Perhaps the popularity of the vampire facial isn’t immortal after all.
Rather than just slathering their faces with their own blood, beauty chasers are injecting it into their faces with a syringe to reap the supposed benefits of rejuvenation and a youthful-looking complexion.
The injections of PRF, or platelet-rich fibrin, are lauded as being more natural than other aesthetics procedures, as patients seek our “alternatives to filler,” board-certified dermatologist Dr. Ava Shamban told Allure.
While both PRF and its cousin PRP — or platelet-rich plasma used in the so-called “vampire facial” — employ the patient’s own blood to create the rejuvenating concoction, which is then placed in a centrifuge for separation.
To make create the PRF injections, the blood is spun at a lower speed than PRP so that “some white blood cells, stem cells and fibrin also stay in the platelet layer,” explained Dr. Doris Day, a board-certified dermatologist.
In theory, the injections have the potential to expedite skin healing, minimize under-eye circles and wrinkles or even treat hair loss,
“They’re considered the next generation of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments, which are usually used to aid sports injuries,” Dr. Michael Somenek, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon who practices in New York City, told Byrdie.
“The absence of an anticoagulant in the tube allows the formation of a spongy, gel-like product rich in platelets, stem cells, growth factors, and fibrin that can be injected into the skin to address signs of aging, hair loss or skin healing.”
While the injections — which cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 for a single session and typically require multiple treatments to achieve results, per Byrdie — are most commonly used as facial fillers, particularly in the under-eye region, other doctors aren’t convinced of its efficacy.
“PRF is being sold as filler, but I don’t think it works like filler,” Day told Allure, nothing that she hasn’t “seen great published data” on PRF injections in the face.
In fact, she doesn’t even offer the treatment in her clinics, arguing that she hasn’t “seen much benefit” from literature. However, one small study published last year found promising results in treating acne scarring and boosting the texture and elasticity of the skin.
“I’ve seen people unhappy with the results, and even people who have scarring from it,” she continued. “I really talk people out of it.”
Board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Amir Karam, who founded the Carmel Valley Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Center, told Byrdie that PRF is unlikely to create or change the volume underneath the eyes, calling the injections “unreliable.”
“As you can imagine, going in five times to get your under-eyes injected, the amount of bruising and trauma to that area is pretty substantial,” Karam explained. “And even in those cases, you rarely see a significant enough change. So for healing purposes and potentially giving the skin a little bit of a boost following microneedling, it probably has some value, but not as a filler substitute.”
According to Shamban, the Food and Drug Administration has expressed concerns over potential blood contamination and subsequent health risks, and the agency has previously issued statements cautioning against medical treatments involving stem cells, although it is unclear whether PRF would fall in such category.
Despite dubious docs’ cautions against the innovative therapy, Shamban says more people are drawn to the injections as a result of “filler fatigue,” although she also warned it is not an equal substitute for traditional hyaluronic acid fillers.
Those who “experience sagging, heaviness, or stretched-out tissues from overfilling and improper techniques [like poor] product placement,” she continued, are enamored with the shiny new prospect of “a more ‘natural’ product for skin revitalization and rejuvenation.”