What exactly is PRP?

Platelet is one of the components of blood. PRP is 3-step procedure that involves having your blood:

  • Drawn from your arm
  • Placed into a centrifuge machine that separates the platelets from the rest of your blood
  • Re-injected into you (only the part of your blood that contains a high concentration of platelets).

Orthopedic surgeons use PRP to help athletes recover more quickly after an injury.

In dermatology, PRP is being tested as a possible treatment for hair loss. PRP may also speed up wound healing. It is also being popularly used to give patients younger-looking skin.

The entire procedure takes about 60- 90 mins.

It is done under topical anaesthesia and has little to no downtime.

Is PRP safe?

Since it involves using your own blood, the procedure is safe.

You may have a bit of pain, bruising, and swelling afterwards. These tend to go away within a few days.

The biggest risks comes from the way your blood is handled. It’s essential that the blood removed from your body be kept sterile. Otherwise, you could develop an infection. Hence, please do it under a certified dermatologist’s office.

How long does it take to see results?

If you get results, the full effects appear within a few weeks to months.

How many PRP injections do you need?

Most patients who get results have 3 to 6 treatment sessions depending upon the indication.

How long do the results last?

Results can last as long as 18 months.

How is it done?

PRP therapy is used to describe any application of PRP, or platelet-rich plasma, to benefit the body. In the context of anti-aging, platelet-rich plasma is either injected into your skin at specific depths according to your aesthetic needs or the “PRP” is spread on top of your face along with microneedling during treatment. Eventually, the PRP is absorbed by your skin. This cuts the recovery time from microneedling down to nothing while speeding along the collagen production process.

Benefits of a Vampire Facial

1. Increased Collagen Production

Around the age of 25, your body’s collagen production rate drops drastically. It continues to decline at a significant rate for the rest of your life unless you do something to stimulate its production rate. Moreover, the quality of the collagen produced drops. All of this results in visibly unhealthy skin.

Whether you’re dismayed by fine lines, moderate wrinkles or severe folds or you have other visible skin issues, there’s an excellent chance that a vampire facial will enhance the quality of your skin through increased collagen production. Collagen production is stimulated when skin cell trauma occurs. This occurs during a vampire facial when the minuscule needles penetrate the upper layers of your skin during the microneedling portion of your treatment.

As soon as your skin is penetrated, existing collagen starts to heal the skin. At the same time, your body starts to grow new, stronger, healthier collagen. This higher quality collagen takes a couple weeks to grow. However, you will notice immediate skin tightening. You’ll just notice that the results of your treatment continue to improve for several weeks after treatment.

2. Reduced Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Lines and wrinkles are among the most common reasons people seek a vampire facial. These common signs of aging are treated as cellular turnover is promoted. Old skin cells are recycled and new skin cells, collagen and elastin are formed. Fine lines and wrinkles are eliminated in part as your facial skin tightens naturally in response to the micro-injuries produced by treatment. The appearance of deeper folds is also diminished as hollow areas of your face are plumped up.

3. Tighter, Firmer Skin

As stated previously, collagen is also essential for tight, firm skin. As you age, your skin starts to sag, but wrinkles and lines don’t always form. Facial skin often thins with age, and certain parts of the face, like the lips and cheeks, are likely to become noticeably thin and gaunt. Collagen plumps up the skin. Some people may use a vampire facial to plump up their lips. Others use it to re-contour their cheeks without the need for an invasive medical procedure. Regardless of your skin insecurities, be sure to ask how a vampire facial can help you achieve your ideal aesthetic.

4. Improved Moisture Retention

The stronger and thicker your skin is, the better protected the deeper layers of your skin are from outside irritants. A strong skin barrier also helps to retain moisture. Moreover, it helps to unclog your pores, making your skin more receptive to prescription moisturizers. The effects of a vampire facial on pores are a little confusing because treatment can actually reduce the appearance of pores. However, you can actually benefit from the reduced appearance of pores and unclogged pores, making it easier to absorb prescription medications for the purpose of beauty enhancement.

5. Enhanced Skin Tone and Texture

If you have acne scars, surgical scars, scars from traumatic injury, stretch marks, hyperpigmentation and other forms of poor skin tone or texture, you can benefit from a facial enhanced with PRP. With old skin cells giving birth to new, healthy ones, you will be astounded by the mind-blowing improvement in the appearance of your skin just a few short days after one vampire facial.

6. It Doesn’t Hurt

Before your vampire facial begins, your facial skin is gently yet thoroughly cleansed. This ensures there is no dirt, dust, pollen, pollutant, makeup or any other imperfection on your skin that could cause a negative reaction to treatment. Once your personal skin care professional has sanitized your face, he/she will apply a local anaesthetic to the treatment site. Yet while you may feel the treatment being applied, but you will not feel any pain or discomfort.

Even better, it is perfectly safe for you to take paracetamol before or after treatment to mitigate the risk of any post-treatment pain. You can also ice the treatment sites to speed the cellular rejuvenation process.

7. Lasting Results

Some anti-aging treatments last only a week or two before you need to receive them again. Contrastingly, you only need to get 3-4 vampire facial every year to retain your youthful look. Even better, you need fewer treatments with a vampire facial than traditional microneedling alone to achieve your ideal aesthetic.

8. No significant Downtime Is Required

Just as we all want to look younger and want to avoid looking run-down, we don’t have time to look any less than our best at all times. With traditional microneedling, you can experience significant redness for five to seven days. With the addition of platelet-rich plasma to your treatment, you can eliminate this downtime. Thanks to PRP, the “micro-injuries” created by the microneedling are essentially healed as quickly as they are inflicted.

9. Not Much Preparation Is Required

Another phenomenal component of the vampire facial is that there is not a lot of work that goes into preparing for treatment. During your initial consultation, we will provide you with a list of instructions. In general, there are only three small steps you need to be ready.

First, wear sunscreen whenever you go out for seven days before your treatment. Second, drink plenty of water for the three days prior to your treatment. Finally, come to your appointment with a bare face. Do not wear makeup, moisturizer or any other skincare product. Remember, your face will be cleaned before treatment.

10. General post care

Avoid washing face for few hours after the procedure. Strict sun protection for few days. Basic gentle cleansing, moisturising and sunscreen from the next day. Avoid medicated products for 3 days.

Am I a Good Candidate for a Vampire Facial?

You may be a good candidate for a vampire facial if you:

  • Suffer from acne scars
  • Are afflicted by hyperpigmentation
  • Want to reduce fine lines and wrinkles
  • Want tighter, firmer skin
  • Have uneven skin tone
  • Are not ready for a facelift/ other injectables
  • Have dry skin
  • Feel your skin looks older than it should

Contraindications:

  • Hepatitis C
  • HIV or AIDS
  • Keep in mind, however, that people with certain clotting/ cardiovascular conditions requiring the regular use of blood thinners or other blood-related disorders or cancers are not the ideal candidates for a vampire facial.
  • Moreover, you may not be the best candidate if you expect the exact same results as a facelift. Extreme measures must be taken to reverse the effects of extreme sun damage.