PRP treatments have been used for a long time in the medical world to aid in the treatment of sports injuries all the way through to more modern methods used alongside hair transplants, but could a PRP facial treatment actually give you younger looking skin?
More commonly known as the “vampire” facial, it’s received a lot of attention thanks to huge stars like Kim Kardashian opting for a PRP facial treatment to keep themselves looking young and to some onlookers, it seems as though we’ve finally stumbled upon a secret fountain of youth.
What exactly is PRP then?
PRP stands for platelet rich plasma and as the name suggests, it involves the use of the platelets that are naturally found within your blood. These are naturally occurring and in everyone’s blood worldwide and a PRP facial treatment uses them in a 3-step process:
- Similar to a blood test, a small amount of blood is drawn from your arm to be processed
- The blood is then placed into a machine known as a centrifuge to be spun at a high speed which separates the platelets and the plasma from the rest of your blood
- The processed blood is then separated from the platelet rich plasma, which is then injected into the face
Now as gory as this sounds, there’s actually a scientific reason behind it being used as a facial treatment which goes back the research performed on it when it was first used to treat sports injuries.
Your platelets contain something known as “growth factors” and although you probably don’t know what these are, they’re actually the most potent healers naturally found within your body and are the proteins responsible for repairing and healing injured tissue. Just like when you fall and cut your leg, the cut will bleed, it will scab over and then heal and there won’t even be a mark like you’ve done anything, PRP facial treatments replicate this on a larger scale (except thankfully without the scabbing).
How do the “growth factors” work then?
The “growth factors” work by stimulating a response in the cells surrounding them to multiply and begin to heal the skin. One of the cells that they target is the fibroblast cell deep below the skin which is responsible for the production of collagen and as anyone who has ever seen an advert on television for any beauty cream will know, collagen is the thing that is responsible for keeping your skin looking young.
Naturally via ageing, your body starts to produce less collagen and this is what causes wrinkles to appear on your skin. Even things such as smiling, laughing and frowning are known to leave lines and grooves in your skin and the PRP facial treatment effectively counteracts and reverses these processes, leaving you with firmer and younger looking skin.
If you feel like you could benefit from a PRP facial treatment, get in touch with one of our team today and they will be able to book you in for a consultation where they can discuss the treatment with you.