What is PRP treatment for hair loss?

PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) treatment for hair loss uses your body's own natural growth factors to revive thinning hair, strengthen follicles and boost new growth. The London PRP Clinic offers doctor-led PRP treatments for hair, scalp, and beard growth with proven results.

Does PRP work for beard growth?

Yes, PRP beard growth treatment is highly effective for filling patchy areas, enhancing beard density, and promoting thicker facial hair. Our doctor-led PRP beard treatment at £450 per session uses platelet-rich plasma to stimulate dormant hair follicles in the beard area.

How much does PRP treatment cost in London?

PRP treatment prices at The London PRP Clinic is £450 per session for PRP Hair or Beard PRP. We offer package discounts - for example, 3 PRP Hair sessions cost £1,215 (save £135).

What PRP services are available at The London PRP Clinic?

We offer PRP treatments for hair loss, beard growth, facial rejuvenation, under-eye treatment, knee joint pain, and scalp health. All treatments are doctor-led and evidence-based, delivered at our Marylebone clinic at 10 Portman Square, London.

How much does PRP cost for hair loss in London?

At The London PRP Clinic, PRP hair treatment costs £450 per session including clinician recommended aftercare. Most patients need 3-4 initial sessions (3-session course available at £1,215, saving £135). ExoRevive exosome treatment is £445 per session.

Does PRP really work for hair loss?

Yes, clinical studies show PRP is 70-90% effective for androgenetic alopecia. At our clinic, 87% of patients report significant improvement with an average 32% increase in hair density after 3-4 sessions. Results are best for Norwood stages 1-4.

What's better PRP or hair transplant?

PRP is ideal for early-stage hair loss (Norwood 1-4): non-surgical, no downtime, £450 per session. Hair transplants suit advanced loss (Norwood 5-7): permanent but surgical, 2-week recovery, £3,000-15,000. Many combine both for optimal results - PRP strengthens existing hair and enhances transplant survival.

How long do PRP results last?

PRP results typically last 12-18 months with proper maintenance. After initial 3-4 sessions, maintenance treatments every 6 months sustain results. Some patients using our combined protocol (PRP + supplements) report results lasting up to 2 years.

Is PRP painful for hair?

PRP involves minimal discomfort. We use topical numbing cream 30 minutes before treatment. Most patients rate pain as 2-3/10, describing it as 'mild pinching.' The entire procedure takes 60 minutes with no downtime - you can return to work immediately.

Can I wash my hair after PRP?

Wait 24 hours before washing your hair after PRP. Use lukewarm water and gentle shampoo for the first wash. Avoid swimming pools, saunas, and intense exercise for 48 hours. We provide detailed aftercare instructions and organic hair oil for optimal healing.

What are the newest hair loss treatments in 2025?

The newest effective hair loss treatments in 2025 include low-dose oral minoxidil (2.5-5mg daily), topical finasteride (0.25%), platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, and low-level laser therapy devices. Emerging treatments like JAK inhibitors and topical androgen receptor antagonists are showing promising results in clinical trials.

Does oral minoxidil work for hair loss?

Yes, low-dose oral minoxidil (2.5-5mg daily) has proven highly effective for both male and female pattern hair loss. Studies show it's particularly effective for overall thinning, with manageable side effects primarily limited to mild hypertrichosis (extra hair growth).

Is PRP effective for hair restoration?

Yes, PRP therapy has demonstrated significant improvement in hair count and thickness in clinical trials. Most patients see noticeable results after 3-4 sessions, using the body's own growth factors to stimulate dormant hair follicles.

What's the best hair loss treatment in London?

The best hair loss treatment depends on your specific condition, but combination therapy often yields optimal results. The London PRP Clinic offers personalised treatment plans combining PRP therapy with other evidence-based treatments. Book a free consultation to determine the best approach for your hair loss pattern.

How much does PRP hair treatment cost in London?

PRP hair treatment costs vary based on the number of sessions needed. The London PRP Clinic offers competitive pricing with free initial consultations. Contact us via WhatsApp for a personalised quote based on your specific treatment needs.

