Medical and injectable treatment to slow loss and improve existing hair.
Hair loss management uses medical treatment, injectables and scalp care to slow loss and improve the hair you still have. It works best early, before density has dropped substantially. Results take months to appear and need to be continued, because stopping usually reverses the gain.
Hair loss is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Pattern hair loss is the commonest, but thyroid disorder, iron deficiency, recent illness, crash dieting, certain medicines and scalp disease all cause shedding, and each needs a different answer.
This is why assessment starts with history, examination of the scalp and usually blood tests, rather than with a prescription. Treating pattern loss in someone who actually has iron deficiency wastes months and leaves the real problem untouched.
Two medical treatments have solid evidence behind them, one topical and one oral. Both slow loss and can thicken existing hair. Both need to be continued, because the benefit reverses within months of stopping. Neither regrows hair on an area that has been bald for years.
Platelet rich plasma involves injecting a concentrate from your own blood into the scalp. Evidence suggests modest benefit in early thinning, usually as an addition to medical treatment rather than a replacement. Anyone presenting it as a cure for advanced baldness is overselling it.
Nothing here works quickly. Shedding may briefly increase in the first weeks, improvement is visible at three to six months, and the real assessment point is twelve. Judging any treatment before six months leads people to abandon something that was working.
Where loss is advanced, medical treatment maintains what remains but will not restore density. At that point a transplant is the honest answer, and medical treatment continues alongside it to protect the untransplanted hair.
| Factor | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Investigations | Blood tests to exclude thyroid, iron and other treatable causes |
| Medical treatment | Ongoing topical or oral treatment, priced monthly |
| PRP sessions | Usually a course of sessions, then maintenance |
| Review visits | Assessment at three, six and twelve months |
| Duration | Treatment is continuous, so cost is ongoing rather than one-off |
These pages answer the questions that most often come up alongside this one.
Because treatment is ongoing rather than a single procedure, cost is usually monthly for medicines plus the cost of any PRP course. Initial blood tests are a one-off. An estimate covering the first year is given after assessment.
Shedding may briefly increase in the first few weeks, which is expected. Visible improvement usually appears at three to six months, and the proper assessment point is twelve months. Judging earlier than six months is misleading.
The benefit is usually lost within months, and hair returns to the pattern it would have followed anyway. This is worth knowing before starting, because it is a long-term commitment rather than a course.
Evidence supports modest benefit in early thinning, generally as an addition to medical treatment. It is not a substitute for it and it does not regrow hair on long-standing bald areas. Claims beyond that are not supported.
Topical and oral treatments are not. PRP involves injections into the scalp, which are uncomfortable for a few minutes. Local anaesthetic cream or a cooling device reduces this considerably.
Not once follicles have been lost for a long period. Treatment slows further loss and can thicken hair that is still present. Restoring density in a bald area needs transplantation.
Topical treatment can cause scalp irritation and, uncommonly, unwanted hair growth elsewhere. Oral treatment carries a small risk of sexual side effects in men, which usually resolve on stopping. Both are discussed properly before prescribing.
Treatment for pattern hair loss is cosmetic and not covered. Where hair loss results from a diagnosed medical condition, investigation of that condition may be covered under your policy.
Published with written patient consent and shown for education rather than promotion. Every case is different and these images are not a promise of results.
Consultations at Kiran Hospital, Katargam, Surat. Outstation and NRI patients can request a video consultation before travelling.