PRP or Exosomes for Hair Loss. What the Evidence and UK Law Actually Say

Key points

• A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in Dermatology and Therapy of 43 randomised controlled trials and 1,877 participants found activated PRP increased hair density and reduced recurrence compared with placebo, while non-activated PRP carried more side effects.

• A 2025 systematic review in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology found the clinical evidence for exosomes in hair regeneration limited to small studies, including a pilot randomised trial of a plant-derived exosome formulation, with high quality trials still needed.

• The MHRA treats injected exosomes as a medicinal product, no exosome injectable has a UK marketing authorisation, and Save Face warns that human-derived exosomes are not approved for cosmetic use in the UK or EU. Topical plant or animal-derived exosomes applied after microneedling are lawful.

• A 2025 case series in a Korean dermatology journal reported adverse reactions following intradermal injection of exosome formulations, which are approved and marketed as topical cosmetics without regulatory approval for injection in most countries.

If you are choosing between the two for thinning hair, message us on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com and a doctor will tell you which the evidence supports for your stage.

What each treatment actually is

PRP is made from your own blood. A sample is spun to concentrate the platelets, which carry growth factors, and the concentrate is injected into the scalp where hair is thinning. Nothing is added from outside your body, and the product varies only in how it is prepared, principally platelet concentration, white cell content and whether it is activated before injection.

Exosomes are different in kind. They are nanoscale vesicles released by cells to carry signalling proteins and genetic material between them. The exosomes sold in clinics are not made from you. They are derived from cultured stem cells, from plants, or from animal sources, manufactured elsewhere, and applied to your scalp. The scientific idea is that the right signals could wake dormant follicles. The practical reality in 2026 is that the products vary enormously in source, purity and dose, that no UK body has licensed one for injection, and that the largest studies of exosomes for hair are a fraction of the size of the smallest PRP meta-analysis. A clinic offering both should be able to explain that difference before selling either, and we set out how PRP, polynucleotides and exosomes compare separately.

What the evidence says for PRP

The reference point is the 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in Dermatology and Therapy, which searched the literature to July 2025 and identified 43 randomised controlled trials with 1,877 participants assessing PRP for alopecia. Its conclusion was that activated PRP increased hair density and reduced recurrence compared with placebo, improved clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, and that non-activated PRP carried a higher rate of adverse effects. That last finding matters when choosing a clinic, because activation is a preparation step most patients are never told about.

The size of the effect is set out in earlier pooled analyses. A meta-analysis of 17 trial groups found mean hair density rose from 141.9 to 177.5 hairs per square centimetre after PRP. A 2024 meta-analysis of 14 studies and 431 patients found a mean gain of 27.55 hairs per square centimetre against controls, while rating the evidence low quality because the trials were heterogeneous with publication bias. That is the honest shape of the PRP evidence. Dozens of trials, a consistent direction, a meaningful average gain, and quality that is still improving. It is not perfect. It is also not close to what exists for exosomes, and our doctor-led guide to PRP for hair loss in London explains how a course is actually run.

Send us photographs of your scalp on WhatsApp and a doctor will tell you whether your pattern of loss is one the trials show responding.

What the evidence says for exosomes

The most complete summary is a 2025 systematic review in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, which gathered the clinical studies of exosomes for hair regeneration. They are few and small. A 2024 prospective study in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery of exosome treatment in androgenetic alopecia. A 2024 clinical study of placental-derived stem cell exosomes. A 2025 pilot randomised trial of an exosome-containing plant extract formulation for male alopecia. A 2025 review in Clinics in Dermatology tabulated the clinical studies and concluded randomised controlled trials are still needed to confirm efficacy and establish treatment parameters.

Nothing in that literature says exosomes do not work. It says nobody yet knows whether they do, at what dose, from which source, and for how long. A 2026 review in the Journal of Clinical Medicine grouped exosomes with PRP and stem cells as emerging injectables and noted that only PRP has the meta-analysis behind it. Clinics that describe exosomes as the next step beyond PRP are describing a hypothesis. A clinic that adds exosomes to PRP at extra cost should be asked which trial shows the addition does anything, and the honest answer in 2026 is none of adequate size.

