ACell + PRP hair loss treatments are gaining more popularity as a non-surgical hair loss treatment for people looking to improve the appearance of their thinning hair. As a pioneer of this treatment (since 2011), my TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration treatment has been featured on Fox News, and we have been receiving large volumes of inquiries from around the world through YouTube and the Internet since the beginning. I’m particularly impressed by my “colleagues” who were so dismissive of PRP and ACell several years ago who have now changed their minds ($) about this technology. There has been a proliferation of ACell + PRP treatments being offered by a range of practitioners, which are not in any way related to my system. These “treatments” are essentially generic PRP with a limited amount of ACell. Having spent so many years developing customized processes for a wide range of patients, I will discuss why generically marketed ACell + PRP is probably not the best option for the management of your hair loss.
Success Rate
Why are PRP or ACell + PRP treatments, which are being currently recommended, need to be done every month or every three months? The overwhelming majority of patients I have treated with my TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration procedure have experienced a sustained improvement for 3-5 years with only 1 treatment.
I have been performing TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration /ACell+PRP treatment as a standalone, non-surgical procedure since 2011 for a wide range of patients who’ve come from around the world. This volume of patients and the experience I’ve acquired is unparalleled. The data I studied and used from this level of experience has provided me a unique insight into the specific details and characteristics of a wide range of people who suffer from hair loss.
Our TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration ACell + PRP system has been shown to improve scalp coverage by thickening thinning hair, and stimulating growth from dormant hair follicles, in over 99% of male and female pattern hair loss patients who I’ve personally treated. We see our patients every 3 to 6 months for about 2 years, followed by yearly follow-up for the duration of 5 years. I’m committed to our patients’ success, and we track each patient’s progress very closely. This commitment is reflected in our high success rate.
One of the early female pattern hair loss patients from 2011, showing results from 1 treatment session of Hair Regeneration ACell PRP
It’s important to see before and after photos and find reviews from actual patients. The dramatic and consistent results and the feedback from our patients who’ve undergone TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration /ACell+PRP treatment can be seen on our websites. We are aware that there are many unethical practices offering ACell + PRP who are stealing our photos and claiming these photos as their own.
It’s in your best interest to ask to see actual patient photos during consultation and be informed as to what level of experience the practice has with the treatment they’re offering. Hair loss evaluation requires time for proper examination and for discussion. You should be confident in who is managing your hair loss.
This Hair Regeneration patient’s pictures have been stolen by several medical practices, and even featured on TV by another practice
ACell (extracellular matrix) is Not Easy to Work With
ACell (extracellular matrix) is particularly challenging material to work with as it comes in different forms. I worked with scientists to measure the materials I would use and the volumes of PRP applied to each patient. I examined every patient every 3 months for years, and created systems for the individual patient categories in order to get optimal and predictable results. I put in a lot of nights and years to develop the TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration System. The success of this system inspired me to start TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration Centers to try and help people who are unable to come to see me in New York. We opened the first center outside of our 2 New York locations in Vienna, Virginia.
Extracellular matrix by ACell has variations of its two basic forms: powder and sheets. Powder used in injection treatments like hair restoration is particularly difficult to dose
Formulation
Since no one else has developed a system like mine, how does a practitioner get in on this potential revenue? They do it by using a single PRP with ACell formulation and use it on everybody. This is regardless of whether the patient has male or female pattern hair loss, the age when their hair loss started, or the severity of their hair loss. This one-size-fits-all approach does not work for any cosmetic procedure, and does not work in managing hair loss. Using the same ACell+PRP formulation or ratio for all patients is what I call a shotgun approach, that is inject everyone the same way, then see what happens.
