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 £395 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 range from £395 for PRP Hair Signature or Beard PRP single sessions, to £545 for comprehensive treatments. We offer package discounts - for example, 3 PRP Hair sessions cost £1,085 (save £100).

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, Canary Wharf, and Belgravia London locations.

How much does PRP cost for hair loss in London?

At The London PRP Clinic, PRP hair treatment costs £545 per session including Viviscal™ supplements and organic oils. Most patients need 3-4 initial sessions (package available at £1,500, 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, £545 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.

The Hair Loss Blood Panel. Why Normal Does Not Mean Optimal

2 Sept

Written By Omar Elalfy

Most people investigating hair loss are told their bloods are normal, and most of the time the tests were either incomplete or interpreted against the wrong target. A laboratory reference range describes the population, not what a hair follicle needs to produce a thick hair. Ferritin is the clearest example, where a result comfortably inside the normal range can still be far below the level associated with good hair growth.

Key points

A reference range is built so that around 95 percent of a reference population falls inside it. It is not a statement about what is optimal for hair.
Ferritin is the marker most often misread. Many clinicians treating hair loss aim considerably higher than the lower limit of normal before expecting a good response.
TSH alone is not a thyroid test for hair purposes, since free T4, free T3 and thyroid antibodies frequently reveal what TSH misses.
Correcting what is found is often cheaper and more effective than any scalp treatment, and it is what makes PRP work when it is used.

Want your bloods read properly? Message a GMC-registered doctor on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

‍ ‍

Why normal is the wrong bar

Laboratory reference ranges are statistical. They are constructed so that roughly 95 percent of a reference population sits inside them, which means they describe what is common rather than what is ideal, and they are not disease thresholds or treatment targets.

‍ For most purposes that is fine. For hair it is not, because the follicle is one of the most metabolically demanding structures in the body and it is deprioritised when resources are short. Hair is, in evolutionary terms, optional. When iron, thyroid hormone or protein are limited, the body maintains the heart and the brain and lets the hair thin. That is why hair often becomes the first visible sign of a deficiency that has not yet caused any other symptom, and why a result that is technically normal can still be the reason your hair is not responding.

‍ ‍As our doctors put it, "normal means you are not ill, it does not mean your follicles have what they need."

‍ ‍

The panel that should be run‍ ‍

Free and complete, so you can take this to any doctor.

Iron status. Ferritin, plus serum iron, transferrin saturation and total iron binding capacity. Ferritin alone can be misleading because it rises with inflammation, so it should be interpreted alongside CRP and the rest of the iron studies. This is the single most important group of markers in women with diffuse thinning.‍ ‍

Thyroid. TSH, free T4, free T3 and thyroid peroxidase antibodies. A normal TSH with positive antibodies and borderline free T4 is a meaningfully different clinical picture from a normal TSH alone, and it is one that TSH-only testing will never show you.

Vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate and zinc. All four are common deficiencies and all four affect the hair cycle.

Metabolic and general. Full blood count, HbA1c, kidney and liver function, and CRP as the inflammation marker that contextualises ferritin.

Hormonal. In women, testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin and the calculated free androgen index, plus DHEAS and prolactin, which together identify androgen-driven thinning including that seen in polycystic ovary syndrome. In men, testosterone and SHBG where symptoms suggest it, particularly for anyone on testosterone therapy.

Want this panel run and interpreted? Ask our doctors on WhatsApp.

The markers most often misread

Ferritin is first. The lower limit of a laboratory range is set to identify iron deficiency anaemia, not to support hair growth, and clinicians treating hair loss generally work to a substantially higher target before they expect a good response. A woman told her ferritin is fine at a value just above the lower limit has frequently been given a technically correct answer to the wrong question.‍ ‍

Thyroid is second. TSH-only testing is the standard first-line approach in general practice and it is reasonable for detecting overt thyroid disease. For hair it is inadequate, because the relationship between TSH and how the follicle is actually functioning is not tight, and antibody-positive thyroid disease can affect hair before TSH moves meaningfully.

Vitamin D is third, where sufficiency thresholds vary and results at the lower end of adequate are routinely reported as normal.