Where UK law draws the line

The regulation is clearer than the marketing. The MHRA considers exosomes, when injected, to be a medicinal product, and no exosome-based injectable has a UK marketing authorisation. Injecting exosomes intradermally, subcutaneously or intravenously is prohibited. They may only be applied topically, typically as part of a microneedling treatment, and the product must be CE marked. Save Face, the government-recognised register of accredited practitioners, has issued a patient safety warning that human-derived exosomes are not approved for cosmetic use in the UK or EU, that injectable exosome therapies have no MHRA authorisation, and that unusually cheap exosome treatments should raise suspicion about what is being used.

That framework decides what a lawful exosome treatment looks like in London. A plant or animal-derived, CE marked topical product, applied to the scalp after microneedling, by a practitioner who can name the product and its source. Anything injected, anything human-derived, and anything the practitioner cannot name is outside the law, and the Korean case series of adverse reactions after intradermal exosome injection is a preview of why the law is where it is. PRP by contrast is treated by the MHRA as an unlicensed medicine that doctors may prepare for their own named patients, which is why a doctor-led clinic can inject it.

Seven questions before paying for exosomes

Take these to whichever clinic you see, including ours.

• What is the exosome product, who makes it, and what is it derived from. Human-derived is not approved for cosmetic use in the UK.

• Is it CE marked, and can I see the certification.

• Is it being injected or applied topically. Injection is prohibited in the UK.

• Which published trial supports this product for hair loss, and how many patients were in it.

• If it is being added to PRP, which trial shows the combination beats PRP alone.

• What does the same clinic charge for PRP on its own.

• Who is performing the treatment, and are they a GMC-registered doctor.

Our doctors put it this way. Exosomes might turn out to be the future of hair restoration. In 2026 they are a topical of uncertain dose sold at an injectable price, and the treatment with 43 trials behind it is the one drawn from your own arm.

Message us on WhatsApp with your stage of hair loss, any quote you have been given, and photographs, and a doctor will give you a straight answer.

What PRP does not do either

PRP does not regrow hair on a scalp that has been bald and shiny for years, since it works on miniaturised follicles rather than absent ones, which is the difference between hair loss that can grow back and hair loss that cannot. It does not replace finasteride or minoxidil, which have larger evidence bases, and the trials show PRP works best alongside them. The 2024 meta-analysis rated the evidence low quality with publication bias, so the average gain of around 27 hairs per square centimetre comes with wide uncertainty. Results fade without maintenance, non-activated preparations carry more side effects, and PRP is not available on the NHS for hair loss. It is a course of treatment, not a single visit, and a clinic selling a single session is selling a demonstration.

What each treatment costs in London

Flagship Harley Street and Mayfair clinics commonly charge £600 to £850 or more per session of hair PRP, with London practices generally 50 to 70 percent above the rest of the UK, and a low end of the market at £150 to £300 where the doctor, the activation step and the diagnosis are usually what has been removed. Exosome scalp sessions in London are advertised from around £350 to £700, often as an add-on to PRP or microneedling, and the higher figure typically buys a combination protocol.

The reframing is the evidence per pound. A PRP course is a treatment with 43 randomised trials. An exosome session is a topical of uncertain dose with pilot data, priced as though it were the stronger product. Paying more for less evidence is not a better choice, it is a bet, and a clinic should say so before taking the money.

Care at The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness is doctor-led and priced below flagship rates, with your exact figure confirmed at the free suitability review once a doctor has assessed your scalp and the cause of your hair loss.

Ask about the cost for your hair on WhatsApp and we will explain what the review covers.

The free suitability review

Every enquiry here starts with a free, doctor-led suitability review rather than a booking. A GMC-registered doctor examines your scalp, establishes the cause and stage of your hair loss, and gives one of two answers. Either you are approved for treatment, with a clear plan and realistic expectations for what PRP can and cannot do for your pattern, or you are not approved, with an honest explanation of what would serve you better, whether that is the hair loss blood panel, licensed medication, or a transplant opinion.