Finasteride Side Effects. What The Trial Evidence Actually Shows

22 Sept

Written By Sama Samy

Finasteride is the most effective single medication for male pattern hair loss and it carries a small but real excess risk of sexual side effects. In the pivotal 1-year trials, sexual adverse events occurred in 3.8% of men taking finasteride against 2.1% on placebo. In 2025 the European Medicines Agency added a warning about suicidal ideation to the label. Both facts are true, and you deserve them stated plainly rather than argued away or amplified.

Key points

In the pivotal trials, sexual adverse events were reported by 3.8% of men on finasteride against 2.1% on placebo, an excess of roughly 1.7 percentage points.
A meta-analysis of 15 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials found a relative risk of sexual dysfunction of 1.66 compared with placebo, with a confidence interval of 1.20 to 2.30.
In the 4-year PLESS trial of 3,040 men, drug-related sexual events were raised in year 1 at 15% against 7% on placebo, with no difference between groups in years 2 to 4.
In 2025 the European Medicines Agency added a suicidal ideation warning to the finasteride label and required a patient information card with every EU prescription.

Weighing finasteride against the alternatives? Message a GMC-registered doctor on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

What finasteride does, and how well

Finasteride blocks the enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, the androgen that progressively shrinks genetically sensitive scalp follicles. Lowering DHT slows or halts that process.

It is the most effective single medication available for male pattern hair loss, with roughly 80 to 90% of men stabilising or regrowing hair over 12 months of use, and a 2025 meta-analysis in Frontiers in Medicine reconfirmed that finasteride combined with minoxidil remains the strongest standard combination, outperforming either drug alone.

That efficacy is the context for everything below. A decision about side effects is only useful alongside a clear view of what you would be giving up.

The sexual side effect numbers

During treatment

The figures most often quoted come from the pivotal trials in male pattern hair loss. Sexual adverse events were reported by 3.8% of men taking finasteride 1mg against 2.1% on placebo, and pooled 1-year data put any sexual adverse event at roughly 4.2% against 2.2%. The difference attributable to the drug is therefore on the order of 2 percentage points across all categories combined, and smaller within any single category.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials found a relative risk of sexual dysfunction of 1.66 versus placebo, with a confidence interval of 1.20 to 2.30. A 2020 meta-analysis of 34 studies found that 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors carried a 1.87-fold risk of the cluster of adverse effects sometimes described as post-finasteride syndrome during the trial period.

Whether they persist

This is the part that dominates online discussion and where the evidence is least settled.

In the 4-year PLESS trial of 3,040 men, drug-related sexual events were more common on finasteride during year 1, at 15% against 7%, with no difference between the groups in years 2 to 4. A 2017 retrospective cohort of 4,284 men taking low-dose finasteride found persistent sexual symptoms in 0.8% at a median of 4 years after stopping, and of the men who experienced symptoms during treatment, around a third reported that they persisted.

Against that, other work has found that among men who stopped because of sexual dysfunction, persistence was actually greater in the placebo group, which argues against the drug being responsible in those cases.

The honest summary is that persistent symptoms after stopping are reported, are acknowledged in prescribing information, and remain poorly understood in terms of how often they occur and why some men are affected.

Want this discussed against your own situation? Ask our doctors on WhatsApp.

The 2025 regulatory change

In 2025 the European Medicines Agency added a warning about suicidal ideation to the finasteride label and introduced a requirement for a patient information card to accompany every prescription in the EU. That is a significant regulatory action and it should be part of any informed discussion.

There is a plausible mechanism. Finasteride crosses the blood-brain barrier and reduces production of allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid involved in mood and anxiety regulation, which offers a biological explanation for neuropsychiatric effects in susceptible individuals.

What this does not mean is that finasteride causes depression in most men who take it. It means the risk is now formally recognised, that anyone starting it should be told, and that any change in mood while taking it should be reported to your doctor rather than dismissed.

Two things worth knowing about the alternatives

Topical finasteride is not automatically safer

One randomised comparison reported treatment-related sexual adverse events in 2.8% of the topical group, 3.3% of the placebo group and 4.8% of the oral finasteride group, which is a reasonable signal that systemic exposure is lower.

It is not, however, zero. Finasteride is absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream, and in April 2025 the US Food and Drug Administration issued a specific warning about compounded topical finasteride, reporting 32 adverse event reports between 2019 and 2024. Most topical finasteride is compounded rather than a standardised licensed product, so formulations vary.

