Thank you for your question.
You’re asking how many times a year would you need for a Vampire Facelift® to be done.
Well, I think that’s a very important question, a very common question.
I’ll give you a little bit about my 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.
I’ve been a longstanding member of the Vampire Facelift® network of physicians and I’ve
actually also been a resource for media whenever the Vampire Facelift® topic comes up.
And certainly, I have a lot of patients who come to our practice who have this procedure.
So before discussing how many times a year, it’s important to understand what exactly
the Vampire Facelift® is.
So briefly, to understand it clearly, a Vampire Facelift® was derived brilliantly by Dr.
Charles Runels who came up with this name that became more viral than Botox® based
on the idea that blood, your own blood is being used to stimulate your own body’s
collagen and growth factors and making you look younger hence the “vampire” idea.
What we are doing is using something called platelet-rich plasma or PRP and so, that’s
one part.
And that part of the equation typically is responsible for giving skin a globally youthful
glow.
And it is unparalleled.
With so many of the injectable fillers we have, we can’t get that same glow as you
can with platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
Now the facelift part is really unfortunately a little bit confusing.
And the reason why it’s confusing, as a surgeon, someone who does face lifting surgery
who does it every week, I have to tell you that it is something that, in the beginning,
I really felt uncomfortable with it because for me, a facelift is vertically lifting the
face upward.
Doctor Runels’ idea was really lifting the face outward.
And it really is its own way descriptive but it’s in a different direction.
And it is consistent with the idea of restoring volume because one of the biggest parts of
facial aging is volume loss.
Where does that fit in?
Well, it fits in this one important part.
Typically, it’s the application of a single syringe of a hyaluronic acid filler.
It could be Restylane, it could be Juvederm or Belotero.
It’s up to the physician but it is a single syringe which is one milliliter, basically,
a very small amount.
It’s about a baby teaspoon.
But, one syringe can be strategically applied and it can be placed in places like the outer
aspect of the brow, it can be placed at the tear trough area, it can be placed at the
cheek or at the outer corners of the mouth.
The idea was, essentially, for the right person who is typically a woman who has a relatively
thin face who is in their mid-30s to mid-40s to try to get a little bit of a nice enhancement
without it being overly done and utilizing two very effective ways to improve the appearance.
I didn’t mention also that there’s an actual synergy between platelet-rich plasma
(PRP) and hyaluronic acid which actually has a long-term benefit.
Now that being said, the question is how often do you need to get one?
Well, it depends a lot on your individual response.
Like working out at the gym, everybody can go to the gym and lift the same amount of
weight but not everyone can build the same amount of muscle at the same time frame.
There are people who get PRP as a standalone procedure, once every 3 months.
In South America, in regions, people will get PRP every month.
And as far as the fillers are concerned, it’s also an individual thing, how quickly does
that filler get metabolized.
So, I would say in our practice, people come typically twice a year.
I think it’s a reasonable amount of time to get that one syringe of an HA filler and
PRP every 6 months to maintain a certain look and it typically is just about the bare minimum
to maintain that look.
It has become my observation for many years that the more maintenance you do at the younger
years, when the time is right and appropriate, it actually has a beneficial effect long-term.
So PRP done strategically and with some relative frequency actually helps you keep looking
younger, that and a constellation of other opportunities that we actually have.
So meet with a Vampire Facelift® provider and see what is probably going to be the best
approach for you and learn and see what works for you but it has to be individualized.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question.