Our TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration treatment is a formulation of ACell and PRP which is specific for each individual patient’s category of hair loss. These formulations are based on algorithms I’ve developed since 2011. This algorithm takes into account individual hair loss factors to specifically formulate ACell and PRP concentrations for a patient, which is based on their:
- Gender
- Age of onset of hair loss
- Degree of hair loss
- Other medications taken (like finasteride for men, and spironolactone for women)
- Other medical treatments (like previous hair transplants)
By looking at these characteristics, I created the TrichoStem® Hair Loss Classification System so that I’m able to provide every patient with a treatment plan, specific to their hair loss classification. The results I’ve been able to achieve for my patients have stood the test of time since 2011.
Hair loss pattern, severity, and previous treatments differ among individuals, and among men and women, so customized formulations are more effective than a single standard formulation
Number of Treatments
When you look at ACell+PRP treatments, you find there is a range of required numbers of treatments and frequency of treatments. There are many practices offering ACell+PRP that require a treatment session every month to every three months which is also the same range for PRP treatment alone. So, where is the advantage of using ACell? Let’s say you were not seeing results after your first 3 sessions, the practitioner can say “you’ve come this far, so let’s do another 3 sessions.” In my opinion, this whole approach is more of a revenue generating tactic. Further, what happens if you miss a session? Are the benefits of all the previous sessions gone?
Effectiveness of Hair Regeneration ACell PRPafter a single treatment session
Since 2011 the majority of my patients have had only 1 treatment session, with results lasting 3-5 years, and beyond. Over time, I found that some patients with more advanced hair loss benefit from a second treatment, which we call the “booster” administered at 15-24 months after the first treatment. This was based on seeing how a significant percentage of hair, which appeared after the initial treatment were responsive to a second treatment at 18 months. Unlike other medical practices charging per treatment session, with no strategy beyond the next few months, there is no additional cost for patients for the booster treatment. I have accumulated enough experience to be able to provide my patients with a realistic outlook for their improvement and be confident about my approach, so no more than 2 treatments would be needed for most people for the duration of 3 to 5 years.
Male patient with advanced thinning achieved considerably denser hair coverage with two treatment sessions
Longevity of Effectiveness
How long should ACell+PRP treatment last? According to many of the practitioners offering ACell+PRP treatment, the treatment should last 1-2 years. This means during this time period, you will have to have about 4-8 scalp injection sessions. It seems that the practitioners don’t expect the effect of a single session to last more than 3 months. Let’s say they claim that the benefits will last 1-2 years after the completion of a series of 4 to 8 injection sessions, should the same longevity apply to a 20-year-old male with advanced hair loss as it does for a 50-year-old female with minimal hair loss? Of course not.
At this time, The TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration System is unique in that the benefits are expected to last for the duration of 3-5 years, or even longer for most people. We base this on our patient data starting from 2011, with patients’ results 5 years after their initial treatment.
Male patient with moderate hair thinning 5 years after a single Hair Regeneration treatment session, without taking finasteride
After looking at the hair growth behavior and response to TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration in male and female pattern hair loss patients over many years, I created a classification system. For example, I classify and treat patients with early onset and severe hair loss differently than patients with later onset and moderate hair loss. Based on several factors, I determine a relative DHT (dihydrotestosterone) sensitivity and I determine if a DHT blocker like finasteride would be of benefit. Hair loss is not cured, it’s managed. My goal is to maximize your scalp coverage for the longest period that your genetics will allow.
Younger male Hair Regeneration patients with high DHT-sensitivity are prescribed finasteride, but the difference from finasteride treatment alone is clearly seen
Results and Follow Up Appointments
Many practices offering ACell+PRP, or PRP alone for hair loss, want you to keep you coming in for more treatments since they charge per treatment session. Some practices know that their ACell+PRP treatment has unpredictable results, so they stop seeing patients after 2 or more sessions. In my opinion, if a medical practice is committed to the results of their ACell+PRP treatment, they should not charge for follow up visits to monitor your progress. It should be clear from the beginning how many treatment sessions are needed, and your cost for the treatment.
