Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is an injectable treatment prepared from a single vial of the patient’s own blood, spun without additives so it forms a soft fibrin gel. Coastal Dermatology + Aesthetics administers it to the scalp for thinning hair, and under the eyes and cheeks for skin quality, at its San Luis Obispo office. Results build over three to four months.
Your body already knows how to repair skin. This gives it a head start.
Your blood carries the platelets and growth factors your body reaches for whenever it has to rebuild tissue. PRF concentrates them and puts them exactly where you want the rebuilding to happen: a thinning patch of scalp, the tired hollow under an eye, skin across the cheeks that has lost its freshness.
For thinning hair, PRF goes into the scalp to wake up follicles that have gone quiet and thicken the hairs still growing. This is the use with the strongest evidence behind it, and for a lot of people it is the first thing that has moved at all after years of shampoos and supplements.
Under the eyes and across the cheeks, where this practice uses it most, PRF improves the quality of the skin itself. The area looks fresher and better rested. Because it is working with your own tissue rather than adding volume, it does not read as done.
Nothing synthetic goes in at any stage, which is why reactions are rare and why people who have held off on injectables tend to start here.
What PRF is good at
- Thickening thinning hair and waking up follicles that have gone quiet
- Improving the tired, crepey skin under the eyes where most treatments are too aggressive
- Freshening overall skin quality across the cheeks and midface
- Working alongside filler rather than instead of it, because the two do different jobs
- Suiting people who want nothing synthetic in their face
- Giving a result that reads as rested rather than as treated
Your blood goes into the machine and your blood comes back out. No chemicals, no additives, nothing synthetic at any stage. That is why reactions are so rare, and it is why people who have been cautious about injectables tend to start here.
How treatment works
One vial
A standard blood draw, the same as any lab visit, and it takes about a minute. This is the part people are nervous about and the part they always say was easier than expected.
Fifteen minutes in the spinner
Your vial spins gently in a small centrifuge with nothing added to it. Left to settle, the layer we want firms into a soft, honey-colored gel. That gel is the whole difference: it holds together, so it stays where we put it and releases your growth factors steadily over days instead of all at once.
Back where you want it
The gel goes into your scalp, under your eyes or across your face. You are back to your day the same afternoon, with a day or two of swelling if the under-eyes were treated.
All it takes. One ordinary blood draw is the entire ingredient list for a full treatment, which is also why there is nothing on the label to react to.
PRF and PRP are not the same thing
Almost every practice on the Central Coast offering something made from your own blood is offering PRP. It is worth knowing what the difference actually is, because it is not marketing.
PRP is spun fast, with an additive that stops it clotting so it stays liquid. Injected, it releases everything it has more or less at once. PRF is spun slower with nothing added at all, so it sets into a soft gel. That gel stays where it is put and feeds the tissue around it over the following days. Slower delivery, longer contact, nothing in it but you.
That difference shows up in the research. A 2026 multicenter trial put the two head to head in women with pattern hair thinning and found the fibrin group grew about a quarter more hairs in the treated area, close to double the increase in the group treated with PRP, with the lowest rate of side effects of any group in the trial. [1]
None of which makes PRP a bad treatment. It makes PRF the one we chose, and it means that when you compare us to a practice down the road, you are not comparing the same thing.
The hair-count improvement with fibrin compared with the PRP group, in a 2026 multicenter trial of women with pattern thinning: about a quarter more hairs in the treated area over six months, against roughly half that with PRP. [1]
Areas we treat
Scalp
Thickens thinning hair and wakes up quiet follicles where a part has been widening. The most evidence-backed use and the most requested.
Under-eyes
Improves the quality of skin too thin and delicate for most other treatments, so the area looks rested rather than filled.
Cheeks and midface
Freshens overall skin quality and firmness where the face has started to look tired rather than empty.
Face overall
Refines texture and tone, and makes everything else you have had done look better.
Neck
Improves thin, crepey skin quality in an area that ages early.
Best experience of my life! Helpful and take care of me on the spot!
The Coastal difference
Hair and skin are our whole specialty, not a side offer
Something made from your own blood is available in a lot of places now. What is not available in a lot of places is a board-certified dermatology practice deciding whether it is the right call for you in the first place. Thinning hair has a dozen possible causes, and the plan works far better when we know which one is yours. Sometimes that means PRF on its own. Sometimes it means PRF alongside a daily supplement or a prescription. You get a plan rather than a product. [2]
Technique is where the result lives. Placement, depth and timing separate a treatment that shows from one that does not, and our San Luis Obispo office does this every week on scalps and on faces. We will also tell you when PRF is not the answer: if a follicle has been gone for years there is nothing left to wake up, and if what you have lost is volume rather than quality, filler is the honest recommendation and you will hear it.
