From Twilight to True Blood, popular culture is still obsessed with
vampires, so it should come as no surprise that this fascination has made its way
into the skin-care world in the form of the Vampire Facelift. You may remember when Kim Kardashian opted to get the innovative procedure almost two years ago.
As gruesome as
it sounds, this nonsurgical rejuvenation is actually quite straightforward: Your own blood, in the form of platelet-rich plasma
(PRP), is used to rejuvenate the appearance of facial tissue.
Why are platelets so special? They contain a number of growth factors that can stimulate collagen synthesis,
skin renewal, cell growth, and tissue regeneration. For the procedure, a small
amount of blood is drawn (two to 10 teaspoons, depending on the areas being treated)
and spun in a centrifuge to separate the platelets and plasma from the
other components of the blood. The PRP is then injected into those areas where you want to lift the skin and improve the appearance
of wrinkles. This usually requires
multiple injections using a small needle. For the needle-wary, this can be a tough sell.
As a cosmetic dermatologist, my
specialty is nonsurgical rejuvenation — including the Vampire Facial. Not a day goes by without a patient asking me how they can
bring back a more youthful appearance to their face. Whether it's wanting to erase those
"11s" between the brows, lifting their fallen cheeks back up, or just
improving the overall texture and tone of their skin, age-defying treatments are of huge interest to men and women in their 30s, 40s, and beyond. In fact, I even have women in their 20s express concerns about aging and/or wrinkles.
In the privacy of my office, when these worries arise, I pull out
a handheld mirror and go over all the patient's concerns and problem areas. I
then develop a plan. On the occasion that I do feel a surgical procedure is the best course of action, I recommend a consultation with a plastic surgeon.
For
the Vampire Facelift, hyaluronic-acid fillers and PRP are combined to
roll back the appearance of wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin. As explained by Charles Runels, MD, who trademarked the procedure, the hyaluronic-acid filler
acts as scaffolding on which the new PRP-induced tissue growth occurs. PRP can also be effective
when used alone.
Additionally, it can work synergistically with other
rejuvenation procedures you've probably heard of: Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, and microneedling. I like to combine PRP with laser
treatments, specifically fractional resurfacing, as I find that this pairing leads to the best results depending on my patients' needs.
One great benefit of PRP is that it is a completely natural
procedure, since it uses your own blood. No injecting of foreign materials required!
Although the treatment is not particularly bloody (the pictures of Kim K post-procedure were probably dramatized), there will probably still be some bleeding and pain during the
procedure; you are, after all, having a needle injected into your facial tissue. As with any type of medical procedure, there are risks involved — although no significant side effects or long-term complications have been reported. Always speak to your doctor to get the full picture before you make any decisions.