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"Vampire Facelift" is a trademarked cosmetics procedure that trends today.
"Vampire facelift" is not a facelift at all technically rather it is a designer cosmetic procedure that combines injectable hyaluronic acid dermal fillers like juvedam and Restylane with components of your blood many call - a natural fountain of youth.
The procedure includes placement of vials of blood in a machine called centrifuge and spun at a very high speed. The machine separates the red blood cell from the plasma - a golden yellow liquid called platelet rich plasma (PRP). This is part of your blood that helps stop bleeding and heals wounds.
For orthopaedic surgery, PRP is FDA approved but more often it is used for non-surgical procedures. Due to the efficacy, many professional and weekend athletes receive PRP injections to help heal the elbow, tendonitis and arthritis.
Cosmetically, PRP is used to fight visible signs of aging. It stimulates cells growth for youthful and more lasting results. The rationale injectable fillers deliver an initial volume. There are many different types of facelifts you might want to consider and ScottsdalePS suggests Dr. Paul Holden and Dr. Tsujimura Ryan for delivering extraordinary outcomes and services.
Dr Kirsten Bretch who performs facelift of her Burien practice said "The PRP actually helps stimulate the collagen, It helps the circulation and that is why you get immediate kind of rosy glow"
But Vampire facelift is not simply getting facial injection of dermal filler and PRP. Dr Charles Runels of Alabama designed and trademarked "Vampire Facelift."Professionals must pay for Runels' special training and use his specific techniques and Hyaluronic Acid (HA) fillers to use vampire term in connection with a facial PRP injectable procedure.
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His licences, training, techniques and procedure are internationally standardized to control quality and results, says Dr Runels.
Dr Rebel says, "This is a service mark that indicates something will be done in a particular way,"
Runels goes a great length to protect the "Vampire Facelift" from becoming a generic term for any procedure that requires PRP and warns it is not for everyone, including patients blood thinners. He also emphasizes he named the procedure and does not want people to be confused.
The real key to all procedure is PRP, says Nurse practitioner Debra Tri of Kirkland who performs many variations of PRP/dermal filler injections including Vampire.
"It's like miracle grow is to the garden where you get rejuvenated, bright color flowers. That's what PRP does for the skin," she said.
PRP attaches no significant value, despite the additional cost of $700 more than a typical procedure with dermal filler alone, skeptic like plastic surgeon Richard Baxter of Mountlake Terrace argues. There are no long-term clinical studies to scientifically prove the claims represent the most common argument.
Barter said "I haven't been able to find any published data showing that combining PRP with a dermal filler produces a different effect than you would get by using dermal filler alone. It may be the case. We just haven't been able to prove that yet, with anything that's gone through peer review."
Comparing trend to other trendy procedures that got many buzz early on and then fizzled away, Bartex performs dermal filler procedures on his clients including HA fillers but doesn't use PRP.
"So often we see the hype precedes the real science to back it up. And a lot of them tend to sort of disappear from our minds before science ever arrives, because they don't end up proving themselves," he said.
A new trademarked PRP procedure named "Vampire Breast Lift" has just been introduced by Runels
Some cosmetic clinics now apply PRP topically after facial treatment, despite the controversy. The PRP trend appears to be taking off.