PRP Facials

What is Cosmetic PRP?

Popularly known as vampire facials, cosmetic PRP is a natural way to get healthier, rejuvenated skin. PRP stands for Platelet-Rich Plasma. Plasma is a portion of your blood that contains high concentrations of platelets and growth factors. These elements are required for collagen production and regeneration. Though commonly used for joint health, it can also be used cosmetically to aid with the body’s natural ability to produce collagen and thus healthier, plumper looking skin!

The Natural Aging Process

As we get older, our skin becomes less firm and less elastic as our body is not able to synthesize certain proteins such as elastin and collagen which are required to maintain integrity.

The progressive loss of these proteins can begin at the early age of 35 and leads to fine lines and wrinkles.

PRP accelerates the body’s natural regeneration process and enhances the release of growth factors and collagen production.

How does it work?

Step one requires drawing some blood from a vein and spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the plasma from the whole blood to produce PRP. Once this is achieved, the plasma can be injected subcutaneously or intradermally to the entire face or specific areas that need extra attention.

An alternative to injections is to use PRP topically along with other tools such as derma rollers or microneedling.

Once the PRP has penetrated the skin, it releases growth factors, and important one being fibroblast growth factor (FGF) that increase the proliferation of fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are responsible for the production of collagen, hyaluronic acid and elastin. So more fibroblasts equals younger looking skin!

Where can you inject PRP?

• Forehead
• Eyes – undereye bags, crow’s feet
• Cheeks
• Around the lips
• Jaw
• Neck
• Scalp

What to expect?

Each visit will be approximately 60-75 minutes long. The first step involves blood collection, and this is done by taking blood from a vein in your arm, just like doing a blood test in a lab. Next, a numbing cream is applied on the area being injected (face and/or neck) and you are asked to wait approximately 30 minutes for the cream to take effect. Once your face is fully numb, the PRP is injected sub-dermally (under the skin) all over the area being treated.

You may feel some pressure or slight discomfort around sensitive area such as the eyes and lips but there should be no pain. Once the treatment is done, you will notice a lot of redness on the area that was treated and some mosquito-bite like raised bumps. Don’t be alarmed! This is normal as the bumps are a result of the plasma that was injected. You will notice this redness for the remainder of the day so make sure you don’t plan any activities for the evening! The redness may take a few days to go away completely but will diminish drastically the next day.

Cost of Treatment

Costs will range between $400-850 depending on location. Please call or email us at info@arcintegratedmedicine.com for a personalized quote.