PRP Hair Therapy in Turkey

Platelets do more than clot blood. They carry a range of growth factors — PDGF, VEGF, TGF-beta and others — that the body uses to signal repair and to stimulate blood vessel formation. Concentrating them and placing them around hair follicles appears to prolong the growth phase of the hair cycle and improve the local blood supply.

The important word is "existing". PRP works on follicles that are still there but producing progressively finer hair. It cannot do anything about a follicle that has already died and been replaced by fibrous tissue, which is why PRP on a bald scalp achieves nothing and PRP on a thinning one can achieve a useful amount.

What the evidence shows

• Multiple randomised trials show statistically significant increases in hair count and thickness in androgenetic alopecia, compared with saline injections.
• Effect sizes are modest. Typical reported gains are in the region of 15–30 additional hairs per square centimetre — visible in photographs under standard lighting, not transformative in a mirror.
• Protocols vary widely between studies and clinics: centrifuge speed, number of spins, whether an activator is used, injection depth and session interval all differ, which is part of why results vary.
• Evidence is stronger for androgenetic alopecia than for other causes, and stronger in early thinning than in advanced loss.
• There is reasonable evidence that PRP improves graft survival and speeds recovery when used alongside a hair transplant.

What the session includes

• Consultation and scalp assessment
• Blood draw and centrifugation
• Topical anaesthetic or a cooling device
• Injection across the treatment area
• Written aftercare instructions
• Standardised before and after photographs
• A personal English-speaking coordinator
• Review of your overall hair plan

Travelling for PRP alone

Do not. Flights will cost several times the session price, and PRP needs three or four sessions a month apart — which would mean three or four trips. PRP makes sense added to a hair transplant trip, or arranged with a clinic at home. We say this plainly because the alternative is selling you something that does not add up.

PRP is usually worthwhile if

• You have early to moderate pattern thinning with visible hair still present.
• Your parting has widened but you are not bald anywhere.
• You are already using minoxidil or finasteride and want to add to it.
• You are having a hair transplant and want to support graft survival.
• You have female pattern loss, where PRP has reasonable evidence and fewer medical options exist.
• You have had telogen effluvium and want to support recovery.

PRP will not help if

• The area is completely bald: there is no follicle left to stimulate.
• You have a scarring alopecia, where the follicle has been replaced by fibrous tissue.
• You expect it to replace a transplant: it thickens existing hair, it does not create new hair.
• You have a platelet disorder, are on anticoagulants, or have an active infection in the scalp.
• You have an untreated cause such as iron deficiency or thyroid disease — treat that first.
• You cannot commit to maintenance sessions: the effect fades without them.

Our self-check below gives you a starting answer, and a Valentmedica doctor reviews your photographs free of charge and will tell you honestly if PRP is unlikely to help.

1. Blood collection: 15–30 ml drawn into tubes containing an anticoagulant so the platelets stay suspended.
2. First spin: a soft spin separates the sample into red cells at the bottom, a thin buffy coat of white cells and platelets in the middle, and plasma above.
3. Second spin: a harder spin concentrates the platelets further. A good preparation achieves three to five times baseline platelet concentration — below that, the evidence for benefit weakens considerably.
4. Separating the fraction: the platelet-poor plasma is drawn off and the platelet-rich fraction retained, typically 3–6 ml from a 30 ml draw.
5. Activation: some protocols add calcium chloride to activate the platelets and trigger growth factor release before injection; others rely on the collagen in the skin to do it. Both approaches are used.
6. Numbing: topical anaesthetic, a cooling device or a ring block around the scalp.
7. Injection: fine needle injections into the dermis at roughly 1 cm intervals, at a depth where the follicles sit. Depth matters — too superficial wastes it, too deep misses the target.
8. Massage: the area is gently massaged to distribute the concentrate evenly.

• Hours 0–6: scalp tenderness and redness, sometimes mild swelling at the forehead. Simple painkillers if needed, but avoid anti-inflammatories.
• Day 1: do not wash your hair for 24 hours. No hats pressing on the scalp.
• Days 2–3: any tenderness settles. Normal washing and styling resume.
• Week 1: avoid saunas, steam rooms, swimming pools and heavy exercise for the first 48 hours; after that, normal activity.
• Months 1–3: no visible change. This is expected — follicles respond slowly.
• Months 3–4: the first subtle improvement in thickness and reduced shedding, usually noticed as less hair in the shower before it is visible in the mirror.
• Months 6: the point at which the course should be judged, against your baseline photographs rather than memory.

Valentmedica works with licensed clinics in Istanbul using closed-system PRP kits and doctors registered with the Turkish Ministry of Health. Preparation is done in front of you, from your own blood, with no additives beyond anticoagulant and in some protocols calcium chloride.

Risks you should know about

• Pain during injection: the main complaint, and the reason numbing is used.
• Tenderness and redness: for a few hours afterwards.
• Bruising at the injection sites or the blood draw: minor and self-limiting.
• Headache: occasionally, for a day.
• Temporary shedding: a small number of patients notice increased shedding in the first weeks before improvement.
• Infection: very rare with sterile technique.
• No response: a genuine possibility, and the most common disappointment.
• Fainting at the blood draw: uncommon, and managed by lying you down.

PRP is not appropriate if you have a platelet disorder, are on anticoagulants, have an active scalp infection, or have a blood-borne condition affecting platelet function. Tell your doctor about every medication you take.

Think of hair treatment as three separate jobs: stop the loss, thicken what remains, and replace what is gone. Medication does the first, PRP helps with the second, and only a transplant does the third. Patients who use all three where appropriate get the best outcomes.

Commonly combined with

• Minoxidil: the combination with the most supporting evidence. PRP and minoxidil together outperform either alone in several studies.
• Finasteride: for men with androgenetic alopecia, addressing the hormonal driver that PRP does not touch.
• Hair transplant: PRP at the time of surgery appears to improve graft survival and speed recovery, and is often included in Valentmedica packages.
• Hair mesotherapy: a lighter vitamin-based injection treatment, sometimes alternated with PRP. Weaker evidence. See hair mesotherapy.
• Exosome therapy: a newer adjunct with much thinner evidence than PRP. See exosome hair therapy.

If a clinic offers you PRP without asking whether you have tried minoxidil, or without looking at your bloods, they are selling a procedure rather than treating your hair.

• Anti-inflammatories: no ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin for a week before. They suppress exactly the platelet activity PRP relies on.
• Hydration: drink plenty of water the day before and the morning of. A well-hydrated patient gives a better blood draw and a better yield.
• Eat beforehand: do not come fasted. Fainting at the blood draw is far more likely on an empty stomach.
• Clean hair: wash your hair the morning of the session and use no product afterwards.
• Alcohol and smoking: avoid alcohol for 48 hours before, and cut back on nicotine, which reduces scalp blood flow.
• Supplements: tell your doctor about fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo and turmeric, all of which affect platelet function.

The honest description of a good PRP result is "my hair looks better and I am shedding less", not "my hair has grown back". Published trials report increases of roughly 15–30 hairs per square centimetre and measurable improvements in hair diameter. That is a real change and it shows in standardised photographs; it is not the kind of change a stranger comments on.

The effect is not permanent. Without maintenance every six to twelve months, hair gradually returns to its previous trajectory, because PRP does nothing about the underlying cause of pattern loss. This is why it works best alongside minoxidil or finasteride, which address the driver rather than the symptom. Judge your course at six months against your baseline photographs, not against your memory of how your hair used to look. You can see standardised PRP comparisons in our hair transplant before and after gallery.