PRP is a three-step process, involving usually 3 treatments, each set 4-6 weeks apart from the other. Any therapy involving injection runs the risk of injury to vessels and nerves, infections, scarring of tissue and potential calcification at points of injection. Due to these risks, many individuals who have thinned blood, history of alcobhol abuse or the diagnosis of diseases that affect the blood have increased risk when engaging in a PRP procedure. Due to the lack of thorough research in these fields, effects could be more severe than we could imagine. PRP is the only hair loss treatment that involves the injection of modified blood, other methods do not operate in the same extensive field of risks of blood transfusion.

Due to limitations surrounding studies on PRP hair therapy, such as small sample sizes and the tendency for technique and protocol to vary amongst doctors, researchers are unable to determine to what degree PRP on its own is effective. Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP), on the other hand, is a guaranteed and permanent solution with significantly lower risks. No blood is modified or injected, instead each hair follicle is accounted for and tattooed over to create a permanent hairline. While people with certain health risks may be unable to safely attempt PRP therapy, virtually anyone can undergo SMP procedures. Even patients with extremely sensitive skin or scarring on their scalps can do SMP, and the health of an individual’s blood is unrelated to the SMP process, unlike PRP which is dependent on healthy blood. Overall, SMP provides a safer and more researched solution, whereas PRP hair therapy involves a high degree of uncertainty and lack of research.