Do PRP and Red Light Therapy Really Help Improve Hair Graft Survival?
As hair restoration evolves, some clinics have begun offering additional treatments—like Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and red light therapy (LLLT)—before or during hair transplantation. These are often marketed as ways to “supercharge” grafts and improve outcomes.
But do these techniques actually strengthen transplanted follicles? And are they necessary for success?
Let’s explore the science behind these claims and share our clinical perspective at Advanced Hair Restoration.
What Is PRP in Hair Transplantation?
PRP involves concentrating platelets from the patient’s own blood and injecting them into the scalp. Platelets contain growth factors that may help stimulate healing and follicle activity. Some clinics soak grafts in PRP before implantation or inject PRP into the recipient area.
🔍 The Claim:
PRP will make grafts “stronger,” improve survival rates, and speed up growth.
🧪 The Reality:
Some early studies show PRP may improve early healing and reduce inflammation.
There’s no conclusive evidence that PRP dramatically improves graft survival in healthy patients.
It’s not a substitute for surgical skill, hydration, or proper graft handling.
Overuse or poorly prepared PRP may offer no benefit—or even harm.
What About Red Light Therapy (LLLT)?
Low-Level Laser Therapy uses specific wavelengths of red light to stimulate cellular activity. Some clinics shine red light on extracted grafts or the scalp during or after the procedure.
🔍 The Claim:
Red light boosts mitochondrial function in graft cells and promotes stronger growth.
🧪 The Reality:
Red light has been shown to stimulate dormant follicles and may improve native hair health over time.
Evidence for benefit in freshly transplanted grafts is minimal.
Its value may be more useful in post-op healing than during the surgery itself.
Our Clinical Perspective at Advanced Hair
At Advanced Hair, we’ve studied and tested many adjunctive therapies. While PRP and red light therapy may have a role in overall hair health, we’ve found that the core factors for graft survival are still surgical skill, graft handling, hydration, and timing.
Our Advanced FUE® protocol is built around those fundamentals. In our hands, these methods consistently deliver exceptional results without the need to add trendy upsells that may offer marginal gains at best.
The Bottom Line: What Actually Makes Grafts Thrive?
At the end of the day, the fundamentals matter most. Our Advanced FUE® protocol is built around the core principles that have been consistently shown to maximize graft survival:
✅ Minimized out-of-body time
✅ Continuous hydration and temperature control
✅ Gentle handling with surgical precision
✅ Custom recipient site creation for natural density and flow
✅ An experienced team performing thousands of grafts per session
These are the proven factors that impact outcomes—not add-on procedures with questionable benefits.
Even if PRP and red light therapy may offer modest benefits (unproven), they should never distract from what truly determines your results - who’s performing your surgery, how they handle your grafts, and the protocol they follow.
At Advanced Hair, we don’t chase trends—we focus on what works. And we have the results to prove it.
Schedule a free consultation and let’s talk about what works—and what’s just marketing.