Can Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Protect Hair From Humidity?

Frizzy hair has always been an adversary of most women, so much that taming it turned into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. This is because styling hair becomes harder with the presence of frizz, and women go to great lengths to prevent the appearance of these extra coiled hairs. 

So can platelet-rich plasma injection protect hair from humidity? Hair is naturally susceptible to humidity because of the hydrogen bonds present in keratin. There’s no way that platelet-rich plasma injections can prevent the breakage of these hydrogen bonds, but platelet-rich plasma can promote hair growth through the growth factors released upon its activation.

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How Humidity Affects Hair

Humidity refers to how much water vapor, the gaseous form of water, is present in the air. It tells the likelihood of rain, fog, or dew from occurring in a given time and place.

Hair is naturally susceptible to changes in weather, especially when the weather becomes humid. This is because of the structure of hair, which is largely made up of keratin, a protein molecule that confers structure to the hair.

Molecularly, strands of keratin are held together by chemical bonds, one that is stronger and one that is quite easier to break. The stronger one is the disulfide bond, where two sulfur molecules are permanently bonded together. This confers strength to the hair and isn’t affected by humidity.

The weaker one is the hydrogen bond, which is easily broken down and reformed when the hair alternately gets wet and gets dry. This is the one responsible for the susceptibility of the hair to humidity.

How PRP Injection Improves the Quality of Hair

Platelet-rich plasma therapy is one of the medical treatments under regenerative medicine. It improves the quality of hair by encouraging it to grow stronger and thicker, but it can’t protect the hair from frizz conferred by humidity since it doesn’t change the structure of the hair. It only works on the hair growth aspect of it.

Meanwhile, the hair growth effects of PRP are evidenced by objective and subjective results, in that computerized trichograms and patients’ satisfaction showed good results upon doing this procedure to patients with hair loss according to a study.

PRP works by mediating the inflammatory process involved in wound healing through the platelet-rich plasma-derived growth factors released by the activation of the concentrations of platelets present in the formulation. 

In the hair, these growth factors, which include vascular endothelial growth factor and insulin-like growth factor, encourage hair growth by mediating the hair growth cycle and stimulating the dormant hair follicles to go to the anagen phase (growth phase).

These growth factors are also capable of inducing angiogenesis or the process of producing new blood vessels in the scalp, resulting in an increase in blood flow to the area. This helps encourage active hair follicles to grow because blood provides the oxygen and nutrients they need.

PRP also stimulates the regulators that can prolong the anagen phase and anti-apoptosis (anti-programmed cell death) which also help in hair growth.

How PRP Injection is Obtained and Administered for Healthier Hair

Platelet-rich plasma injections are an autologous formulation, meaning they came from the patient’s own blood cells and components. The preparation and administration of PRP may be divided into three phases, namely:

• Blood draw – Collection of blood from the patient is done through devices like a syringe with an anticoagulant.
• Blood processing – Blood will then be processed via centrifugation to separate other blood components like white blood cells from the plasma and platelets. However, the revolutions per minute vary depending on the clinic where PRP is being done, and this lack of standardization affects the results of the procedure.
• PRP injection – Upon centrifugation, PRP will then be injected intradermally or subcutaneously into the scalp, evenly spaced at the target area. The dosage also isn’t standardized yet and also alters the results of the procedure.

The administration of platelet-rich plasma is made as comfortable as possible for the patient, using techniques that can help them not feel anything throughout the procedure. These techniques include the following:

• Application of anesthesia – Application of anesthesia via injections or topical application is done to numb the area before the injection proper.
• Vibrational anesthesia – A new technique of numbing pain is also gaining popularity among clinicians who administer PRP. This is the delivery of vibration to the target area in order to “massage” the area and disseminate the fluid being injected.
• Using very fine needles – The use of very fine needles is also important to make the procedure less painful. The usual sizes of needles used are 25, 27, 30, and 31 gauge. Note that higher numbers of gauges translate to smaller sizes of needles.
• Giving ice packs to patients after the procedure – Applying ice packs to the area where the procedure was done also numbs the pain that may be felt upon the injections.

What to Expect After the Procedure

Initial treatments won’t show immediate results. This is because it may take a while before the anagen phase can be restarted in the dormant hair follicles. It then takes around 6 to 12 months or 2 to 3 sessions spaced at 4 to 6 weeks apart before the full results can be noticeable. 

The benefits of the PRP treatment also aren’t permanent. This is because PRP treatment only works on the hair growth cycle and doesn’t work on the genetic component of hair loss. Maintenance treatments then are needed to make the results of PRP long-lasting. These maintenance treatments depend on the severity of hair loss, although typically it should be done every 6 to 12 months.

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Safety of PRP Injection for Healthy Hair

Platelet-rich plasma injections have no downtime after the procedure and don’t require a stringent healing process. Patients who underwent this procedure can easily go back to their normal activities immediately after the 10 to 15-minute procedure. This is because the PRP procedure yields minimal side effects mainly attributable to it being derived from the patient’s own blood.

