Nanofat Injection for Hair Restoration
Hair loss can affect both men and women, leading to thinning hair, a receding hair line, and patches of baldness on the scalp.
One option for non-surgical hair restoration is the use of nanofat injections which uses your own fat, or adipose cells. These contain the building blocks of new life – stem cells. These stem cells are transferred to your scalp to stimulate new hair growth.
The nanofat is extracted from the fat layer just below the skin in your stomach, thighs or buttocks. It is special because it contains something called adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction and it is this which contains special mesenchymal stem cells and growth factors. These are used to repair and heal damaged tissue so that we can stimulate the production of new hairs within dormant hair follicles by improving the health of the hair follicles once again.
The adipose-derived mixture contains various growth factors which all have important roles and regenerative properties.
These include:
- a vascular endothelial growth factor which controls hair growth and the hair follicle size,
- a hepatocyte growth factor which is involved in the cyclical growth of hairs,
- a platelet-derived growth factor which starts and maintains the anagen or starting cycle of hair growth, and
- an insulin-like growth factor which controls the hair growth cycle.
Working together, all these growth factors help to activate the hair follicles and increase the number of hairs growing in the scalp in those individuals with previously damaged or dormant hair follicles.
The treatment is often also performed in combination with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy which adds in different growth factors to the stem cells found in the fat to further optimise the hair restoration. It’s a bit like gardening – we are adding the stem cells from the nanofat which will speed up and increase the production of healthy cells in the hair follicles, and then we are adding the PRP as a fertiliser to add in extra growth factors to help nourish the area and improve the regrowth.
Treatment cost
Price From* After consultation the doctor will confirm the cost.
Treatment Summary at a glance
One hour
One
Local and numbing injection
Bruising and swelling at liposuction site. Feeling of tightness in the scalp, minor redness at injection sites.
Increased hair density and hair thickness.
6-12 months, repeat treatments recommended.
Almost immediately, depending on healing from liposuction.
Within 1 week due to the liposuction.
How does it work?
Firstly, we need to harvest the nanofat using a liposuction technique. This is usually harvested from the abdomen, where we take between 20 and 40 millilitres of fat from just below the surface of the skin, where it is rich in adipose derived stem cells. This is a very small amount of fat and can be extracted using a small cannula through a tiny incision in the skin. We need only take the amount of fat needed to harvest an optimum concentration of stem cells needed for the hair restoration treatment.
The extracted nanofat is then processed so that the stem cells and growth factors can be extracted from the fat cells using a series of filtration methods. It is this liquid which is reinjected into the areas of thinning hair on your scalp, where the stem cells can get to work regenerating the hair follicles to restore proper function and hair growth. We are not reinjecting the fat cells themselves, just the bio-active regenerative elements that were contained with them when they were harvested.
If the treatment is being performed in combination with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy, then a blood sample will also be taken from your arm which can then be processed in a centrifuge to separate the blood elements. This extracts the gold plasma liquid which contains various growth factors.
The two components of nanofat concentrate and PRP can then be prepared for reinjection into the scalp, usually one after the other.
Nanofat hair restoration is used to regenerate your existing hair follicles, increase the density of hair in areas of hair thinning, address areas of baldness and increase the number of hairs to add fullness to the head of hair.
Treatment is performed in a single treatment session.
We offer interest FREE finance plans to patients. Please contact our experienced team to learn more.
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FAQ's
The use of nanofat injections for hair restoration is suitable for both men and women and is used to improve hair thickness and hair density, in cases of hair loss and hair thinning, as well as a receding hairline. It can be used to slow progression of androgenic alopecia (baldness) in both men and women.
During a consultation with our specialist medical practitioner we will discuss your suitability for this treatment, as well as the range of treatments we have available for treating hair loss. A full medical history will be taken, including information about your hair loss experience – the length of time you have been experiencing hair loss and the treatments you have tried. As long as you are generally in good health, without any active infections on your scalp, you should be suitable for treatment. You will also need to have a small area of excess fat that can be extracted.
Those who are completely bald are not suitable for treatment, ideally you should still have some hair present on your scalp. Pregnant and breast-feeding women are also not suitable for treatment.
An injection of local anaesthesia will be used to numb the area where we extract the fat. This means the procedure will be painless, although you may feel sensations such as tugging, pushing or prodding as the fat is removed.
The reinjection of the nanofat stem cells, and the PRP, is also performed following the administration of local anaesthesia to the scalp. You may experience a slight discomfort from the administration of the numbing agent.
The procedure takes approximately 60-90 minutes to perform in total, depending on the size of the area being treated on the scalp.
You should expect some minor bruising, swelling and discomfort at the site where the fat was extracted. Any pain can be managed with over-the-counter pain medication.
You can also expect some redness and minor swelling on the scalp where the nanofat and PRP injections were performed. You may also have a feeling of tightness in the scalp or a mild headache during the first 24 hours.
You can return to normal activities almost immediately, and certainly within the space of a week once you feel comfortable following the liposuction.
In the weeks following treatment, you can expect to see new hair growth start to become visible and this will improve over several months. Your hair growth will be monitored by our practitioners, with final results expected after 4 to 6 months.
Clinical trial data has shown that significant and long-lasting hair restoration results were seen up to 1 year after treatment with nanofat hair restoration treatment. Some patients did experience a reoccurrence of their hair loss (in the case of androgenic alopecia) after one year and it is for this reason that further treatments may be recommended to maintain and continue the hair restoration.
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