Blood The ultimate secret to glowing skin

So the devil snatched your edges or you are balding, thanks to genes, a weaveologist and a hairstylist. And now you are grappling with traction alopecia.

Instead of going to Gauteng for the ‘Hairline Restoration’ All Night Prayer, spend 20,000 rands on Holy Hair Oil or experience a laying of hands on your receding hairline by the council of apostles at the VIP cost of 100 rands, listen up.

This is part two of the hair raising prayers, meaning the first one must have been so successful it warranted a repeat. It is still a “march into the enemy’s camp to restore your stolen hairline,” hosted smack dab in the middle of Soshanguve township. I wonder if the more you pay, the more you’ll be blessed.

SKINCARE

For that amount of money, you are better off visiting any of the four trichologists in Kenya. And they have believable yet spectacular before and after pictures. The same goes for skincare, but I am getting ahead of myself.

It is at Hairhub Trichology Centre that I meet Ibrahim Kullow aka Kul, a 23-year-old computer science student from UoN.

He’s suffering from premature balding and his friends misadvised him to go to Turkey for hair transplant.

It was laughable, he said, on his non-existent hustler cum student occupation. His research and mine led us to Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP), a procedure that extracts your own blood, specifically, the platelets. It’s then injected around and on the troublesome area.

This technique can be used to clear the skin, grow hair right and repair wonky athletic knees.

I am at Hair Hub because I have an overwhelming desire for good skin. On the other hand, Kul wants a big fat afro. It is his 5th session.

PRP TREATMENTS

He has one more to go. PRP treatments require a once a month procedure for six months, tapering it off till once or twice in a year for maintenance.
PRP is considerably awe-inspiring and a celebrity-endorsed treatment started off by Kobe Bryant, then Tiger woods and A-Rod for their various athletic injuries, particularly the knees.

When Mrs KKW did it, she called it a vampire facial, her face smeared with blood like a facial. This was misleading because PRP goes into and through the skin, and is not a superficial face mask. Chalk it down to a publicity influencer stunt.

The process is very clean, sterile and contained. Still, when Angelina Jolie did it, it was called a Dracula facelift.

Are you afraid of needles or faint at the sight of blood? Never fear. PRPs require a numbing cream on the area being treated. And use microneedles all over the said area. That minimises the intensity of pricks and it really is not painful. PRP targets any part of the body.

Plastic surgeons use it for grafting, dentists to help gums recover faster, and athletes to heal faster. If you have wrinkles, PRP stimulates collagen which makes them disappear.

Use science, not magic to restore your hairline. It is a one-hour procedure, unlike facial PRP, which takes a generous two hours. Post-PRP scalp recovery falls shy of an hour.

GAIN VOLUME

Growth of hair will not be accelerated under PRP. Instead, it still grows at its usual pace of a half-inch to an inch every month, but this time it will also gain volume.

I get the number of my technician should I be in pain or need to get in touch. For headaches, I am advised to take plain old original Panadol. Before PRP, lay off the booze and any anti-inflammatory meds as these counteract the process.

I am that stoic patient who saves the whining for when it is over. Not a hard-core client who without the slightest hesitation picks a mirror and directs the technician and needle. The rate of success is said to be 95 per cent.

It will also cost less should you decide to skip the Hairline Restoration overnight prayer session.

On the fourth day after my treatment, I poke at my face. It is softer than a baby’s bum. I cleanse it like a baby’s face.

The reason PRP is becoming such a phenomenon because your own body will not reject its blood. But one has to wait till they are at least 25 because the body’s ability to heal and regenerate is at its peak.

COMPLEXION

PRPs also reduce signs of ageing such as wrinkles and fine lines. And yes, our own celebrities and government officials do it too.
Within five months of PRP, the microscopic lines on my forehead have vanished. The scarring and pigmentation on my cheeks reduced drastically.

Did I mention it helps with evening out your complexion? I glow beatifically.

Except for that dastardly cystic acne. It keeps erupting and I keep making new scars. The skin technician understands my heartbreak. He refers me to a dermatologist, and invites me back when it is under control.

PRP, despite its wonders, is a better tool for clearing skin than curing acne vulgaris. Thank goodness I will never need to buy a ticket to a beautiful skin restoration overnight prayer session.