Medical treatments
PRP for hair loss
A private injection, sold with more confidence than the trials have earned. Not an NHS pattern-hair-loss treatment.
Written in the UK, for women and men.
PRP means injecting a concentrated part of your own blood into the scalp. It is not a routine NHS treatment for pattern hair loss. Private clinics offer it. The evidence is a mix of small studies, not a single success percentage. See a GP before a commercial clinic.
See a GP if hair loss is sudden, patchy, or comes with illness, a rash, or other symptoms. The NHS asks for that conversation before a private clinic.
On this page
On this page
PRP is platelet-rich plasma. A clinician takes blood, spins it, and injects the portion that is rich in platelets into the scalp. Clinics describe those platelets as growth signals. That description is a theory plus a set of small studies, not an NHS protocol.
What is the UK position?
The NHS names finasteride and minoxidil as the main treatments for male pattern baldness, and minoxidil for female pattern baldness. PRP is not on that list. NICE CKS does not make PRP the management of male pattern hair loss. Private clinics still offer it. Seeing a GP before a commercial clinic is the NHS advice, and it applies here.
How strong is the evidence?
PRP does not come with a set regrowth percentage. A before-and-after on a clinic website is not a trial. A course of three injections is a different product from one, and the fee depends on what the clinic includes.
Pain, bruising and the small risks of any injection are reasons to ask the clinic who does the procedure and what happens if the scalp reacts. This page cannot give you that local answer.
What to compare it with
Minoxidil has a named place in NHS guidance. PRP does not. Microneedling has one oft-cited pilot in men, used with minoxidil, which is a different procedure. It is written up at microneedling. Red light is a device with its own trials, not an injection. The hats are compared on red light hats.
Common questions
Is PRP available on the NHS?
Not as a routine treatment for pattern hair loss. The NHS mainstays for male pattern baldness are finasteride and minoxidil. PRP is a private clinic procedure.
Does PRP work?
Some small studies report a change and others are less convincing. They do not add up to a percentage the NHS has adopted.
How much does PRP cost in the UK?
Ask the clinic what is included and how many sessions they mean. A fee only makes sense once that is written down.
Sources
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