for you.I hope that was helpful and I wish you the best of luck!This personalized video answer to your question is posted on RealSelf and on YouTube. To provide you with a personal and expert response, we use the image(s) you submitted on RealSelf in the video, but with respect to your privacy, we only show the body feature in question so you are not personally identifiable. If you prefer not to have your video question visible on YouTube, please contact us.