The nocebo effect is real and measurable

In one study, men counselled in advance about the possibility of sexual side effects reported them at a substantially higher rate than men who were not counselled. That does not mean the side effects are imaginary. It means expectation influences reporting, which is worth knowing when you read forum accounts, and it is an argument for accurate information rather than for withholding it.

If you decide against finasteride

This is a reasonable decision and plenty of men make it, particularly those on testosterone therapy for whom lowering DHT is the opposite of what they are trying to achieve.

The main hormone-free options are topical minoxidil, which works on the growth cycle and blood supply rather than hormones, and PRP, which uses growth factors concentrated from your own blood and has no hormonal action at all. PRP is supported by a 2025 meta-analysis in Dermatology and Therapy pooling 43 randomised controlled trials and 1,877 participants which found it increases hair density, and pooled data show PRP combined with minoxidil outperforms either alone.

The honest trade-off is that a plan without a DHT blocker is working against an ongoing hormonal pressure you have chosen not to reduce, so consistency and maintenance matter more. For many men that is an acceptable exchange, and it is their decision to make with the numbers in front of them.

Want a hormone-free plan? Message us on WhatsApp.

What treatment costs in London

Finasteride is inexpensive, whether prescribed privately or through an online service. Flagship Harley Street and Mayfair clinics commonly charge £600 to £850 or more per PRP session, and London practices generally charge 50 to 70 percent more than clinics outside the capital.

Our care is doctor-led and priced below those rates, with the figure for your plan confirmed after your free suitability review, and blood testing run from the same clinic.

The suitability review

Every enquiry begins with a free doctor-led suitability review rather than a booking. A GMC-registered doctor assesses your scalp with dermoscopy, reviews or arranges your bloods, and discusses the medication question properly rather than defaulting either way.

You then get one of two answers. Approved for treatment, with the options set out honestly including where finasteride would be the more effective choice and where a hormone-free plan is reasonable. Or not approved, which sometimes means a deficiency to correct first, or follicles that have already closed.

We neither push finasteride nor dismiss it. It is the most effective medication available and it carries a small excess risk, and which way that balance falls is yours to decide.

Why people choose The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness

The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness is a doctor-led, blood-test-first clinic treating from 10 Portman Square in Marylebone and the Light Centre in Belgravia. Every treatment is performed by GMC-registered doctors, and no clinician treats a patient here until they have completed 100 supervised treatments.

Across our work we report an 87 percent patient success rate, a 32 percent average density increase in hair restoration and more than 187 five-star reviews.

Book your free suitability review. Message us on WhatsApp, email team@thewellnesslondon.com, or call +44 20 3951 3429.

Frequently asked questions about finasteride side effects

How common are finasteride side effects?

In the pivotal trials, sexual adverse events occurred in 3.8% of men on finasteride against 2.1% on placebo, an excess of roughly 1.7 percentage points. A meta-analysis of 15 placebo-controlled trials found a relative risk of 1.66.

Do finasteride side effects go away?

Most resolve either on stopping or, in many cases, while continuing the medication. In the 4-year PLESS trial the excess was confined to year 1, with no difference between groups in years 2 to 4.

Is post-finasteride syndrome real?

Persistent symptoms after stopping are reported and acknowledged in prescribing information. One cohort of 4,284 men found persistent sexual symptoms in 0.8% at a median of 4 years after stopping. How often it occurs and why remain poorly understood.

What did the EMA change in 2025?

The European Medicines Agency added a warning about suicidal ideation to the finasteride label and required a patient information card with every EU prescription.

Is topical finasteride safer?

Systemic exposure appears lower, with one trial reporting sexual adverse events in 2.8% of the topical group against 4.8% on oral. It is not risk-free, and the FDA issued a warning about compounded topical finasteride in April 2025.

What are the alternatives if I do not want finasteride?

Topical minoxidil and PRP, neither of which has a hormonal action. PRP is supported by a 2025 meta-analysis of 43 randomised trials and 1,877 participants, and works best alongside minoxidil.

This article is for information and does not replace personal medical advice. Decisions about finasteride should be made with a doctor who knows your history. If you experience mood changes while taking finasteride, speak to your doctor. All treatments at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness are performed by GMC-registered doctors. Written and reviewed by the clinical team at The Wellness. Last updated September 2026.

Sama Samy