7 Frequently Asked Questions About Platelet-Rich-Plasma Facials

Some people call it the ‘Vampire Facial’ but I say it’s the ‘Wolverine Facial’. Platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) uses your own body’s elements to regenerate and self-heal.

But first, let’s get to the question that’s on everyone’s mind about PRP treatments: why in the world would you inject your face with your own blood?

It’s because your blood has plasma – the ingredient your body needs to heal itself. Just imagine what happens when you burst a pimple. After the infection and a little blood comes out, a clear liquid oozes out and hardens. That clear liquid is the plasma that heals the wound.But the plasma in PRP is not normal plasma. It’s rich in growth factors that repairs, restores and regenerates your skin.

1. What are the benefits of PRP?

PRP itself is nothing new. It has been used for years to treat sports injuries. Only lately, thanks to celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Bar Refaeli, more people are becoming aware of what PRP can do for your beauty and health. It helps with overall skin health, acne, acne scars, wrinkles, pigmentation, dark circles and hair loss.

2. How is PRP performed?

First, you’ll have a small amount of blood drawn from your arm. It’s about 20cc, just like a normal blood test. Then we use a centrifuge to separate the platelets from other blood components. While waiting for the PRP, you’ll have numbing cream applied on your whole face.

Once the PRP is ready, it’s injected into your face with fine needles. There’s 2 reasons for this: 1) The pin point holes are “mini-injuries” meant to encourage your body to heal itself by producing extra collagen. 2) The PRP is able to penetrate deeper into your skin for maximum benefits.

For even more radiant skin, I recommend following up PRP treatments with microdermabrasion. It helps to reduce pore size, unclog pores, remove whiteheads and blackheads, tightens skin and reduces fine wrinkles. For skin that is troubled with deep acne scars, I highly recommend adding subcision acne scar therapy after PRP treatments.

3. Is there more than one way to do PRP?

Yes, there are many ways to do PRP. Some ‘automatic’ versions are the Mesogun and SkinPen. Scarily, the Mesogun can be performed by anyone – not just a qualified doctor. With the ‘automatic’ methods, the depth of the injections is fixed.

I personally prefer ‘manual’ injections because I can reach different layers of the skin. This is important because every skin texture is unique. For example, those with acne and pigmentation need different levels of needle penetration to treat the source of their problematic skin.

4. How often do you need to do PRP treatments?

To start with, I recommend doing it at least 3 times consecutively in 3 months. Then, treat yourself once a month with PRP to maintain glowing skin. This medical facial revives your skin from the inside-out unlike beauty salon facials which only touch the surface.

5. What happens when you stop PRP treatments?

Nothing. Nothing bad, that is. Your skin will continue to improve because the cells have been activated and keep regenerating.

6. When should you avoid PRP?

If you are suffering from any of these medical conditions, then PRP is not for you:

Blood disorders : critical thrombocytopenia or low platelet count, hypofibrinogenemia
Hemodynamic instability
Sepsis
Acute and chronic infections
Chronic liver disease

Or if you are on anti-coagulation therapy medication (warfarin, dabigatran, heparin), you can’t do PRP too.

7. How can you improve your platelet count through food intake?

In severe low platelet count cases (like during dengue), aggressive treatments like platelet transfusions are necessary. But for subtler cases, platelet count can be improved with the right food intake, like:

Pomegranate
Milk
Folate rich foods (orange juice, spinach and fortified cereals)
Lean protein foods (chicken and fish)
Papaya leaf extract
Cod liver oil and flax seed oil
Vitamin A rich foods (carrot, pumpkin and sweet potatoes)
Chlorophyll from wheatgrass

* * *

When aging and skin problems outweigh all external efforts for glowing skin, it’s time to use what’s already inside you. As the saying goes, your body knows best!