PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
PRP comes from your own blood. It is spun down first, then injected into the treatment area.
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PRP vs Hair Transplant
PRP is the better choice while your hair is thinning but still there. It injects your own concentrated platelets into the scalp to thicken the hair you have and slow the loss, and it has to be repeated for as long as you want the effect. A hair transplant is the better choice once an area has gone bare. It moves your own follicles into a spot where nothing is growing, and that hair is permanent. These two are not really alternatives, and plenty of people end up having both.
At a glance
| The difference | PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) | Hair Transplant |
|---|---|---|
| How soon you see the result | Three to six months | About a year |
| Downtime | None | A few days to two weeks |
| Cost | A repeating bill | One large payment |
Hair Transplant
A new hairline looks red and crusted for the first several days. The grafts settle over the next few weeks.
Side by side
The differences that matter
What actually happens
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
Your own blood, spun and injected
A small blood sample is spun to concentrate the platelets, and that concentrate is injected across the thinning area. The visit takes about half an hour.
Hair Transplant
Your own hair is moved
A surgeon takes follicles from the back and sides of your head, where hair is not programmed to fall out, and places them where you are bare. It is a long day under local anaesthetic.
What it can do
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
Thickens hair that is still there
Existing hairs get thicker and shed more slowly, so the area looks denser.
Hair Transplant
Puts hair where there is none
It is the only option that adds hair to skin where nothing is growing.
How it works, illustrated
Hair Transplant
Conditions treated
Hair Transplant
Male Pattern Hair Loss
The only treatment that puts hair back where the follicle has already closed. Follicles are moved from the permanent band at the back of the head to the front and crown, and they keep growing there because they never carried the sensitivity in the first place. It works best once the pattern has settled, and nearly everyone is advised to stay on medical treatment afterwards, because a transplant does nothing for the untreated hair around the grafts.
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Female Pattern Hair Loss
Follicles are moved from the back of the scalp, which is not affected by the pattern, into the thin areas on top. It is the only option that puts hair where follicles have gone dormant. It suits women who still have good density at the back and a clearly defined thin area, and it does not stop the underlying process, so medical treatment carries on afterward.
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Alopecia Areata
This is the wrong operation for alopecia areata, and it is worth knowing why before anyone offers it. The follicles here are alive and switched off rather than gone, so there is nothing to replace, and moved hairs land in skin where the same immune attack is still running and can be lost too. Transplants are for scarring hair loss and for pattern hair loss, where the follicle really has been destroyed.
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What it will not do
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
It will not regrow a bald patch
If a follicle is gone, there is nothing for PRP to feed. A shiny, bald scalp will not respond.
Hair Transplant
It will not stop the thinning around it
The native hair beside a transplant can keep receding, which is why medication usually continues afterwards.
Related topic illustrations
Hair Transplant
Topical minoxidil
Strong evidence. Cheap and over the counter, works on thinning hair rather than bare scalp, and is commonly continued for life after surgery.
How soon you see the result
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
Three to six months
Shedding usually slows first. Visible thickness takes a few months and builds across the course.
Hair Transplant
About a year
The moved hairs fall out two to four weeks after surgery. The follicles stay put. New growth starts around month three or four, and the real result is there at about twelve months.
How many appointments
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
A course, then forever
Most plans start with three or four sessions a month apart, then a top-up every four to six months. There is no finish line.
Hair Transplant
Usually one
Some people have a second procedure years later, for a new thin area or more density.
How long it lasts
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
Only while you keep going
Stop the top-ups and you lose what the treatment was holding.
Hair Transplant
Permanent, for the hair that was moved
Those follicles keep growing for life. The picture still changes as the rest of your hair ages.
How much hair you get
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
Denser, not new
The gain is thickness in hair you already had. Most people notice it in photos rather than overnight.
Hair Transplant
Less than you used to have
Your donor area is finite. Surgeons usually aim for around half your original density, which reads as full from conversation distance.
Downtime
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
None
A sore, tender scalp for a day. Some people have a headache that evening.
Hair Transplant
A few days to two weeks
Swelling, scabs and redness. The donor area heals to tiny dot scars, or a fine line with the strip method.
Cost
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
A repeating bill
Priced per session. Ask for the yearly figure, including the top-ups, rather than the price of one visit.
Hair Transplant
One large payment
Usually priced per graft, paid once, with medication as a smaller ongoing cost.
The at-home or drugstore version
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
Minoxidil and finasteride
These do the same job as PRP, protecting and thickening the hair you still have, for a fraction of the cost. They are the sensible first step. PRP is usually added to them, not used instead of them.
Hair Transplant
There isn't one
Nothing you can buy moves a follicle. No cream, device or supplement adds hair to a bare scalp.
Who each suits
PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma)
- Best for — Diffuse thinning, a widening part, early recession.
- The mindset — You are protecting what you have and will keep coming back.
Hair Transplant
- Best for — A defined bare area, with donor hair to spare.
- The mindset — You want one permanent fix and then to stop thinking about it.
They are not really competing treatments
Hair Transplant
PRP works on hair that still exists. It aims to keep weak, miniaturising follicles in the game a bit longer. There has to be something there for it to help.
A transplant works on skin where hair has gone. It does not improve the hair around the transplant at all.
Hair Transplant
Topical minoxidil 5%
There is no home version of the surgery itself. Minoxidil is the treatment that protects and thickens the hair around a transplant, which is the part that decides how the result ages. It cannot create hair on a bare scalp.
Before you book
Hair Transplant
- Ask whether the area that bothers you still has fine hairs in it, and ask to see it under magnification.
- Ask a PRP clinic what the yearly cost is once the first course is done.
- Ask a surgeon how many grafts your donor area can safely give over your lifetime, not just today.
- Ask what the plan is for the hair you are not treating, since it will keep thinning.
- Try the standard medications first, or alongside. They are cheaper and better studied than PRP.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Can PRP regrow hair on a bald spot?
No. PRP works on follicles that are still producing hair, even fine, weak hair. Where the scalp is smooth and shiny, there is nothing left for it to strengthen.
Should I try PRP before a transplant?
If you are still thinning rather than bare, yes — PRP plus the standard medications may be enough, and most surgeons want ongoing loss settled before designing a hairline. If the area is already bare, PRP will not fill it.
What happens if I stop PRP?
The hair it was protecting goes back to the path it was on. PRP holds ground rather than banking it, so the top-ups continue for as long as you want the effect.
Can you have both PRP and a transplant?
Yes, and it is common. PRP is often used around the time of surgery and afterwards, to support the moved follicles and protect the native hair beside them.
Which one costs more?
A transplant is one large bill, usually priced per graft. PRP is a smaller bill that repeats two or three times a year, indefinitely. Compare them as a five-year figure, not a single price.
How long until each one shows?
PRP usually slows shedding first, with visible thickness over three to six months. A transplant sheds at two to four weeks, regrows from month three or four, and shows its real result at about twelve months.