Digital photography and regular follow up appointments are important for any ACell PRP treatment to show patients improvement in scalp coverage
Since seeing improvement in scalp hair coverage can be difficult for you to monitor, you should expect proper standardized digital photos to be taken on a regular basis. You should be able to see comparisons of your before and after photos. All of this takes time and should be part of your treatment.
Our TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration ACell+PRP treatment is straightforward. There is a one-time fee for your treatment plan with regular follow-ups to monitor your results. Our typical patient will have 1-2 treatment sessions, with the second at 15-24 months after the first session. Standardized digital photography, as well as microscopic evaluation are done before your treatment. After your first TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration treatment, you are scheduled for follow up visits at regular intervals of 3 to 6 months. We also continue to monitor your results every year after that, for about 5 years after treatment. Since we do the TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration treatment for patients who come from around the world, we also do follow ups through email and Skype/Facetime. Follow up appointments, and the “booster” treatment or a second injection session is all included in your one-time fee. We see our patients regularly to monitor and show you the effectiveness of the TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration treatment (not to have additional financial transactions at every patient follow up visit). To my knowledge, there is no other ACell+PRP treatment practitioner who has this level of commitment to their patients’ ongoing care.
Hair Regeneration patients pay a one-time fee, which includes all follow up appointments and a second treatment when needed
Experience in Hair Loss Treatment
With non-surgical hair loss treatment gaining popularity with both PRP alone and ACell PRP, many more medical practices are offering these injection treatments. However, many if not most medical practices offering PRP, or ACell and PRP, have no previous hair restoration experience. If they weren’t taking care of hair loss patients previously, how did they suddenly become experts with ACell+PRP? If you are looking to restore hair, it should be obvious that you would want a doctor who has extensive experience helping men and women with pattern hair loss.
Dr. Prasad had experience with hair loss treatment prior to discovering Hair Regeneration, including hair transplants and prescribing finasteride
I have been helping patients with hair loss with hair transplant surgery as well as non-surgical options such as prescribing finasteride for male pattern hair loss throughout my career.
It was in my effort to improve the results of our hair transplant surgery to increase hair graft survival rate that I first discovered ACell+PRP for hair restoration. I have been using extracellular matrix by ACell to improve wound healing in facelift and body surgery in my practice before I used it in hair restoration procedures. I applied the same wound healing properties to the hair graft donor incision at the back of the head, as well as the recipient area where small stabs are made by the hair implantation device. While improved healing of the donor area scar was expected, when I monitored the scalp healing of the hair grafts, I noticed that the native hair in areas not transplanted grew in thicker.
The discovery of Hair Regeneration happened when Dr. Prasad used extracellular matrix by ACell to help heal transplanted hair grafts, and he observed that thinning native hair also grew thicker
Discovering the effects of ACell, and then later ACell + PRP on improving scalp hair growth is not the only advantage I had from having previous hair restoration experience. Determining the depth and dosing of ACell+PRP came first from the experience and knowledge of actually implanting hair grafts. Knowing the depth of placement to place hair grafts was invaluable in determining the depth of scalp injections to get the best results. Recognizing different hair loss patterns, classifying severity of hair loss, gauging the level of DHT-sensitivity in men, and analyzing different areas of hair thinning all contributed to my establishing the algorithms for ACell+PRP formulation for the TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration treatment. Practitioners offering ACell+PRP treatment, without this type of prior experience in treating hair loss are taking a cookie-cutter approach typically learned at a PRP vendor-sponsored course.
TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration – ACell PRP Treatment for Your Hair Loss
Patients from around the world fly in every week to have the TrichoStem® Hair Regeneration treatment with us. It wouldn’t be practical for them to do so if they needed multiple treatment sessions in a year, or if the benefits only lasted a year or two at best.
If you are interested in having long lasting improvement for your hair loss with a well established system of ACell+PRP treatment, fill out the contact form below, or call us at (212) 265-8877 in New York City, (516) 742-4636 in Garden City, Long Island, or (703) 356-1336/ (703) 821-2683 in Vienna, Virginia.