PRP is a non-surgical injection treatment using your own blood. A small sample is drawn, spun in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets, then injected into the scalp where you're thinning. It's not a transplant. It doesn't add follicles. What it can do — for the right patient — is slow loss and modestly thicken the hair you still have. Multi-session, cumulative, and most useful as part of a maintenance routine alongside finasteride or minoxidil.
What PRP actually is.
A small blood draw (usually 30-60 ml) is run through a centrifuge to separate the platelet-rich plasma from the rest of the blood. The PRP is then injected into the scalp at multiple points across the thinning area. The active ingredient is a cocktail of growth factors released by the platelets, which appear to stimulate the existing follicles and slow miniaturisation in some patients.
A typical course is 3-4 sessions, 4-6 weeks apart, with maintenance sessions every 6-12 months thereafter. Single sessions are largely useless — the cumulative effect is what matters.
The clinical evidence is moderate but mixed: meta-analyses show meaningful improvement in hair density and thickness in androgenetic alopecia patients, but the effect size is much smaller than transplant or finasteride. PRP is best understood as adjunct maintenance, not as a primary treatment.
The price comparison.
| Setting | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $600-1,200 / session | 3-4 sessions for a full course |
| Istanbul, Turkey | $200-300 / session | Available at most network clinics |
| Mexico | $350-500 / session | Available at premium partners |
| Budapest, Hungary | $250-400 / session | Available at all three Budapest partners |
Per-graft pricing is for the procedure only. Travel (flights + hotel + transfers) adds $400-3,000 depending on origin and destination. Final pricing comes from the surgeon after photo review.
When PRP makes sense — and when it doesn't.
PRP makes sense as an entry point for early-stage thinning (NW2-3) patients who aren't ready for transplant and want to slow loss while they decide. It also makes sense as maintenance after a transplant to support graft survival and the surrounding native hair.
It does not make sense as a substitute for transplant in moderate-to-advanced loss (NW4+). The marketing of "non-surgical hair restoration" is misleading at those stages — PRP can't regrow hair where the follicle has miniaturised past the point of recovery. If you're NW4 or above and someone's selling you a $5,000 PRP package as an alternative to transplant, walk away.
It also doesn't make much sense to fly internationally for PRP alone. The savings vs. US prices ($200-400/session abroad vs. $600-1,200/session at home) don't cover the flight unless you're combining it with another procedure or are local to the destination already.
How long does it take?
A single session is about 90 minutes from blood draw to walk-out. Most patients combine PRP with another procedure visit (a transplant trip) and pay for one or two sessions while they're already in town. Standalone PRP-only trips are 1-2 days. The full course requires returning every 4-6 weeks for 3-4 visits, which is why local US-based PRP usually makes more sense for the standalone case.
What we coordinate.
Most patients we route into PRP are combining it with a transplant trip — either a session before to "prep" the scalp, or a session 4-6 weeks after to support graft survival. Felix will discuss this in the conversation. For standalone PRP-only courses, we're honest: a local US dermatologist is usually the better choice unless you're already in Istanbul, Mexico, or Budapest for other reasons.