Having focused on the use of ACell + PRP since 2011, I have an established status as a pioneer in the application of ACell+PRP for the non-surgical treatment of male and female pattern hair loss. Over the course of several years, and extensive research on hair loss in hundreds of patients from around the world each year, I developed unique formulations for ACell+PRP with corresponding treatment protocols for hair loss categories based on a classification system that I developed.
This process of matching hair loss profiles with customized treatment formulations, delivery methods, and treatment and follow-up schedules evolved into the TrichoStem Hair Regeneration system. We treat a wide range of male, and female pattern hair loss patients, with over 99% experiencing significant improvement in scalp coverage. This means that I unintentionally created the first significant treatment for hair loss since finasteride was introduced in the late 1990s.
In my daily practice, TrichoStem Hair Regeneration has become the gold standard for combining an extracellular matrix by ACell with platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, as I’ve yet to come across a more effective therapy. TrichoStem Hair Regeneration treatment has become so popular in the last decade that some medical practices are offering generic, and limited ACell+PRP treatments.
These other ACell+PRP treatments are marketed as if they are performing the same function as ours. Unfortunately for their patients, they are not, and the results, or lack thereof, lead many people who have used these generic treatments to come to our offices for more advanced hair loss management. I’ll explain how TrichoStem Hair Regeneration differs from other ACell+PRP treatments and how you can improve your scalp coverage without having to endure painful scalp injections every month.
I used extracellular matrix by ACell as part of a strategy to improve the healing of hair grafts and the area where the hair grafts were harvested. This substance is used to boost the response of your body’s own stem cells to aid in wound healing. In my practice, I use Acellular matrix on my facelift incisions to optimize healing and reduce the visibility of the healed incisions. When I used this material during a hair transplant, I was surprised to see that native hairs that had not been transplanted increased in number and thickness.
By investigating the possibility of using this material to treat male, and female pattern hair loss non-surgically, I decided to challenge the conventional approach to treating hair loss with surgical hair transplant enhanced by Acellular matrix. The difficulty was achieving predictability and consistency, soI worked on formulations, delivery methods, treatment timing, and other variables for several years before I was able to achieve consistent and predictable improvement for male, and female pattern hair loss.
ACell + PRP Success Rate
Many people who have hair loss first learned about ACell+PRP from our TrichoStem Hair Regeneration videos, and websites. They mistakenly assumed that other ACell+PRP treatments would produce the same results as our TrichoStem Hair Regeneration patients.
They did not achieve the same results, and when they came in to see me, they inquired as to why. They wonder what makes you different from the other doctors who offer ACell+PRP. I explain that the solution is to understand your specific type of hair loss and which formulation, and method is best for you. What does this imply? Let’s start with ACell’s extracellular matrix, which is an important component of TrichoStem Hair Regeneration.
What is ECM by ACell?
Extracellular matrix, or ECM, is a cutting-edge wound healing material first used by the United States military to help regenerate lost tissue from combat injuries. ECM, which is made from processed porcine bladder, has an extraordinary ability to stimulate your body’s own stem cells to regenerate tissue after injury. It was used to regenerate an amputated fingertip, restoring the bone, skin, soft tissue, and even the fingerprint.
Understanding how to apply this material for the best results proved difficult to achieve because the material is a fine powder that required special instrumentation to measure, mix, and deliver. The question that was always raised was how much material was required to achieve the best results, and how much was too little. I also noticed that too much ECM caused a lot of inflammation and, on occasion, excessive hair shedding.
Unlike most hair transplant doctors, who only perform hair transplant surgery with their technicians doing the majority of the work, I perform a wide range of cosmetic and reconstructive surgical procedures from start to finish.
While using Acellular matrix for abdominal incisions, facelifts, and even to regenerate lost tissue in the ear and nose, I gained a lot of clinical experience with the material. After varying the material application, I learned a lot about the behavior of different types of tissue.
Since extracellular matrix is a fine powder, the technical aspects of measuring and mixing were always difficult. I constantly incorporated knowledge gained from ongoing surgical application experience using precision measurements, mixing, and delivery strategies. It took months to years to determine the most effective weights, volumes, and ratios for treating hair loss. As you might expect, there were numerous difficulties and setbacks along the way.
