PRP, or platelet-rich plasma treatments, have risen in popularity as a treatment for hair loss thanks to their effectiveness and long-lasting results. While a pretty straightforward treatment, like any other procedure, there are some do’s and don’ts to remember before, during, and after your sessions to ensure its effectiveness and your safety.
So should you wash your hair before your PRP treatment for hair loss? The short answer is yes. Washing your hair before treatment is included in many of the pre-treatment requirements for a PRP treatment in most clinics across the country. Make sure to use a mild shampoo to minimize any possible adverse reactions with PRP treatments.
Pre-Treatment Requirements: What To Do With Your Hair Before PRP Treatment
Before going for your PRP hair loss treatment, your doctor should discuss with you what you need to do before the treatment and what to avoid. While it may differ depending on your condition and doctor, here are some of the things you need to know about washing your hair before the treatment and other things to do to ensure your safety during the entire process:
1) Wash your hair before the treatment
On the day of your treatment, it’s ideal to wash your hair before coming in for your appointment. Keeping it simple, you should use your regular shampoo and avoid other products with harsh chemicals or additives. You should also avoid using any styling or leave-in treatments prior to getting PRP injections to treat your type of hair loss.
If you wear certain wigs, extensions, or any other hairpiece, you should remove it before washing your hair on the day of your treatment. This is to ensure that when the injection containing the platelet-rich plasma and growth factors is administered, your scalp is dirt particles or debris-free and completely clean.
2) Stop all blood-thinning medications
In addition to washing your hair on the day of your PRP procedure, you may need to stop taking medications that contain blood-thinning properties a week before your treatment for hair loss. Medications like aspirin, Pradaxa, Brilinta, and vitamin A all have blood-thinning effects that could negatively affect your health after the treatment – they might interfere with the blood clotting and healing process of the PRP treatment.
If you’re taking blood-thinning medications to manage a pre-existing medical condition, you may want to choose an alternative procedure or treatment plan to ensure your safety. Consult your doctor and see if there’s an alternative feasible treatment option that won’t require you to stop any type of medication if needed.
3) Avoid excessive sun exposure
Another thing you should be aware of before your PRP treatment is avoiding excessive sun exposure. While for the most part, some sun exposure won’t do any harm, limiting your exposure to it will ensure that you don’t cause any damage to your scalp or get a sunburn in the area before your treatment.
As PRP is a hair treatment that uses syringes directly onto your scalp, any type of skin damage to the area may cause difficulty or complications during the procedure. It’s also likely that your doctor won’t perform the procedure if your scalp is compromised due to sun exposure.
4) No hair coloring treatments
To prevent any damage or sensitivity to the scalp, you should avoid hair coloring treatments during the week of your PRP treatment for hair loss. While many people color their hair as a way to mask hair thinning or hair loss, it’s not advisable to have such harsh chemicals on your scalp right before your treatment.
You can color your hair 7 days before the treatment with no issue but any other maintenance treatments for hair color should be done after the recovery period from PRP therapy to ensure proper hair growth and full benefits from the treatment.
Post-Treatment Care
Aside from the pre-treatment requirements for PRP therapy for hair restoration, you will also need to be aware of several post-treatment dos and don’ts to ensure that you avoid negative side effects and get the most of the treatment. Here are some of the most common things you should do and avoid after your PRP session to reap and maintain the hair loss treatment results you want:
1) Don’t shower after your treatment
While it’s advised to shower right before your treatment, you should avoid washing your hair within 24 hours after you’ve gotten PRP injections to your scalp. Washing your hair right after the treatment with a special shampoo or even any type of hair product can cause risks to the treatment’s effects and become less effective in promoting natural hair growth. It’s best to give the treatment time to fully settle and allow your scalp and hair follicles to heal before applying any product to it.
2) Avoid applying pressure to the hair loss treatment site
While it may be tempting to touch your hair and scalp after the procedure, you should avoid touching or applying extra pressure on the area. After the initial treatment, it’s likely that you’ll experience some soreness or discomfort on the treatment site.
Touching it or applying pressure could make these side effects worse and cause a more severe reaction. To avoid any severe side effects, it’s recommended that you don’t sleep directly on the injection site and as mentioned earlier wash your hair as this will also add unnecessary pressure to the area.
3) Avoid applying extreme cold or heat to treatment area
Another thing you should avoid after your treatment is applying extreme temperatures to the area for the next 3 days. While the soreness from the initial injections may cause some discomfort and inflammation, it’s not advisable to apply ice to the area.
This is because it will expose the area to extremely low temperatures and cause anti-inflammation reactions that will interfere with the healing process. Additionally, you should also avoid applying direct heat to the area. This includes things like blow drying your hair or using saunas, steam rooms, and direct sun exposure.
Like applying extremely cold temperatures to the treatments site, applying high temperatures could also affect the healing process or results of the treatment overall. To ensure the effectiveness of the treatment, avoiding extremely low and high temperatures would be the most beneficial for your hair treatment.
4) Do light exercises only
For PRP to be an effective treatment, you’ll have to avoid high-intensity workouts and exercise routines for the next 2 weeks after your procedure. Putting your body through strenuous activities and exercise may cause the injected solution of platelets to move around.
This will prevent the platelet-rich plasma from properly settling-in correctly on the treatment site. While this won’t cause any severe reactions, this will leave the treatment ineffective as a hair loss treatment altogether.
5) Take supplements to compliment PRP benefits
While you need to avoid showers, extreme temperatures and exercise right after your treatment, what you can do is take certain supplements to boost hair growth in conjunction with the PRP treatment. To ensure that you’re taking supplements that are safe and beneficial post-treatment, please consult your doctor on which ones are safe to take.
6) No blood thinning medications
Though hair growth supplements can be taken, you should still avoid taking any blood-thinning medications 4 weeks after your procedure to allow proper healing. Taking blood-thinning medication soon after the procedure may cause internal bleeding or prevent clotting. If you’re concerned about any type of medication after your treatment, please consult your doctor before taking any.
Get Quality Beauty and Medical Supplies for the Right Price at FACE Med Store
While treatments for hair loss like PRP can be quite effective in addressing patients’ concerns and conditions, there are several steps that need to be taken to ensure its effectiveness and safety. Before any PRP treatment, patients should be informed of the protocols such as washing their hair the day of the treatment as to ensure a clean surface during the procedure. Additionally, post-treatment care is also important as it may cause the treatment to either be ineffective or even cause adverse reactions.
After proper pre-treatment and post-treatment practices, what largely affects any PRP treatment are the tools used during the procedure. Here at FACE Med Store, we understand the importance of having the right tools and devices for any medical procedure. From PRP hair loss treatments to micro-needling tools and supplies, we offer top-quality tools at affordable prices to clinics across the country. Contact us today to see our stock list.
Learn More: PRP for Hair Loss vs Hormone Replacement Treatments: Which is Better?
