Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the abbreviation PRP by now. It first made its big mark on the world of aesthetics with the release of the ever-popular vampire facial we saw Kim Kardashian and other celebs frequenting years back. But unlike the style trends rotating in and out of our favorite magazines (and the celebs and their rotating relationship statuses), platelet-rich plasma treatments are absolutely here to stay!
PRP Refresher - While platelets are well known as the components in our blood that aide in clotting after we get a cut or a scrape, what most don’t know is that they contain growth factors that heal our injured skin, and also can improve the appearance of our skin and other parts of the body when extracted. How so? These growth factors when injected supply raw materials to our body’s natural regenerative systems. These raw materials are the fuel our bodies need to accelerate collagen production, which leaves us with fuller, healthier, and rejuvenated skin. So how do we collect the good stuff? During the PRP extraction portion of treatment, we’ll draw a small amount of our patients’ blood and place it into a centrifuge to separate the platelets from the other components of the blood. Once separated, this platelet rich plasma is the key to our PRP injections, and ultimately – your younger looking skin!
What System We Use - At Pure Skin, we are proud to offer the best in PRP extraction systems - EmCyte® PRP. This system allows for 80-90% recovery of platelets (4 to 7 times the baseline amount in whole blood.) This high concentration of quality platelets is the key for optimal results. The EmCyte system is completely closed and self-contained during all steps of processing and utilizes sodium citrate to preserve platelet viability and provide the highest yield of platelet extraction. This provides us as practitioners greater flexibility in platelet concentration, the volume of PRP, and the amount of red and white blood cells collected. Controlling these factors allows us to help decrease post-injection flare (with a reduction in red blood cells) and will also reduce the chance of inflammation at the injection site. Another benefit of the EmCyte system is that it garners a higher monocyte concentration, which are essential non-inflammatory cells that aide in tissue healing and release the pro-regenerative growth factors that make PRP treatments so popular.
What is PRP Used For - With platelet-rich plasma the sky is nearly the limit! We’ve seen incredible results on our patients while injecting for hair loss treatment on the scalp, massaging it into the skin while Microneedling, post laser treatment, in tear trough filler treatments and really anywhere on the face in place of traditional filler. While patients will notice a difference in the longevity of PRP treatments in regards to skin volume when compared to traditional fillers (~6-9 months), the shortened timeline is made up for with the long-term collagen stimulating benefits and the natural results that make PRP treatments so appealing.
At Pure Skin Aesthetic & Laser Center, we see patients with a wide range of aesthetic goals - whether that be volume (in the cheeks and lips) to the max, or just a subtle bit of BOTOX® Cosmetic to soften signs of aging, and PRP treatments truly appeal to nearly all our patients for their skin and body goals. Ready to see the effects that PRP can have on your skin from the inside out? Call us today for your complimentary comprehensive consult at: 701-751-4140
