Different treatments have been developed for hair loss that people experience. Some of these treatments have really effective results. Do you know that one of them is stem cell treatment? Most probably, you might have heard about stem cell treatment before. However, very few people know that it is used for hair loss as well. In this article, we will answer the question of what the effect of this treatment on hair loss is.
Does stem cell treatment work in hair loss? Can stem cell treatment be an alternative to hair transplantation? All the details are in our article…
Table of Contents
What is Stem Cell Treatment for Hair?
Hair loss has different reasons. However, whatever the reason is, hair follicles and strands get weak first. Hair loss occurs later. Therefore, the quickest way to stop hair loss is to strengthen the hair follicles.
Stem cell treatment of hair; it is a kind of treatment in which the fat removed from the individual’s own body is processed.
- In the clinical setting, a specific amount of fat is removed from a part of patient’s body under the control of a specialist doctor.
- Next, this fat is enriched using special methods and it is made ready to be injected.
- In the final stage, it is injected to the scalp by using local anesthetic creams. In this way, it is aimed to eliminate the weakness in the hair.
This treatment is defined as the individual’s recovery with his/her own cells. The application done to hair is an example of this. Individual’s own fat is used to nourish and repair the hair. In this way, no extraneous substance enters the body and there appears the chance of recovery with natural methods.
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Who is Hair Stem Cell Treatment Applied to?
Hair stem cell treatment can be applied to anyone having weakening in his/her hair. Today, hair is weakened seriously due to factors such as unhealthy nutrition, hereditary traits and environmental conditions. If the precautions are not taken on time, loss of the weakened hair will be inevitable. Generally, this loss is irreversible. After a while, the individual may become bald. Therefore, individuals in this situation should consider this treatment.
In order to apply the stem cell treatment, there has to be either hair or hair follicles. To put it more clearly, this treatment does not have any effect on bald people. It is not wrong to define it as a treatment developed for those who do not want to become bald. There is no gender difference for this application. Only condition is to be over 18. Stem cell treatment is not applied for younger people.
How is Stem Cell Treatment Applied to Hair?
It is explained above, in general terms, how the process is applied. More detailed explanation will be useful for those who are considering this method.
First of all, you should come to our clinic and have your hair evaluated. In this evaluation, the problems in your hair will be determined. Thus, it will be decided if you are suitable for this treatment. If you are, then treatment planning will be made by your approval.
Here, the main purpose is to obtain stem cell from the individual’s body. Stem cells are generally obtained from places such as blood tissue, umbilical cord, bone marrow and infant tooth. In the application for hair, stem cells are obtained from fat. Therefore, first of all, fat is removed from a specific point or points from the individual’s body. The removed fat tissue is then taken to a special laboratory and it is processed with the devices there. Here, the aim is to separate the stem cells from the fat tissue. After this stage, the stem cells obtained are then injected to the scalp.
Local anesthesia is applied to the scalp before the injection process. This is carried out with creams. In this way, the patient does not feel any pain during the process.
Although, stem cell treatment gives extremely effective results, it can be expressed as a long process. Especially, the separation of the fat cells and obtaining stem cells from them take time. Because some clinics do not have the devices used in this process, it may take 1 to 3 weeks.
How Long Does Stem Cell Treatment for Hair Take?
There are a couple of steps in this process. These steps may be listed as follows:
- Removing fat from the body
- Processing the fat and separating the stem cells.
- Injection of the stem cells to the scalp
Normally, the stages do not take much time. Removal of fat is a process which takes on average 20 minutes. The separation process takes an hour or a little more than an hour. But, the clinics that do not have the necessary devices have to carry out the separation process in other laboratories. Because of this reason, the duration of the process may be much longer. The final process, which is the injection of the separated and enriched stem cells, takes 10 minutes. Considering the total time, it can be said that the treatment is completed in around 90 minutes. In this process, all the stem cells are injected and a different session is not required. This means the process is completed in a single session.
When Are the Effects of Stem Cell Treatment Seen?
First of all, it should be noted that this treatment does not have the same effect on everyone. Because, the reasons of their hair weakening, hormonal structure, age, gender or general health condition are different. This may, in return, cause difference in the effect of the treatment. But, in general, it can be said that the treatment starts to show its effect after a month. The stem cells renew themselves over time and this allows hair to renew itself too.
This treatment does not work for all types of hair loss! Especially, it is ineffective for hair loss because of fluctuations in the hormone level or hormonal disorders. In such situations, the solution is to normalize the hormone level. Apart from this situation, it gives effective results for other hair losses. It stops hair loss due to use of medication, malnutrition of hair, environmental factors and similar reasons.
Hair Transplantation or Stem Cell Treatment?
Stem cell treatment is a very effective method. However, it is certainly not an alternative to hair transplantation. Because in hair transplantation, hair is transplanted to bald areas. But in stem cell treatment, the aim is to strengthen the existing hair. This means they are completely different treatments.
Stem cell treatment can also be applied to people who had hair transplantation. In this way, the grafts become healthier and stronger. This, in return, increases the success of hair transplantation.