Bharat SainiLast Updated on June 28, 2016 by Bharat Saini
The latest anti-aging treatment promising to restore your youthful glow is not for the squeamish. If you faint at the sight of needles, or if the thought of blood makes you cringe, you’ll probably want to avoid the latest A-list facial fad. A quick Instagram search for #vampirefacial will reveal scores of celebrities with their faces covered in blood. No, they’re not getting ready for Halloween early, this latest miracle cure is fittingly called the vampire facial, or PRP therapy.
So how does covering your face in blood help restore youthfulness? The extreme anti-ageing treatment involves extracting the platelet-rich plasma from the recipient’s blood and injecting this back into the face with microneedles. A few tablespoons of blood are extracted from the arm in a non-invasive way and then processed in a machine to separate the plasma from the red and white blood cells.
Kim Kardashian popularised the vampire facelift after trying it out on her show in 2013. This treatment is a variation of the dermapen treatment, but instead of injecting a serum into the skin, the pen contains the recipient’s blood. The needles penetrate the skin by about 2.5mm, so the recipient barely feels anything more than a slight sting.
The treatment works by stimulating collagen and elastin production in the skin. As we age, collagen in the face is broken down and isn’t replaced by the body. To retain that youthful and plumped up appearance, we have to stimulate collagen production, and a vampire facial is one way to do this. The microneedles, or derma roller, are used to cause light trauma to the skin and encourage the skin to renew and produce collagen.
Vampire facials aren’t a new treatment; they have been utilised for the past 30 years to help burn victims in their recovery, and to help athletes such as Rafael Nadal recover from injury. They’re now being used by top aestheticians to help reduce wrinkles and improve skin pigmentation.
Although these treatments are not new to the medical industry, they are relatively new to the cosmetic treatment industry. Before undergoing any treatment, you should make sure your aesthetician is fully qualified to carry out the procedure, particularly as it involves extracting blood. If something does wrong, seek the advice of a solicitor if you need to make a cosmetic surgery claim. As the treatment gains popularity, more businesses will try to capitalise on this trend, so it’s important to be aware of the risks. platelet-rich plasma https://www.nitai.com.au/platelet-rich-plasma-melbourne/
