Having seen an influx of PRP related news throughout the media recently, many people are wondering if it works as well as has been reported. The media can often make things out of proportion both in a good and a bad way and it’s difficult to judge on exactly how accurate their view on PRP is. That is because of the wide variety of uses that platelet-rich-plasma has, its effectivity is different for different uses. We’ll go into more detail below!

Does PRP live up to the hype?

They say that there’s no smoke without fire and this is certainly the case with PRP. So which of the uses of PRP have shown the greatest promise? Well, let’s start by running through what exactly PRP is for those of you who aren’t sure.

Platelet Rich Plasma: The Basics

The procedure involved in creating PRP is quick and simple. The first stage is for a sample of the patients blood to be drawn. This is then separated into two test tubes. The first is spun around in a centrifuge until the components have separated. The platelets are then isolated and taken out of the first sample of blood. These platelets are then added to the second sample of blood. This creates a blood sample that is now much more highly concentrated in platelets i.e. Platelet Rich Plasma.

So, what can it be used for?

Now we have our secret potion, that is PRP, we have a whole load of ways we can use it! From rejuvenating the face to speeding up the recovery of torn ligaments, PRP is a versatile treatment that can benefit a wide range of people.

Facial rejuvenation

The key use of PRP in facial rejuvenation is through The Vampire Facelift. This procedure has drawn much media attention, largely due to its various celebrity followers. In short, the PRP that has been created using the method discussed above, is injected in strategic positions all over the face (after first receiving a little numbing cream). The effect is the regeneration of new skin cells and a rejuvenated and more youthful appearance.

Jayne Said: “Just fantastic! I had seen some celebrities get the treatment but wasn’t sure if it was all going to look as good as those people in the magazines. Too my surprise it really did. The whole process wasn’t painful like Kim Kardashian seemed to make out. It didn’t even take too long. In the end I just waited a few days for my face to fully recover and i couldn’t believe the results! Really something I will recommend to all of my friends and family!”

Healing injuries faster

Another use of PRP is to heal injuries more quickly. Some of the PRP can be injected into the wound site and is able to not only improve the speed at which athletes can recover from muscle tears but it can also improve the appearance of burns scars in burns victims! This treatment is becoming more and more common in the professional sports arena day by day where every second out of play counts.

Colin said: “I play rugby and had a pretty awful injury in my ankle. I was really on my game and didn’t want to be off the field for too long. I searched for alternative treatments to add on to my general physiotherapy and came across PRP. I hadn’t heard of this before and so asked a few of my friends if they had. My one friend Luke said that his mate had tried the treatment and it nearly halved the expected recovery time with no risks! I thought, this is too good to be true i’ll just have to go for it. So I tried it and my ankle healed super fast! Although it didn’t half the recovery time it certainly knocked off around 20% of the time. It was well worth the money to get me back on the rugby field that bit quicker!”

Combat hair loss

A new popular use for PRP is in the use of hair loss treatment. This treatment is fairly straightforward and works by injecting PRP into different areas across the scalp. The addition of the platelets encourage the regrowth of new hair cells. The result? A fuller head of more healthy and thicker hair. It will take around 6 months for you to start seeing results as it takes time for the hair follicles to grow. But once it starts working you’ll be able to notice the sprouting of new hair!

Graham said: “Hair loss had plagued me for as long as I could remember. I had both thin hair and it was also brittle and weak. This meant that it was difficult to style and just flopped down on my head. It really hurt my confidence and i sought out any solution. I tried all of the shampoos available only to see very little result. Some even made my hair worse. Then I came across this platelet rich plasma method. I thought, what the heck, i’ll do it. The treatment was done fairly quickly and then i waited. The wait was the worst thing as I didn’t know if my hair follicles were growing back or not. The best thing i did was to take pictures periodically as otherwise it may have been hard to notice the changes. This could have been demoralising. Anyhow, after about 6 months i was noticing a big change. My hair was growing back much more thicker and fuller too.”