I may have half the hair I grew up with, not that I counted each strand. Over the past few years, I started to find growing clumps of it in the shower—and on my hairbrush. My hairstyles became limited to a side part, and perhaps, the most devastating, I stopped going to the beach, and into the water for fear of revealing too much…of my scalp.
Normally, a person can lose up to 100 strands daily, but over that number means something is off. That kind of hair loss, medically termed telogen effluvium, is temporary, and is triggered by stress or illness.
Enter the pandemic. What was supposed to be temporary shedding stretched into months and then, three years. During this time, I was diagnosed with two conditions that affect my hormones: endometriosis and Hashimoto thyroiditis. Hormonal imbalance can cause hair loss, but I work hard to keep my levels within normal range through stress management, enough sleep, an anti-inflammatory diet, supplements, and clean beauty. There were a lot of lifestyle changes, but little changed. The straw or strand that broke the camel’s back was when I caught Covid-19, which kicked the hair loss into overdrive.
A friend recommended that I check out Clinique de Paris, which claims to be one of the best hair transplant clinics in the Philippines. After reading up on the place, I quickly sent a message to which I was offered a free consultation. What did I have to lose except more hair?
Dr. Bryan Presno warmly welcomed me. While assessing my scalp and hair count with a microscopic camera, he explained the difference of hair loss in men and in women. Female pattern baldness, often related to a hormonal imbalance, never leads to a loss of all hair, and instead, looks like thinning. He called it diffuse alopecia, wherein hair density decreases, and its mass thins out.
Thankfully, I did not need a hair transplant (P200,000 to P600,000) or scalp micropigmentation (P95,000 to P145,000 for three sessions), which I was curious about. Out of the available solutions, Dr. Bryan said I was a good candidate for Collagen Mesotherapy or CMT (P18,000 per session, but discount packages are available). It’s also known as Platelet Mesotherapy (PMT) or Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy.
“Across the board, any type of hair loss, be it inflammatory, autoimmune, or genetic, will have a good response to PRP. We categorize the type of hair loss because the response will depend on the type. For a few types, PRP will halt the progression, and we don’t expect an increase in hair growth. But for most types, there will be an increase in density, caliber, and volume of the hair,” he explained.
Whichever term you call it, in a nutshell, the therapy uses one’s activated platelets to treat hair loss. Ten millimeters of blood is extracted from one’s arm or hand and then centrifuged at 3,400 revolutions per minute for five minutes to isolate the plasma, which contains growth factors that promote tissue regeneration and stimulate dormant follicles. Many places use syringes to inject the plasma into the scalp, but Clinique de Paris takes pride in using a device that looks like a gun to administer painless micro-injections into the scalp, allowing full control of the injection depth and better plasma distribution.
“There really is no special preparation needed. You just need to be well-rested and well-hydrated from the day before, and no alcohol 24 hours prior to doing the procedure,” Dr. Bryan continued. “We want the blood to be in its optimum state. We want the platelets, the growth factors, and the plasma to be at their best when we process them and shoot them back into your scalp.”
One session takes about 45 minutes with no downtime, so I tried booking an appointment online during lunch break. “The procedure is like having a facial, and it’s virtually painless. No anesthetic, no additives on your scalp, no additives in the blood, just all you,” Dr. Bryan said encouragingly. “And after the procedure, no sweaty activities, and no wetting of your hair for 12 hours, so the plasma sits on your scalp longer and gets absorbed more. But there won’t be any adverse effects if you do wash your hair.”
When the gun stops, the nurse will prop your recliner up, and give you a blowout. There will be refreshments waiting in a tray. It will also be the time to return comfort items like blankets and cushions. The space looks and feels more like a lounge than it does a clinic. Patients come in one by one, with ample time in between appointments to avoid run-ins with each other should they want to protect their privacy. These thoughtful touches reflect country manager Nicole Sheker and her experience in luxury hospitality. “The techniques, the protocols, and the practices are medical, but they don’t necessarily have to be in a medical setting, so clinical—except the operating room downstairs, of course.
So, patients come into a relaxed atmosphere,” she expounded proudly about the sanctuary. CMT requires monthly booster treatments for three months, and then, maintenance treatments every three months thereafter. I’m happy to report my hair stopped shedding abnormally after one session. I was shocked to find only one or two strands fell in the shower, and when I brushed my hair. After the second session, my scalp was less oily and growing baby hair covered more of it. After the third, I had fluffier and thicker strands and even more noticeable baby hair. No more over shedding of strands or tears. There is hope. Help is available, which is good, but what’s even better and more empowering is through CMT, I am healing myself.
For more information, visit this link or call +632-8893-6175.
Photography by Rex Reynaldo Cabugon