The pattern across all three is the same. The test was ordered to exclude disease and it did that job correctly. It was not ordered to ask whether this person's follicles have what they need, which is a different question requiring different thresholds and someone who understands the difference.

‍ ‍

What to do with the results‍ ‍

Correction first, then treatment. If a deficiency is found, it is addressed and given time to work, because hair responds to corrected iron or thyroid function over months rather than weeks and a scalp treatment layered on top of an uncorrected deficiency underperforms.

Where treatment is then appropriate, PRP is well evidenced for pattern hair loss, supported by a 2025 meta-analysis in Dermatology and Therapy pooling 43 randomised controlled trials and 1,877 participants finding it increases hair density, and pooled data show PRP combined with minoxidil outperforms either alone.‍ ‍

The order matters more than the ingredients. Injecting growth factors into a scalp starved of iron is the most common reason people tell us PRP did not work for them elsewhere. Test, correct, then treat, and the same treatment performs very differently.‍ ‍

What testing costs, and what you are paying for

The market splits sharply. Direct-to-consumer finger-prick kits and supermarket-tier health checks run £169 to £400 for 20 to 40 markers, usually with an automated report and no doctor attached. At the other end, insurer and hospital comprehensive assessments sit around £1,129 to £1,199, and multi-day executive programmes at the Harley Street executive health centres reach £14,000.

The relevant difference is not the marker count. It is whether the panel was chosen for hair, whether the thresholds applied are hair thresholds rather than disease thresholds, and whether a doctor who can prescribe and treat is the one reading it. A 60-marker report with a green tick next to a ferritin of 20 has answered the wrong question at any price.

At The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness, testing is run from our own clinic, ordered and interpreted by GMC-registered doctors who also perform the treatment, with your panel and the exact figure confirmed at your free suitability review. For comparison on the treatment side, flagship Harley Street and Mayfair clinics commonly charge £600 to £850 or more per PRP session.

‍ ‍

Ask what your panel would cover. Message us on WhatsApp.

‍ ‍

The suitability review‍ ‍

Every enquiry begins with a free doctor-led suitability review rather than a booking. A GMC-registered doctor examines your scalp with dermoscopy, reviews any existing blood results you have including from your GP, and arranges what is missing.‍ ‍

You then get one of two answers. Approved for treatment, with a plan that sequences correction and treatment properly and sets expectations for three, six and twelve months. Or not approved, which frequently means your hair loss is being driven by something correctable and the right first step is not an injection at all. We say that regularly, and it is why our reported outcomes hold.

Bring any results you already have. A great deal of the value we add is reading tests you have already paid for against the right targets.

‍ ‍

Why people choose The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness‍ ‍

We are doctor-led and blood-test-first, which for hair is not a slogan but the clinical requirement. Testing, interpretation, prescribing and treatment sit with one medical team, so nothing is lost between a laboratory report and a plan.

Every treatment is performed by GMC-registered doctors, no clinician treats a patient here until they have completed 100 supervised treatments, and we train other clinicians through our Academy. 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 hair loss blood tests‍ ‍

Which blood tests should I have for hair loss?‍ ‍

Full iron studies including ferritin, full thyroid function with antibodies rather than TSH alone, vitamin D, B12, folate, zinc, full blood count, HbA1c, CRP, and hormonal markers including testosterone, SHBG and the free androgen index where relevant.

My results were normal, so why is my hair thinning?‍ ‍

Reference ranges describe the population rather than what a follicle needs, so a result can be technically normal and still too low to support good hair growth. Ferritin is the most common example.

‍ ‍

Why is TSH alone not enough?

TSH detects overt thyroid disease but does not fully describe thyroid function, and antibody-positive disease with borderline free T4 can affect hair while TSH still reads normal.

‍ ‍

Should I correct deficiencies before starting PRP?

Yes. A scalp treatment applied to a follicle short of iron or affected by thyroid dysfunction underperforms, which is the most common reason people report PRP not working elsewhere.

‍ ‍

How long until corrected bloods improve my hair?‍ ‍

Months rather than weeks, because the hair cycle is slow. Improvement is usually assessed at three and six months.