TrichoStem Hair Regeneration vs ACell+PRP Injection for Hair Loss
TrichoStem Hair Regeneration patients usually only need one treatment session to see a significant increase in hair growth and thicker hair. We also perform another treatment at 18-24 months after, depending on your hair loss classification, to further thicken hairs that are responsive to a second treatment. For the past decade and more, we’ve seen these effects last for 3-5 years, and even longer.
So, why do all of these medical providers offering ACell+PRP treatments require multiple treatment sessions, typically every 1-3 months in the first year, followed by continuous maintenance sessions in the second year? It appears that the approach being offered is a generically limited formulation with no regard for your specific hair loss profile. Based on what I’ve learned from these people’s so-called mentors, I believe the patients are being treated with just PRP, with just a sprinkling of ACell’s extracellular matrix powder to make the claim that it’s an ACell+PRP treatment.
This generic approach also means that treatment is the same whether you are a 21-year-old male with advanced hair loss, or a 50-year-old woman with mild to moderate hair loss. This is what I call a “shotgun approach”, when everyone is treated the same, with little to no understanding of individual differences. A cursory examination reveals that these practices are more concerned with transactions rather than with patient outcomes.
I have a particular distaste for this way of working since treating hair loss is very different from someone trying Botox for the first time. People who seek medical attention for hair loss are especially vulnerable, and have much higher emotional stakes, which must be taken seriously. I assure the people I see that the formulations of TrichoStem Hair Regeneration are based on each individual patient’s unique hair loss classification.
This customized formulation is based on an algorithm that I spent years developing, which considers individual hair loss factors such as age, gender, age of onset of hair loss, degree of hair loss, and other factors such as previous hair loss treatments, and use of hair loss medications such as finasteride. Since most ACell+PRP treatments are basically just PRP with a little extracellular matrix added so they can charge for ACell+PRP, these treatments must be repeated every 1-3 months, just like regular PRP injections.
You’d think that the addition of Acellular matrix would result in fewer treatment sessions than PRP alone, but that’s not the case. Many of these practices have no prior experience with hair loss management, so they simply decided to jump on the bandwagon and add another service to their menu of offerings.
As I previously discussed, the importance of being sensitive to the emotional aspects of hair loss distinguishes TrichoStem Hair Regeneration from medical practices that offer ACell+PRP. I make a long-term commitment when I accept a new patient for hair loss treatment. We follow up with our patients after the first month of treatment, then every three months, six months, and every six months for the next two years.
These same patients pay for flights and hotel stays in order to receive our treatment. We have a large number of patients who come to us from other countries, despite the fact that Acell PRP is available where they live. I also find it interesting when it comes to cost, how much does it cost for you to take time from work or from your personal life to go every month to 3 months to have scalp injections? Not to mention the constant pain and inconvenience of having multiple injections in the scalp. Successful people understand the value of our treatment, and come to us because of the unparalleled level of work we’ve done.
One important aspect of hair loss is to recognize that, because there is no cure for hair loss, a strategy must be developed to maximize your scalp coverage for as long as your genetics will allow. I evaluate the other aspects of each patient’s hair loss that can be optimized with medical management in addition to our customized injection treatment.
Trichostem Hair Regeneration New York and Virginia
When you see our TrichoStem Hair Regeneration treatment results, keep in mind that the same results are unlikely to be obtained with generically dispensed ACell+PRP treatments on the market. Any other practice offering ACell+PRP does not have access to the algorithm I developed, which allows me to customize each treatment for an individual based on their age of onset of hair loss, current age, gender, and hair loss pattern.
Unlike these transaction-driven medical retailers, TrichoStem Hair Regeneration is a long-term commitment to help you maximize the outcomes we can achieve for you for as long as possible, if you are a candidate for treatment.
The medical retail industry generates a lot of misinformation in order to create false equivalencies. A laser or thread lift, for example, does not replace a facelift, but marketers use very slick ads to make you believe that you can take a cheap shortcut. If you ask about ACell+PRP in my office, I’ll be the first to tell you that it’s TrichoStem Hair Regeneration, not ACell+PRP.