Is it right for you?
PRF is probably a good fit if:
- Your hair is thinning or your part is widening and you want to act while there is something to work with
- The area under your eyes looks tired no matter how much you sleep
- You want nothing synthetic put into your face
- You would rather build a result over three months than chase a quick one
- You have held off on injectables and want somewhere sensible to start
We will steer you somewhere else if:
- You have a blood or platelet disorder, or take medication affecting clotting
- Your hair loss has a cause that needs treating first, which is what the consultation finds
- What you have lost is volume rather than skin quality
- The skin in the treatment area is infected or inflamed right now
Not sure which of those you are? That is what the consultation is for, and it is why we do not sell this over the phone.
What to expect afterward
Expect some swelling, tenderness and possibly a little bruising at the injection sites. Under the eyes, swelling is most noticeable for the first day or two and then settles. Scalp treatment can leave the area tender to the touch for a day. Nobody needs time off for this.
In the first day or two, do
- Keep the treated area clean and leave it alone
- Sleep with your head slightly raised after under-eye treatment
- Drink water and eat normally after the draw, the same as any blood test
- Wear sunscreen once the skin is comfortable
In the first day or two, don’t
- Rub, massage or press the treated area
- Do heavy exercise, sit in a sauna or overheat
- Wash your hair with anything harsh after scalp treatment
- Expect to see anything yet
Contact us right away about increasing pain, skin that turns white or dusky, any change in vision, or signs of infection. We would far rather hear from you.
Concerns treated
PRF works by giving your own tissue something to build with. Pick a concern to see how we approach it.
What treatment costs
PRF is priced per session and most plans are a short series rather than a single visit, spaced several weeks apart. Scalp plans and face plans are priced differently because they take different amounts of time and product. You get the whole course quoted at your consultation rather than one number that grows later.
We do not discount our way into a treatment. If a cheaper option or a different one would serve you better, that is the one you will be offered.
Treatment time
About 45 minutes, including the draw and the spin
Downtime
A day or two of swelling, most noticeable under the eyes
Results appear
Gradually, with the real change at 3 to 4 months
Results last
Maintenance is typical; your plan is set at consultation
PRF frequently asked questions
When you see the real change. This is your own body building new tissue, so it arrives the way anything your body builds arrives: gradually, and then one day you notice. Take a photo on day one.
Offered at
Offered in San Luis Obispo. Not yet available in Santa Maria.
Ready to start? Request your consultation
Fill out the form below, book online in Santa Maria (opens online scheduler), or give us a call. Cosmetic and aesthetic appointments need no referral. For medical dermatology, we are accepting new patients by referral from your primary care physician; send the referral across and then use the same form.
Cosmetic consultations are $125, paid at booking and credited toward the cost of treatment.
Sources and medical review
1. Li M, Bai Y, Ye Z, Zhang D, He Z, Ge Z, Tan A, Han Y, Chen A, Wang W, Zhuo F. “Comparative efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF) and concentrated growth factors (CGF) for female pattern hair loss (FPHL): a prospective multicenter randomized clinical trial.” *The Journal of Dermatological Treatment.* 2026;37(1):2659498. Total hair count rose in all groups; i-PRF about 26.5% and CGF about 27%, against about 14.5% with PRP. The i-PRF group had the lowest adverse event rate. PMID 42041234. doi:10.1080/09546634.2026.2659498. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42041234/ · Peer-Reviewed Randomized Trial
2. American Academy of Dermatology Association. “Hair loss: Diagnosis and treatment.” Hair loss has multiple causes and treatment depends on which one is present, which is why diagnosis comes before treatment. https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/treatment/diagnosis-treat · Medical Organization
Content on this page is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Bruising, swelling, tenderness and temporary firmness at the injection sites are common and settle on their own; swelling is most noticeable under the eyes for the first day or two. As with any injection there is a small risk of infection, and any injectable placed in the face carries a rare risk of injury to a blood vessel. Contact us right away about increasing pain, skin that turns white or dusky, any change in vision, or signs of infection. PRF is not suitable for people with a blood or platelet disorder, people taking medication that affects clotting, or where the skin in the treatment area is infected or inflamed. Individual results may vary. Cosmetic consultations are $125, paid at booking and credited toward the cost of treatment.