In the face of it

Use your blood to rejuvenate your face. It’s not an entirely new procedure but its popularity has recently skyrocketed. Kim Kardashian posted a selfie of her blood-smeared face and suddenly everyone was talking about the “vampire facial”. It’s become the rage for people searching for revolutionary new ways to slow down or reverse the signs of ageing. The aesthetic medical term for the procedure is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.

It’s used more commonly as a cosmetic treatment for areas where dermal fillers and lasers aren’t always effective, including around the eyes and mouth. People wanting to avoid cosmetic surgery are trying it as a first port of call.

THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS
Our bodies naturally produce stem cells that help us heal by stimulating the growth of collagen, as well as blood vessels that deliver oxygen to bodily tissues. Platelet-rich plasma contains three to  five times as many of these substances as normal blood. For this reason, it has been used for years to heal wounds and rejuvenate bone growth.

Normally, when tissue is damaged (as in a wound), platelets aggregate near the site of the injury and begin releasing at least seven growth factors. These are embedded in a gellike material – a matrix – that holds them in place so healing can begin. Without the matrix, the growth factors would simply wash away in the blood stream and be of little use. However, held in place, they stimulate multipotent stem cells to develop into new tissue and blood vessels to repair the damaged tissue.

Its use has been extended to many different  fields, including orthopaedics, sport medicine, dentistry, plastic and maxillofacial surgery. It’s been successful in treating scars and stretch marks, healing burns, treating chronic-elbow tendinosis and stimulating dental regrowth. And good news for balding buddies, it’s also used as a treatment for hair loss.

THE PROCEDURE
It’s non-surgical but it may only be performed by a qualified physician (an aesthetic medical practitioner).

FIRST STEP
A physician draws about two teaspoons of blood from a vein in the patient’s arm and this is put into a centrifuge to isolate the platelets from other blood components. They are activated to release the growth factors, namely the PRP.

NEXT STEP
Using numbing cream and a very small needle (for almost no pain), the physician injects the plasma back into the person’s face. The growth factors then activate multipotent stem cells already in the skin, which effectively trick them into “thinking” there’s been an injury and new, younger tissue is generated.

AFTER THE PROCEDURE
There is minor bruising or swelling afterwards which will last for about a week. A patient needs at least three treatments – the second is eight to 12 weeks after the  first and the third is six months after the intial one. The results can be seen after seven days and continue to improve for two to three months. The rejuvenation effect can last one to two years.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
It is a minimally invasive process. There are no scars, few side effects and allergic reactions are rare. It is a more natural procedure where you inject your own blood back into your face and not a foreign substance. Because it’s your own, it doesn’t carry the risk of rejection.

It is not a very messy process, although its vampire nickname makes it sound quite scary. The plasma injected into your face is light yellow in colour, not red like normal blood. The only droplets you’ll see is from the small injections, and not from the substance injected. There are conditions that preclude the procedure, such as being pregnant, sunburnt, having a blood disorder or being on certain medication such as Warfarin. A full consultation with the physician is done before it is performed.

WHAT DO THE PROFESSIONALS SAY ABOUT PRP THERAPY?

The procedure has generated much excitement, mainly because patients prefer less invasive treatments over surgical ones. Celebrities on the red carpet who sport new faces (after facelifts) that make them look as if they’ve been caught in a wind tunnel only add to the market’s desire to  find more natural ways to defy ageing. However, sceptics of this therapy say there is only minimum evidence that it works at all against ageing.

The jury is still out in some quarters that it is effective for wrinkle busting. For certain patients the procedure is “terriffic” but, as the professionals point out, it’s not for everybody. Some patients don’t see any difference from the treatment. For those for whom it works, it appears to last a long time.