Hair loss can happen for various reasons. And we know how challenging and annoying it might be for people who suffer from these conditions. It can lower your self-esteem and confidence to do things you used to do.
But luckily, there are ways to reverse the effects of hair loss in men.
Today, we will compare two of the best hair regrowth treatment options to battle against hair thinning and balding problems; Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy.
So if you want to end your suffering and are considering these treatments for your thinning hair, we will help you learn more about them.
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OPINION: FUE Hair Transplant Is Better Than PRP
FUE hair transplant and PRP hair therapy are two of the most used hair regeneration treatments that people with balding prefer. They are also proven to restimulate hair regrowth on our scalp, which can produce natural-looking results.
Both of them are reliable anti-hair loss treatments, but how they work and their effects vary between each other.
In the follicular unit extraction procedure, your surgeon will harvest individual hair follicles from the donor area and relocate them to thinning areas of your head.
While with PRP hair therapy, your doctor will stimulate the natural hair growth process by injecting your own blood into your scalp and hair follicle.
Although both are very convincing in their respective way, the FUE procedure is the better option as a long-term solution for hair loss problems. In comparison, PRP therapy might require follow-up and regular treatments to ensure efficacy and effectiveness.
Read on to fully understand the differences between these two hair restoration treatments.
Platelet Rich Plasma For Hair Loss
PRP is a relatively new type of hair regrowth therapy used for treating hair loss in men and women. Before, PRP treatment was often used for medical operations and to support wound healing in trauma and joint injury.
What Is PRP For Hair Loss?
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy for hair loss is a treatment that involves drawing blood from the patient’s body to treat hair loss by injecting hair follicles with growth factors from the plasma and platelets that come from the patient’s own blood.
This platelet-rich plasma is a type of protein in the blood that contains several growth factors that can aid in healing and restoring tissues in our body, including our hair.
The results of PRP treatment are most noticeable after 4 to 6 months. Its effects are not permanent and may require additional injections per the direction of your doctor.
And just like other cosmetic treatments, follow-up appointments are often necessary for the patient to maintain their new hair thickness.
How Does PRP Work?
This hair restoration procedure works by injecting blood with a high concentration of plasma directly into the patient’s hair follicle. PRP works by activating cells in the follicles to promote the natural hair restoration process.
Research also says that injecting the platelets found in a patient’s blood and activating these growth factors can improve blood supply to their hair follicles which could increase the thickness of their hair shafts.
More commonly, PRP therapy is used by doctors when hair loss is induced by androgenetic alopecia, a condition that forces the hair follicle to shrink and stop hair growth.
Pros Of PRP
PRP procedure is a doctor-recommended therapy and is proven effective by many patients who have undergone this type of hair growth treatment. Here are some of the benefits you need to know about this PRP treatment:
- PRP is a non-surgical and less-invasive hair loss treatment
- This type of hair growth procedure is much more affordable than any hair transplant surgery
- No downtime after treatment completion
- Considerably less painful than any hair transplantation procedure
- PRP is used as a stand-alone treatment or alongside other hair growth treatments
Cons Of PRP
The success rate of a PRP procedure is generally high as a non-surgical hair regrowth treatment. But that does not exempt PRP from some side effects and negative feedback. These include the following:
- Treatment is not guaranteed to grow new hair after the first few sessions
- The results of PRP for hair are temporary and require maintenance treatments every few months
- PRP treatment carries the risk of side effects, such as injury to the blood vessels and damage to nerves
Who Is A Good Candidate For PRP?
The ideal candidate for PRP treatment tends to be men that are still in the beginning stages of thinning hair and still have follicles left in their heads.
However, people with severe hair loss problems or men who have inactive follicular units in their scalp are good candidates for this treatment option. The result may just be much slower and often requires more treatment sessions.
FUE Hair Transplant Procedure
FUE hair transplant is one of the most trusted hair regrowth treatments in the US and the whole world. A FUE procedure is the most common and popular type of hair transplant offered by hair restoration clinics in the US.
What Is A FUE Hair Transplant?
In FUE hair transplantation, individual follicular units are gathered from the donor area on the scalp, where healthy hair still grows. After the surgeon removes the follicles, these hair grafts will be implanted again in other areas of the head where balding occurred.
This type of hair transplant has become more popular than Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) because it does not leave even a fine linear scar on the scalp, making it almost unnoticeable while giving natural-looking results. Despite being outpatient procedures, the recovery process from these hair transplant surgeries might reach up to 2 to 3 days.
How Does A FUE Hair Transplant Work?
FUE hair transplants involve the extraction of hair grafts from the donor area that can be typically found at the back of your head. Surgeons use micro punches to extract follicles from the skin and move them without leaving any linear scar behind.
This type of hair transplant restores hair by replacing old and stagnant follicles with new ones to encourage hair regrowth again.
After the procedure, these newly implanted hairs will be nourished by blood vessels and begin growing again alongside other surrounding hair to cover the thinning part of the head.
Pros Of FUE
Despite being an effective hair transplant technique, the benefits of FUE hair transplants are not well known, such as the following:
- Graft survival rates can reach up to 90%
- Minimally invasive compared to follicular unit transplantation or strip method
- No stitches are required, and it doesn’t leave a linear scar on the skin
- This hair transplant surgery is almost painless, with less discomfort during and after the procedure
- Minimal recovery time is needed
Cons Of FUE
Overall, hair transplant success rates are steadily increasing in past years. Although it has many advantages, it also has its fair share of disadvantages. These include the following:
- The entire donor area has to be shaved to extract hair grafts
- It needs much longer session time and requires several sessions to complete the procedure
- Very expensive hair transplant operation
Who Is A Good Candidate For FUE Hair Transplants?
The ideal candidate for the FUE procedure are men with thinning and balding hair because of male pattern baldness. But to do this, you must have enough healthy hair on your scalp that can be transplanted.
Keep in mind that the success rate of FUE hair transplant depends on how much hair can be extracted and implanted in you. If you don’t have enough hair grafts available in your donor area, your doctor could recommend other treatment plans to help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
For best results, your surgeon might also do PRP treatment on the day of your hair transplant operation. It can increase the growth rate of the implanted grafts after the procedure.
Yes, it can. It can stimulate dormant follicles to restart the natural growth process of our hair.
The effects of PRP therapy are not permanent. Like other cosmetic treatments, regular maintenance treatments are needed.
PRP Vs Hair Transplant – Conclusion
And that is our in-depth comparative breakdown of FUE hair transplantation and PRP restoration therapy.
We hope that with this article, you can now decide which of these two outstanding hair growth treatments would best fit your preference and needs.
But if you are still undecided and want to explore more hair regrowth treatment plans, you can check out our article about the best type of hair transplant procedure today.
Fact Checked by our Director of Dermatology – We know that understanding how your skin and hair work can seem scary, so my team and I devote our time to thoroughly researching every single topic and product we write about. We hope you find our reviews helpful and informative.
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