As a dermatologist and trichologist in Kochi, I see a lot of patients who approach us for hair fall treatment. A lot of awareness has also been created in regarding hair loss procedures like PRP, that stands for Platelet Rich Plasma and GFC, that stands for Growth Factor Concentrate.
What is the difference between GFC and PRP?
Let's start with PRP.
PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma treatment has been in use for the treatment of hair loss for over a decade now. PRP has proven benefits in stimulating hair growth and increasing the thickness of hairs. Various studies have been conducted with PRP and there is enough medical literature to prove that PRP along with medical treatment is better than medical treatment alone for the treatment of hair loss. I have been doing PRP treatment for hair loss in Kochi for more than 5 years now and I have seen great results with the procedure.
In PRP, we draw the patient's blood, separate the platelets component and use it as a whole to inject into the scalp. These injected platelets then release the growth factors slowly that leads to the desired effects. Platelets contain mainly 2 types of granules- alpha granules and dense granules. Alpha granules are the ones that contain specific proteins needed for hair re-growth like VEGF, EGF, IGF,etc. During the process of PRP, both the types of granules are released.
How does GFC differ from PRP?
However, in GFC procedure, we use specific tubes that have a proprietary activator that activates only the alpha granules of the platelets. Hence, we are getting a plasma that is rich in only those proteins that are useful in stimulating hair growth.
Is GFC better than PRP?
GFC is a new kid on the block. The proprietary activator is not revealed by most companies. There is not enough medical literature that has proven its benefits as superior to that of PRP.
Most of the reports are anecdotal and by experience.
In my experience as a a hair specialist in Kochi, I feel that GFC has a slight edge over PRP in terms of efficacy.
Most important advantage is that GFC procedure is way less painful than PRP procedure.
We definitely need more controlled studies to prove the superiority of GFC over PRP.