Thank you for your question.
You are asking if the Vampire Facial® is really effective for inducing collagen, elastin
and etc. if platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is just being rubbed on the skin as supposed
to being injected.
I think this is an excellent question and I can certainly give you my perspective on
this.
I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and fellowship trained oculofacial plastic and
reconstructive surgeon practicing in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years and helping
people rejuvenate their skin and helping them with issues has been a very important part
of my practice.
I am a member of the Vampire Facelift® Network of doctors and I have been a media resource
periodically when questioned about these treatments arise in particular, a recent history of a
well-known celebrity posted photos after Vampire Facial® which lead to a lot of questions
about this treatment.
It all begins really with what is really the intended problem that you want to treat.
And the question is there benefit in creating openings in the skin with microneedle versus
injecting.
From my perspective and the types of patients who I treat, what we want to do is get the
most benefit with the least amount of downtime.
When we talk about doing the injection, the injection is done in a way that we increase
the fat under the skin in terms of its quality because it is beneficial to have platelet-rich
plasma (PRP).
It secondarily improves skin quality and we want to inject it in the dermis to help build
collagen in the dermis which is the foundation of the skin.
Now when we talk about fine lines and wrinkles, the microneedling procedure can be compared
in some ways to fractional lasering.
And what is being done with fractional laser that is comparable to microneedling?
Well, small narrow channels are being created through the epidermis into the dermis to get
a dual benefit and you are getting both benefit of the stimulation of the dermis through the
trauma as well as some degree of re-epithelialization which improves the overall skin quality on
the epidermis.
Microneedling in some ways, especially with automated device like Dermapen you refer to,
has to be done very carefully.
You can set the depth like you can when you do the parameters of fractional laser and
as well as set the frequency.
The important thing is to define what the desired outcome is.
Now the question you are asking is if you are just rubbing the platelet-rich plasma
(PRP) on top, how much good are you doing?
Well, I can tell you that application of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) does improve the rate of healing.
It does enter into those channels to stimulate this collagen production and therefore it
does have value in the contexts of this Vampire Facial® treatment.
In fact, when we do laser skin resurfacing or if we use fractional laser, I routinely
use platelet-rich plasma (PRP) both as a way to facilitate healing by topical application
and depending on the scenario, I’ll also inject platelet-rich plasma (PRP) into the
skin.
So I think that you can understand that the science is certainly valid applying platelet-rich
plasma (PRP).
The question is it the right thing to do in your situation?
A lot of times people come to me for the Vampire Facial® and when I explain to them what is
involved and what the downtime and that initial level, there is blood or redness that’s
depending on the depth.
They often opt for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection or platelet-rich fiber matrix injection.
So this is now in absence of a photo, in absence of a physical examination.
For me, I would encourage you to now meet with doctors and learn more about these options.
Meet with someone who is part of the Vampire Facelift® Network who actually will likely
have a lot of experience with this treatment and will be able to guide you appropriately.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question!