RAPID CITY S.D. –The Vampire Facial® a phrase heard around the world by Kim Kardashian fans. The social media and tv star praised the benefits of this trending esthetic treatment. The procedure involves micro-puncturing the skin with a special device, and then painting the patient’s own blood components over the face, is gaining popularity as an effective approach to help issues including acne, acne scarring, large pores, signs of aging, and hyperpigmentation.
Photo: Kim Kardashian / Instagram
Nic Yost, a nurse practitioner who owns and operates BeautyMed, a medical spa in Rapid City, offers a similar procedure she has coined, “the Blood Facial.” According to Yost, there is a growing demand for this procedure because of the results that are seen.
“People are wondering what are you using on your skin, what did you do to change your skin? Because it’s that noticeable, even after one treatment,” said Yost.
During a treatment, a vial of your own blood is drawn, and your platelets are isolated using a top of the line centrifuge in order to get a platelet-rich plasma (PRP). PRP is a concentration of one type of cell, known as platelets, which circulate through the blood and are critical for blood clotting. Platelets contain many factors that are essential for cell recruitment, multiplication and specialization that are required for healing.
The PRP can be injected into problem areas on the face, such as fine lines, wrinkles, discoloration, bumps, or blemishes. A micro-needling device is then used called a Skin Pen to create micro-punctures. This creates stimulus for tightening and rejuvenating collagen in your face.
Finally, the growth cells (PRP) are painted onto the skin. The micro-punctures allow the PRP to further soak into the tissues for added stimulation. This process activates multipotent stem cells in the skin, acting as if there has been an injury and therefore new younger tissue should be produced as a healing response.
The proteins found in your blood have growth factors that mimic those that are naturally recurring in your skin. So, when your own blood is applied back to your skin topically there are benefits such as collagen production, skin renewal, cell growth, and tissue regeneration.
Nic Yost, CNP, has been trained and certified in Platelet Rich Plasma techniques and invested in top of the line equipment to extract the purest PRP possible. She is also certified to use the Skin Pen micro-needling pen, which is the only FDA approved micro-needling pen on the market.
According to Yost, If the proper devices are not used you may not see results. “You could also have more inflammation, redness, and possible bruising. An additional drawback is longer downtime,” said Yost
Typical downtime is approximately 4-7 days, but Yost has found a way to make the recovery time shorter.
“I’m finding if I use the LED light in conjunction with the treatment the downtime is 2-3 days. You look like you have kind of a sunburn, it’s not terrible,” explained Yost
This treatment is very safe, there are only risks involved in this if the esthetician is not using the FDA approved Skin Pen, it is the only one that ensures that there is no cross-contamination of blood and plasma between patients.
“If you are going to someone it is extremely important, and I can’t stress it enough, that they use the Skin Pen. There has been stuff in the news of people contracting HIV and Hepatitis B from micro-needling pens that are not FDA approved,” explained Yost.
According to Yost right now is the perfect time of year to get a Blood facial since you won’t be out in the sun as much and the holidays are approaching. She recommends having a treatment one to two months before any special events such as holiday gatherings and weddings.
“28 days is what it takes for a cell to turn over, within 3-4 weeks is when you will see the best results from a Blood facial, it will continue to work for about a year, but 3-4 weeks is when your skin is really glowing and you see nice results from it,” said Yost.