GFC Treatment for Hair, Described Without the Marketing

GFC stands for growth factor concentrate. A sample of your own blood is drawn and processed so that the growth factors held inside the platelets are released, and the platelets and other cells are then removed. What is injected into the scalp is the concentrate of those released growth factors rather than the platelets themselves.

PRP injects concentrated platelets, which release their growth factors gradually after injection. GFC releases those growth factors during preparation and injects the concentrate directly, with the cells removed. That is a genuine processing difference. Whether it produces a better clinical result is a separate question, and the published evidence for GFC is considerably less mature than for PRP.

We will not tell you it is, because the evidence does not currently support that claim. It is widely marketed as an upgrade, often with impressive-sounding concentration figures. A higher growth factor concentration in a tube is not the same thing as a better outcome on a scalp, and the studies needed to demonstrate the second are not yet there in the way they are for PRP.

Because it is a reasonable option within the same family of treatments, it uses your own blood, and some patients prefer it. What we will not do is present it as a proven improvement in order to justify a higher price. Which of the two suits you is discussed at assessment on the basis of your diagnosis, not the newer label.

It is used to support thinning hair, most often in early to moderate pattern hair loss, and sometimes alongside medical treatment or after a transplant. Like PRP, it supports existing follicles. It does not regrow hair in an area where the follicles are gone, and it is not a substitute for surgery in established baldness.

Blood is drawn, processed, and the concentrate is injected into the scalp at follicular depth across the thinning areas. It is done in the clinic and takes under an hour in total. Most people return to normal activity the same day.

The scalp injections are uncomfortable rather than painful for most people, and the discomfort is brief. Some tenderness for a day or so afterwards is normal.

It is given as a planned course rather than a single treatment, with sessions spaced some weeks apart and the response assessed with photographs. How many depends on your diagnosis and how you respond. Any clinic quoting a fixed number before examining you is quoting a package, not a plan.

Reduced shedding is usually the first thing people notice, and it is the earliest measurable sign. Changes in density and texture, where they occur, are assessed over several months with photographs rather than from week to week in the mirror. Some people do not respond.

No. GFC does not alter the underlying process behind pattern hair loss. Whatever benefit is gained needs maintenance, and it is generally used alongside medical treatment rather than instead of it.

It is not appropriate where there is active scalp infection or inflammation, in certain blood and clotting disorders, in some cancers, and where medication affecting platelets or clotting has not been reviewed. Pregnancy and breastfeeding are assessed individually. Your history is reviewed properly before treatment.

Frequently. It is commonly run alongside medical treatment for pattern hair loss, and it is sometimes used after a transplant to support the surrounding native hair. Combining treatments is normal and is planned as a whole rather than sold piece by piece.

Not if the cause is untreated. Iron deficiency, thyroid disease, hormonal causes and several other conditions cause hair loss and respond to treating the condition. Injecting a scalp while the real cause runs untreated wastes your money. That is why the assessment comes first.

It is priced per session and depends on the course planned for you, so it is quoted after assessment. If your diagnosis points somewhere else, the recommendation will be that instead. See our cost and payment options.