PRP, SMP and the Other Things Clinics Sell

A clinic that advertises hair restoration is not necessarily offering surgery, and many that do offer surgery also sell several things that are not surgery. Knowing which is which saves a wasted consultation, and it is the single most common confusion we see in our own data.

How common this is

We read each clinic’s own website and record only what it says about itself. Across the 4,657 businesses listed here:

• 1,507 offer PRP — almost a third of the market.
• 2,338 say they perform FUE, the most commonly advertised surgical method.
• 47 are scalp micropigmentation studios and 40 are PRP-only businesses; neither transplants anything, and we label them on the listing rather than mixing them into the surgical results.
• 1,781 name no identifiable procedure anywhere on their own site.

That last figure is the practical one. More than a third of the businesses in this market will not tell you in writing what they do, which means the first thing you are buying with your time is the answer to that question.

PRP

Platelet-rich plasma: blood is drawn, spun in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelet fraction, and injected into the scalp. It is offered as a treatment to support hair that is still there, usually as a course of sessions with maintenance afterwards.

What matters for your decision is structural rather than clinical. PRP moves no hair. It is sold by the session, which makes it a recurring charge rather than a one-off, and it is often bundled into a surgical package or offered as a first step. Ask what it is costing separately from the surgery, how many sessions are proposed, what happens when they end, and what the clinic expects it to achieve. Any claim about effectiveness is the clinic’s claim and belongs in a conversation with a doctor, not with us.

Scalp micropigmentation

Cosmetic tattooing that places pigment in the scalp to mimic the appearance of closely shaved stubble, or to reduce the contrast between scalp and thinning hair. It is used on its own for a shaved-head look, as camouflage over FUT or FUE donor scarring, and alongside a transplant to make a given density read as fuller.

It is a different trade from surgery, performed by practitioners who are often not medical, and it fades and needs maintenance. None of that is a criticism — it is simply a different purchase with a different cost profile, and it should be priced separately so you can see it.

Mesotherapy, exosomes, laser caps and the rest

A long tail of adjunct treatments is sold around hair loss under names that change faster than evidence accumulates. We do not assess any of them and this page will not either. What we will say is what to do with the name when you meet it: ask what is in it, how many sessions it involves, what it costs in total, and whether the clinic is presenting it as established or as promising. Then ask the same question of a doctor who is not selling it.

A useful test is whether the treatment is quoted as a line item or folded into a package. Things folded into packages are hard to price, hard to decline, and hard to compare between clinics.

Medication

Prescription treatments for hair loss exist, and clinics frequently include them in packages or prescribe them around surgery. We publish nothing about them, name none of them, and would not advise on them if asked: they are prescription medicines with effects and side effects, and the only useful conversation about them is with a doctor who knows your history — ideally one with no stake in the sale.

What belongs in your written quote is what medication is included, for how long, and what it costs after that period ends.

Why the labels on this site exist

When we first built the directory every page was headed “Hair Transplant Clinics”, and the lists underneath contained PRP rooms, tattoo studios and businesses whose websites said nothing at all. That was our error and we fixed it by classifying every record against its own website: 3,802 are hair transplant clinics, 768 we could not verify, and the rest are something else and are marked as such. The most reviewed lists draw only on the verified surgical clinics.

So when a listing here says PRP or SMP, it is because the business says so on its own site — and when it says nothing, we say that too rather than guessing. You can see what each clinic states on its page, and then ask them directly.

Folliculis is a directory and information resource. This guide explains process and terminology so you can ask better questions. It is not medical advice, it is not a substitute for a consultation with a qualified doctor, and nothing here should be used to decide on treatment.