Hair restoration
Platelets and hair growth: What’s the connection?
Platelets are one of four primary components of blood (the other three are red blood cells, white blood cells, and plasma). Platelets promote cell growth and regeneration. As the term “platelet-rich plasma” suggests, platelets are generally about five times more concentrated in PRP than in regular blood. This concentration of platelets is useful, because platelets secrete growth factors than are thought to assist in wound healing and tissue regrowth.
When it comes to hair loss, the theory is that platelets, injected deep into the scalp to reach the bottom of the hair follicle, may stimulate a specialized population of cells named dermal papilla cells, which play a critical role in hair growth.
Obtaining and injecting platelet-rich plasma
The process of obtaining PRP involves a blood draw and a centrifuge. To yield PRP, blood is drawn from your arm, then spun down in a centrifuge (a machine that spins at high speeds to help separate blood components). After centrifuging, the plasma rises to the top, and the lower part of the plasma is the PRP. Sometimes, a second spin is performed to increase the platelet concentration of the plasma.
We have selected Y-Cell Bio technology for our Hair Restoration treatments. Ycellbio system producesa high concentration PRPfrom only 15ml blood volume.
MORE ABOUT PRP
PRP has been around for decades and most spa’s are still using either a 1st or 2nd generation PRP device. We use the Ycellbio system. It's fairly new PRP technology and gives us PRP with about twice the potency.
1st generation PRP devices came out in the 2000’s and resembled your basic test tube in appearance concentrating platelets 2-3 x baseline. (400,000 - 600,0000 platelets/microliter)
Fast forward to 2010, 2nd generation kits hit the market. They are a little more complicated to use, but were a great improvement upon 1st gen kits concentrating platelets 4-5x baseline. (800,000 – 1,000,000 platelets / microliter).
Providers armed with 2nd gen kits are able make more potent PRP and realize improved results in skin and hair treatments. Due to the increased therapeutic effect from the additional platelets, these 2nd generation kits become widely popular for use in aesthetics and regenerative medicine.
Ycellbio is a 3rd generation PRP device that concentrates platelets 7-9x baseline
and is the only company to have a study published right on their website to back up this claim. These PRP devices use a unique funnel technology to greatly amplify force during the spin to collect more platelets than was previously made possible by any 1st or 2nd generation device.) When it comes to PRP its all about having the most platelets which is why we use Ycellbio kits to make PRP. Platelets are what release the valuable growth factors that promote regeneration. (1,400,000 – 1,800,000 platelets / microliter)
