Hair Loss Blood Tests in London: What to Check, What the Results Mean, and Why They Come First
Reviewed by The Wellness Team.
Before any hair loss treatment, the most useful question is not which treatment to buy. It is what is causing the loss. A meaningful share of the people we assess have a correctable driver behind their shedding, and no treatment applied to the surface of the scalp will fix a problem in the blood.
At The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness, a targeted hair loss blood panel is £495 and the full comprehensive panel is £595. For most people this is the best first investment in their hair, because it decides what should actually come next.
To talk it through with the clinic, message WhatsApp or call 020 3951 3429.
Why bloods come before treatment
Hair follicles are among the most metabolically active cells in the body, and they answer quickly to shortages elsewhere. Low iron stores, an underactive or overactive thyroid, low vitamin D, hormonal shifts and systemic illness can each produce shedding that no serum, supplement or injection will correct while the driver remains.
This is why we assess before we treat. A session of PRP spent on a scalp whose owner is iron deficient is money spent in the wrong order. Correct the deficiency first and the follicles often recover on their own. Where they do not, treatment then starts on solid ground.
What the panel checks
UK primary care guidance, including the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries on male and female pattern hair loss, supports checking a focused set of markers when hair loss is investigated. Our panels are built around the markers that change management.
Iron stores. Ferritin is the marker that matters most, and it can be low long before haemoglobin drops. We have written separately about low ferritin and hair loss, because it is one of the most common correctable findings in our clinic.
Thyroid function. Both an underactive and an overactive thyroid can shed hair diffusely. A simple TSH and free T4 settles it, and the detail is in our piece on thyroid-related hair loss.
Vitamin D. Low levels are common in the UK and associated with increased shedding. The evidence is summarised in our guide to vitamin D and hair loss.
Full blood count, B12 and folate. To exclude anaemia and the less common deficiencies that show up as shedding.
Hormonal markers where the pattern suggests them. For women with features of androgen excess, or where the history points that way, targeted hormones join the panel. This is where the full comprehensive panel earns its place.
Reading the results properly
A result outside the reference range is not automatically the cause of your hair loss, and a normal result does not prove the bloods are blameless. Ferritin is the classic example. Many laboratories call 15 normal, while hair specialists look for meaningfully higher stores before they are satisfied. This is why your results are reviewed by a doctor who treats hair, not read off a portal.
What happens after
If a driver is found, we correct it, often with your GP or our doctors guiding the replacement, and we recheck at the right interval. If the bloods are clear, the diagnosis narrows and the treatment conversation becomes honest. For pattern hair loss that is where PRP has its best evidence, and we will tell you plainly whether you are the kind of case it tends to help.
To arrange a panel, message WhatsApp, call 020 3951 3429 or email concierge@thelondonprpclinic.com.
Questions people ask
Do I need blood tests before PRP?
We recommend them for most people with shedding rather than slow pattern thinning. If a correctable driver is behind the loss, treating it first gives you the best chance of regrowth and stops you spending on treatment you may not need. Where the picture is clearly pattern hair loss and recent bloods are already normal, we will say so.
Which blood tests matter most for hair loss?
Ferritin and thyroid function are the two that change management most often, followed by vitamin D, a full blood count, B12 and folate. Hormonal markers are added when the pattern or history suggests them. The full comprehensive panel covers the wider set in one draw.
How much do hair loss blood tests cost?
A targeted hair loss blood panel is £495 and the full comprehensive panel is £595. Results come back with a doctor's review and a clear plan, not a printout.
How long until I can act on the results?
Most panels are reported and reviewed within days. If something needs correcting, treatment of the deficiency starts immediately, and hair typically responds over the following three to six months as follicles re-enter the growth phase.