It’s expected that allergic reactions and communicable diseases may be avoided from the PRP injections because it’s from the patient’s own blood. Typical side effects associated with this procedure include mild redness, pain, bruising, and swelling of the injection site.

Rare side effects also may occur like infections and nerve and tissue damage, although these are mostly associated with the preparation and skills of the professional doing the procedure.

The PRP shouldn’t be done to just everyone. People who would want to undergo this procedure must be screened for conditions that may result in adverse reactions when it’s done on them, like autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and other disease conditions like low platelet count and active infections.

Those who use blood thinners must also stop their use prior to undergoing the procedure, with the guidance of their healthcare provider. This is because blood thinners may impair the activation of platelets, leading to impairment in the release of growth factors and ultimately leading to the decreased efficacy of the PRP therapy.

Ways to Deal with Frizzy Hair in Humid Weather

While PRP can’t tame frizz, there are other successful strategies that you may follow in dealing with frizzy hair that’s caused by humid weather. These include cool showers, use of an ionic hair dryer, use of styling products, nourishing and moisturizing the hair, and using heat to smoothen the strands.

1) Take cool showers instead of warm baths

Warm baths are surely more satisfying and preferable than cool showers, but cool showers are better for maintaining good skin and hair health. For the hair, cooler temperatures help provide maximum glossiness and manageability because they help close the hair and lock in moisture more than warm temperatures.

2) Try switching toward an ionic hairdryer

Ionic hair dryers are packed with negatively charged ions which help break down the water molecules such that it doesn’t interfere with the hydrogen bonds in the hair shaft. Smoother and sleeker hair is expected upon its use, especially because it’s recommended that hair must be dried first before going out to avoid making it susceptible to the effects of frizz.

3) Use hair styling products to coat your hair

Styling products are specially formulated to coat your hair shaft with a protective layer, preventing it from the effect of humidity on the hair that is expanding and frizzing. It also provides an extra shine to your hair for a better appearance. 

The application should be enough to cover all the hair strands but you shouldn’t overdo it so that it weighs the hair down and totally removes the volume. 

Hairstyling products that you may use include hair serums, leave-in conditioners, and hair masks. Natural products may also work like a charm, and you may consider preparing hairstyling products at home using ingredients like the following:

• apple cider vinegar which balances the hair pH to maintain the closure of cuticles;
• coconut oil that helps lock in moisture;
• argan oil that has moisturizing and antioxidant properties;
• avocado that can help strengthen the hair with its vitamin A and E components;
• eggs that can help make your hair shinier and healthier.

4) Nourish and moisturize your hair

You should also make sure not to over-shampoo your hair because this product potentially strips off the nutrients from the hair strands and makes it rough and brittle, which makes hair more susceptible to the effects of humidity. 

Haircare products with moisturizing and nourishing properties must also not be neglected to include in your hair care regimen, like products that contain hyaluronic acid and nourishing oils.

5) Smooth the strands with heat

Although blow dryers should generally be avoided because it emits heat that contributes to the puffiness and susceptibility of hair to frizz, a little heat may still help if your hair has a tendency to volume up while drying down. 

Heat prevents this puffiness and locks in the style you’ve set your hair into. Just remember to use heat protectants and apply them first before blow-drying to avoid its damaging effects.

PEP Factor: An Excellent and Nourishing Formulation

While platelet-rich plasma isn’t an effective treatment for frizz, this doesn’t mean that it has no clinical application for hair. It’s still one of the best treatment options for androgenetic alopecia (pattern baldness) and other types of hair loss because of its ability to promote the growth of thicker and good-looking hair strands.

Another good formulation that improves the appearance of thinning hair is FACE Med Store’s PEP Factor. It’s an excellent formulation containing the best ingredients that can help nourish the scalp and hair strands. It contains no harsh chemicals and it’s topically applied so it has no major side effects associated with it.

The active ingredients of the PEP Factor are really helpful in improving the appearance of thinning hair. It contains basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and copper peptide as its active ingredients.

The bFGF has the ability to encourage cell growth and proliferation, suitable for also encouraging hair growth. Similarly, copper peptide is also good for hair growth because it can help neutralize the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species against active hair follicles.

PEP Factor may also be applied topically and carry with it the same benefits it has on hair. Applying it to the skin cells can help in facial skin rejuvenation and in brightening the skin.

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Hair is naturally vulnerable to frizz because of the easy-to-break hydrogen bonds of the hair strands. Although platelet-rich plasma can’t tame frizz, it can still help in regrowing thicker and good-quality hair strands. This is because of the growth factors present in PRP that enable the appearance of this effect.

At FACE Med Store, we’re committed to helping our clients have good hair health regardless of the weather and the seasons. We offer excellent products for hair restoration and hair growth, and our staff can help you decide on the best product for your specific hair concerns. Contact us now at info@facemedstore.com to know more about the high-quality medical products that we offer.