Ten questions, answered properly rather than briefly

The treatment is aimed at follicles that have thinned but are still producing hair. If your hair has lost calibre, if the scalp is starting to show through under bright light, or if your part has widened, you are in the group this protocol was developed around. Men with pattern hair loss, women with diffuse thinning through the top of the scalp, and people whose native hair has continued to thin after a transplant are all commonly assessed.

Areas that have been completely bare for many years are a different situation. Where the follicle is gone, no injected treatment brings it back, and you will be told that directly rather than sold a course of treatment that cannot deliver. Candidacy is a clinical judgement about your scalp, so it is settled at a consultation rather than online.

A hair transplant relocates hair you already have. Follicles are taken from the back of the scalp, either as a strip or through follicular unit extraction, and placed where hair has been lost. It is surgery, it needs a donor area that has to heal, and the total amount of hair on your head does not increase.

TrichoStem Hair Regeneration is not surgery and does not move hair. There is no incision, no donor site and no graft. The intent is to support the follicles you still have so that thinning hair produces thicker hair. Because Dr. Prasad performs transplant surgery as well, the consultation can honestly compare the two rather than defend one of them, including telling you when surgery would genuinely serve you better.

Nothing is visible on the day of treatment, and nothing much is visible in the first weeks. The process being supported is biological, so it moves at the speed of a hair growth cycle rather than the speed of a cosmetic procedure. Most patients are looking at a period of months before change is apparent to them.

This is the reason baseline photographs are taken before treatment. Gradual thickening across the whole scalp is genuinely difficult to notice from day to day, and comparing against a standardised image from the start is far more reliable than comparing against memory.

There are two parts that involve a needle. The first is the blood draw, which is the same as any routine blood test. The second is the scalp treatment itself, and the area is numbed before that begins.

Most patients describe the experience as manageable rather than painless, with some pressure and brief stinging during the injections. Tenderness of the scalp afterwards is common for a short period and settles on its own. If you are anxious about needles, say so at the consultation, because it can be planned for rather than discovered on the day.

The protocol is built around a small number of treatments rather than continuous therapy. TrichoStem publishes that most patients are treated in one to two sessions, and that is the expectation set at consultation for the majority of patterns.

Whether you fall into the one-session or the two-session group depends on your pattern, the extent of the thinning and how you respond, which is assessed against your baseline photographs at follow-up. If a second session is recommended you will be told what it is expected to add and what it costs before anything is scheduled.

Cost is quoted for your specific plan rather than published as a single figure, because the number of sessions and the extent of the area being treated differ between patients. Quoting a headline price online would mean quoting a number that does not apply to most of the people reading it.

The process is straightforward. Candidacy is established at the consultation, the plan is defined, and the full cost of that plan is confirmed in writing before anything is booked. You are not asked to commit before you know the figure. Treatment for pattern hair loss is generally considered elective and is not usually covered by health insurance, so plan on this being a self-funded decision and ask about payment options at the consultation.

Bring a list of every medication and supplement you take, including doses, since several affect hair and some affect bleeding. Bring the details of any hair loss treatment you have already used, including how long you were on it and whether you stopped, and bring the operative details of any previous hair transplant if you have had one.

Photographs of your hair from a few years ago are more useful than most people expect, because they show the rate of change rather than just the current state. Bring your identification and, if relevant, a note of any medical conditions or allergies. If someone helps you make health decisions, they are welcome to come with you.

Aftercare is deliberately light. There is no bandaging, no donor site to protect and no stitches to remove, and most people return to their normal day after the appointment. Scalp tenderness and some swelling are common for a short period and settle without intervention.

You will be given specific instructions for your own treatment, typically covering when to wash your hair, when to resume strenuous exercise, and which medications to avoid immediately around the treatment. Follow the instructions you are given at your appointment rather than general advice found online, and call the office if anything concerns you between visits.

The goal is thicker hair from the follicles you still have, not a return to the hair you had at twenty and not new hair in areas where the follicle is gone. TrichoStem publishes that patients report thicker hair lasting three to five years or longer, and that is the practice's reported experience across its patients rather than a projection for you individually.

Individual results vary and no result is guaranteed. Pattern hair loss is progressive, so continued thinning in untreated areas is possible regardless of how the treated areas respond. What you will be given is an honest assessment of what is likely in your case, and an objective way to measure it afterwards.

Yes. Patients are seen at the Vienna office at Tysons Medical West, 1500 Cornerside Blvd., Suite 510, Vienna, VA 22182, which serves Vienna, Tysons, McLean, Falls Church, Oakton, Reston, Arlington and the wider Northern Virginia and Washington, DC area. The office is open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Treatment is performed by Dr. Amiya Prasad, who developed the protocol. Appointments in Vienna are scheduled in advance rather than offered daily, so it is worth calling early or sending an inquiry through this site to be told the next available dates. If travelling to the office for an initial discussion is difficult, a video consultation can be arranged first.