Thank you for your question.
You’ve asked a question without a photo but you’re essentially asking an either/or
question.
Which is better in stimulating collagen, improving the shadows under the eyes, improving tightness
and texture of facial skin, Pelleve or PRP?
Well I can certainly share with you my perspective as I do have extensive experience with both.
A little bit of background, I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
I have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years.
And as I said, I have a lot of experience with both radiofrequency device, Pelleve,
as well as the use of PRP or platelet-rich plasma.
So let’s just understand some basic issues and I think I understand why you’re confused.
Essentially, after a while, all the terminology of what an intervention in the cosmetic field
does starts to sound the same.
So whether you are using a laser, a radiofrequency or an injectable filler as well as PRP, you
hear the same thing.
It stimulates collagen.
It improves texture and quality.
So I can understand, for most people, it gets confusing.
So let’s basically understand the principle of first Pelleve.
Pelleve is radiofrequency induced heating of the skin which then stimulates the skin
to heal by generating collagen.
Now, what is the limitation?
Well, the limitation is how much collagen can really be induced from a thermal energy
device.
And this is an area that really is difficult to truly determine for every patient but you
can essentially use a general rule of thumb.
If the skin is thinner and more aged, it will produce less collagen.
If it’s thicker and younger, it will produce more.
It will respond better.
As far as PRP is concerned, understand that PRP or platelet-rich plasma is a concentration
of the wound healing and growth factors necessary after you get a cut.
So, PRP works at many levels.
It basically stimulates not only collagen in the skin but it also improves the health
and volume of the fat cells under the skin.
We’ve used PRP a lot in our practice and we use it routinely particularly for challenges
such as under eye dark circles, for acne scars, for wrinkles as well as in combination with
another treatment that we do called Hair Regeneration for hair loss.
So I would not answer this question as an either/or.
I would answer this as, it depends on what your desired outcome is.
There’s just a difference in all the elements of your question.
The under eye area is very thin.
It may be best served by an injectable filler which wasn’t even mentioned in your question.
You might be better off with a filler like Restylane to fill the hollow.
I would routinely combine a filler like Restylane with PRP so you get a synergy in improving
volume as well as skin quality.
When you think about a thermal energy device such as Pelleve, I’ve always found that
there’s always an upper limit and there’s only so much you can do.
So although it does have its role, especially when it comes to very fine lines like the
lines around the eyes or under the eyes, I found that I like combining Pelleve with PRP
where I can get something from the stimulation of collagen and tissue from underneath as
well as remodeling of the skin at the thinnest level, at the top level or top to middle level
of the skin.
So I think that when you are looking for solutions in the aesthetic field, it is very often a
key to have an understanding of what the problem is and really understand which problems you
want to deal with and what your priorities are.
And then when you are dealing with any issue, very often it is a combination approach that
gives you the best results as opposed to a single solution.
Now of course, there are a lot of times when we use injectable fillers such as for the
lips or for the cheeks where the filler pretty much gets the job done.
But you’re talking about something that’s trying to stimulate your body’s own natural
ability to produce collagen.
I think that you’re probably going to have more flexibility in terms of the levels and
ways you can use PRP but there is certainly a value of using Pelleve or some type of a
thermal device.
Whether it’s Pelleve or a laser, you can certainly get a benefit in getting the skin
quality to improve but I think that, when it comes to a strategy, you’ll find that
you can only heat the skin up so much.
And at the same time, when you have something like PRP, you can do PRP with some considerable
frequency and I think you can considerably get a synergy between the two.
So meet with qualified, experienced doctors who perform these procedures.
Learn more about your options.
Get a realistic understanding of what your outcomes will be and then see if it’s worth
pursuing.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question.