Hair Thickening Treatments
Because our hair is such a prominent part of our overall appearance, thinning hair and hair loss can damage our confidence and self-esteem. According to the American Hair Loss Association, “it affects interpersonal relationships as well as the professional lives of those suffering. It is not uncommon for people to change their career paths because of their hair loss.”
Causes of thinning hair
Most hair thinning has been shown to be caused by a combination of hormones & genetics although it can also be caused by medical disorders, stress, and certain medications. Hereditary hair loss with aging, also known as androgenetic alopecia, is the most common cause of thinning hair or baldness in both men and women. Nearly 85% of men experience hair thinning by the age of 50 and about 40% of women by the age of 40.
The scalp and hair growth
Research is revealing how important the integrity of the skin layers, circulation, hair follicles, and surrounding fatty tissue in the scalp is for normal hair growth. A simple analogy is that the scalp is the topsoil and the thicker the topsoil, the better the grass will grow.
Men tend to lose hair from the temples, in front of their forehead, and the top of their heads. Women usually experience thinning mostly across the top of their scalp, usually noticed first as a widening part. Ironically, women also tend to notice brow hairs becoming sparser as lower face hairs ("boar bristles") sprout more. 
Each hair follicle seems to function as an individual, with its own growth cycle timing. For unknown reasons, some of the scalp follicles become more sensitive to the effects of hormones with aging, especially dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, a byproduct of testosterone. DHT causes the growth phase of the hair to shorten and the follicles to shrink until they no longer produce hair.
Until recently, the only effective treatments for hair thinning were drugs such as minoxidil and finasteride or hair transplants, but new regenerative treatments are showing great promise, especially when used together with topical minoxidil or finasteride.
Absorbable threads, fat-derived growth factors, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) use the healing substances found in your own body to help stimulate hair growth on the scalp and in the brows.
All of these treatments can be compared to the fertilizer part of the above analogy, as they are thought to increase hair growth by stimulating growth factors in the scalp.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune-related disease that causes patchy bald areas, and some studies have also shown improvement in the condition with these treatments. Regenerative hair therapies are not effective if the area being treated has no remaining hair follicles, so it's best to start early.
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments have shown improvement in hair loss patients in some studies, especially when a series of treatments are done.
Platelets are cells in our blood that are rich in many types of signaling and growth factors and PRP is the liquid portion of the blood in which the platelets have been concentrated and the other blood cells removed. The effects of PRP on hair loss are thought to be due to the effects of the platelet growth factors on the hair follicles. PRP is obtained by drawing a small blood sample & then spinning the tubes to separate out the red and white blood cells while isolating the concentrated platelets. The solution is then injected into the anesthetized portion of the scalp or brows where hair thickening is desired.
In general, after an initial series of 3 bi-monthly PRP treatments, roughly 30% of patients will see an increase in hair growth, 30% won't see an increase but they won't continue to experience hair loss in the months after treatment, and 30% won't see any change.
Nanofat treatments use stem cells and growth factors obtained from your own fat to help stimulate hair growth. The name "nanofat" is a misnomer since it's not fat cells that are injected. When fat cells are broken up they release large amounts of healing factors and stem cells that can be injected through finer needles than those used for fat injections. Results from nanofat injections to the scalp usually appear about six months after the treatment and usually, only one treatment is needed. Results may last up to a few years with maintanence treatments performed as desired.
To obtain nanofat, a mini-liposuction treatment is performed to obtain a small amount of fat. That fat is then washed and broken up and the growth factor solution is filtered into small syringes. After topical anesthetic to the scalp, it is injected through tiny needles into the area where hair growth is desired.
Absorbable Threads made of the same material as buried sutures, when placed under the skin's surface, stimulate healing and growth factors, as well as new blood vessels. Depending on the material the thread is made of, results can last nine months or two years. Encouraging results have been seen with hair growth when these threads have been used in areas of thinning hair.
They also provide a solid matrix to slow down the absorption of PRP so combining PRP with a scalp thread treatment can improve the results.
What to expect with a hair thickening treatment
The scalp is not a sensitive area so topical anesthetic or vibration therapy are usually adequate to make the treatment tolerable. PRP and nanofat are injected through tiny needles and absorbable threads are inserted under the skin in the area being treated. Occasionally there will be some swelling of the treated area but most people find they can immediately return to their usual activities.
Maintenance treatments as needed are recommended for all of these treatments to maintain results.
The fees at Skinspirations for regenerative hair loss treatments are:
Thread treatment for hair thickening: $500
Nanofat treatment: $1800
PRP hair treatment, discounted package of 3 sessions: $1,148
Call us at 727-571-1923 or make an appointment here for a complimentary consultation to learn if this procedure is right for you!