‍ ‍

Can you use blood tests I have already had?‍ ‍

Yes. Bring anything you have, including GP results. Much of the value is in reading existing tests against hair-specific targets rather than repeating them.

‍ ‍

This article is for information and does not replace personal medical advice. Interpretation of blood results should be individualised by a doctor who knows your history, and optimal targets differ between individuals. All treatments at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness are performed by GMC-registered doctors. Reviewed by Dr Sam.

 <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/#organization", "name": "The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness", "alternateName": "The London PRP Clinic", "url": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com", "logo": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/logo.png", "email": "team@thewellnesslondon.com", "telephone": "+442039513429", "sameAs": ["https://thewellnesslondon.com", "https://www.instagram.com/londonprpclinic/"] }, { "@type": "MedicalClinic", "@id": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/#clinic", "name": "The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness", "medicalSpecialty": "Dermatology", "priceRange": "£££", "telephone": "+442039513429", "email": "team@thewellnesslondon.com", "areaServed": "London", "parentOrganization": {"@id": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/#organization"}, "address": [ {"@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Marylebone", "addressRegion": "London", "addressCountry": "GB"}, {"@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Canary Wharf", "addressRegion": "London", "addressCountry": "GB"} ], "availableService": [ {"@type": "MedicalTest", "name": "Hair loss blood panel"}, {"@type": "MedicalProcedure", "name": "PRP for hair loss"} ], "aggregateRating": {"@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.9", "reviewCount": "187", "bestRating": "5"} }, { "@type": "MedicalWebPage", "name": "The Hair Loss Blood Panel. Why Normal Does Not Mean Optimal", "description": "A GMC-registered doctor explains which blood tests matter in hair loss, why laboratory reference ranges are not hair growth targets, which markers are most often misread, and how correction should precede treatment.", "datePublished": "2026-07-01", "dateModified": "2026-07-01", "lastReviewed": "2026-07-01", "inLanguage": "en-GB", "medicalAudience": "https://schema.org/Patient", "about": [{"@type": "MedicalTest", "name": "Blood test"}, {"@type": "MedicalCondition", "name": "Hair loss"}], "mainEntityOfPage": {"@id": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/#clinic"}, "publisher": {"@id": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/#organization"}, "author": {"@type": "Organization", "name": "The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness medical team"}, "reviewedBy": { "@type": "Person", "name": "[GMC-REGISTERED DOCTOR NAME, GMC NUMBER TO CONFIRM]", "jobTitle": "GMC-registered doctor", "worksFor": {"@id": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/#organization"}, "hasCredential": {"@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "credentialCategory": "GMC registration"} }, "speakable": {"@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": ["h1", "h2"]} }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ {"@type": "Question", "name": "Which blood tests should I have for hair loss?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Full iron studies including ferritin, full thyroid function with antibodies rather than TSH alone, vitamin D, B12, folate, zinc, full blood count, HbA1c, CRP, and hormonal markers including testosterone, SHBG and the free androgen index where relevant."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "My hair loss blood results were normal, so why is my hair thinning?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Reference ranges describe the population rather than what a follicle needs, so a result can be technically normal and still too low to support good hair growth. Ferritin is the most common example."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "Why is TSH alone not enough for hair loss?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "TSH detects overt thyroid disease but does not fully describe thyroid function, and antibody-positive disease with borderline free T4 can affect hair while TSH still reads normal."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "Should I correct deficiencies before starting PRP?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. A scalp treatment applied to a follicle short of iron or affected by thyroid dysfunction underperforms, which is the most common reason people report PRP not working elsewhere."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "How long until corrected bloods improve my hair?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Months rather than weeks, because the hair cycle is slow. Improvement is usually assessed at three and six months."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "Can you use blood tests I have already had?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Bring anything you have, including GP results. Much of the value is in reading existing tests against hair-specific targets rather than repeating them."}} ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com"}, {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Hair Loss", "item": "https://thelondonprpclinic.com/blogs/what-type-of-hair-loss-do-i-have-london"}, {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "The Hair Loss Blood Panel"} ] } ] } </script>

Omar Elalfy