We decline a meaningful share of the people who enquire. That is deliberate. A clinic that approves everyone is optimising for bookings, not outcomes.

Why people choose The London PRP Clinic by The Wellness

• 87% of hair restoration patients at The London PRP Clinic show visible improvement at their week-16 photo review.

• Every treatment performed by a GMC-registered doctor.

• 100 supervised treatments completed by every clinician before they treat a patient here unsupervised.

Frequently asked questions

Are exosomes better than PRP for hair loss

Not on current evidence. PRP has 43 randomised controlled trials and 1,877 participants behind it in a 2025 meta-analysis. Exosomes have small pilot studies and no completed high quality randomised trial. No trial shows exosomes outperform PRP or that adding them to PRP improves results.

Are exosome injections legal in the UK

No. The MHRA treats injected exosomes as a medicinal product and none has a UK marketing authorisation, so injection is prohibited. Topical, CE marked, plant or animal-derived exosomes applied after microneedling are lawful. Human-derived exosomes are not approved for cosmetic use in the UK or EU.

What is the difference between PRP and exosomes

PRP is concentrated platelets from your own blood, injected into the scalp. Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles manufactured elsewhere, from stem cells, plants or animals, and applied to the scalp. PRP is autologous and regulated as an unlicensed medicine doctors can prepare. Exosomes are a manufactured product with no UK injectable licence.

Does PRP work for hair loss

Yes, for pattern hair loss with miniaturised follicles. A 2025 meta-analysis of 43 trials found activated PRP increased hair density and reduced recurrence against placebo. Pooled density gains are around 27 to 36 hairs per square centimetre, with low quality evidence and best results alongside minoxidil or finasteride.

Can I have PRP and exosomes together

Some clinics offer it, lawfully only if the exosomes are topical and CE marked. No adequate trial shows the combination beats PRP alone, so you would be paying for an addition of unknown value. Ask which trial supports it and what the clinic charges for PRP on its own.

How many PRP sessions do you need for hair loss

Most trials use 3 sessions about a month apart, then maintenance every 3 to 6 months. The 2025 meta-analysis found more treatments per month associated with greater gains. A single session is a demonstration rather than a treatment, and a doctor should set the number after assessing your scalp.

References

• Dermatology and Therapy, 2025. Platelet-rich plasma in the management of alopecia, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 43 randomised controlled trials and 1,877 participants. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13555-025-01542-8

• 2022. Effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma therapy in androgenic alopecia, a meta-analysis of 17 trial groups. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8953144/

• 2024. Is autologous platelet-rich plasma capable of increasing hair density in patients with androgenic alopecia, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 studies and 431 patients. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11551241/

• Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2025. Exosomes and hair regeneration, a systematic review of clinical evidence. https://www.dovepress.com/exosomes-and-hair-regeneration-a-systematic-review-of-clinical-evidenc-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-CCID

• Clinics in Dermatology, 2025. Koumprentziotis et al. Exosome therapy in pattern hair loss, review and table of clinical studies. https://www.cidjournal.com/article/S0738-081X(25)00207-X/pdf

• Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2026. Advances in medicalized hair loss solutions, a review of current clinical practices and regenerative medicine-based protocols. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/5/1836

• 2025. Adverse reactions following intradermal injection of exosome-based formulations, a case series. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12528963/

• Save Face, 2025. Exosome therapy in the UK, patient safety warning on new injectables. https://www.saveface.co.uk/en/blog/post/exosome-therapy-uk-patient-safety-warning

• Enhance Insurance, 2026. Exosomes in aesthetic practice, what UK practitioners need to know, including the MHRA position on injected exosomes. https://www.enhanceinsurance.co.uk/about-us/knowledge-hub/how-to-guides/exosomes-in-aesthetic-practice-worth-the-hype-or-the-risk-what-uk-practitioners-need-to-know/

• London clinic price lists for hair PRP and exosome scalp treatments, accessed September 2026.

This article is for general information and does not replace a medical assessment. Speak to one of our doctors before deciding on any hair loss treatment.