Platelet Rich Plasma, or PRP, is a special extract made from your blood that contains a concentration of platelets, growth factors, and active proteins. The extract is three to five times richer than your regular blood, and the concentration of beneficial elements make it incredibly powerful for tissue and injury healing.
When we insert this platelet-rich plasma back into your skin via micro-needling or injection, it begins a localized stem cell response. During the proceeding weeks and months after your treatment, your skin’s stem cell process will recruit fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are tissue-creating cells to replace damaged or lost tissue with fresh, healthy skin tissue that looks much younger. This can help you look and feel tremendously rejuvenated and refreshed.
The healing properties of the concentrated blood plasma found in PRP make it useful for:
- Toning and tightening skin
- Correcting uneven skin tones
- Brightening the overall look of the skin
- Shrinking large pores
- Smoothing rough textured skin
- Healing acne scars
- Treating rosacea
- Reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines
- Addressing mild collagen and volume loss
- Reducing crow’s feet and dark circles under the eyes
What is the Process of PRP Like?
The process of getting PRP micro-needling begins with applying topical lidocaine to numb your face and neck area while we draw the needed blood for your special concentrated plasma. The amount of blood needed is very small, only 30 milliliters in total.
Your blood is placed in a centrifuge device, which will perform the concentration, separating the platelet-rich plasma from your platelet-poor plasma (PPP). The PRP is red, while the PPP is clear, making it easy to identify which is which. With the separation complete, we will then use micro-needling to inject your PRP back into your skin.
With the micro-needling process complete, your skin will have a plasma “red mask” on it, which you can wash off at any time ranging from 20 minutes to 24 hours after completing your treatment.
Remember that PPP clear solution that we created earlier on in the process? That is useful too! We will send you home with that solution, and you can use it to rub on your face to aid in both hydration and healing. You can also use the PPP on your eyebrows and eyelashes to help stimulate growth and to condition them or apply it to your thighs to help reduce the appearance of cellulite.
The entire PRP/PPP and micro-needling process take about 75-90 minutes in total. After your treatment, it is normal to experience some tightening and tenderness in your skin in the treatment area. This may feel somewhat like sunburn. Your skin will stay pink for a day or two, and it may be a bit dry and flaky during that time as well.
The treatment results should last 10 to 12 weeks, and you should consider coming in for treatments once per quarter to maintain the benefits.
What is the Difference Between PRP & Micro-needling?
The key difference between the PRP process and the regular micro-needling process is the solution injected. With PRP, we use your platelet-rich plasma, whereas, with micro-needling, we use a serum of nutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin A, or growth factor instead. There is no competing product that can create the same benefits as PRP because it is composed of your own body’s blood plasma.
What Can Micro-Needling Do for Me?
Micro-needling is a process that is very similar to the PRP process, wherein we inject a special nutrient-rich serum into your skin. Micro-needling provides a wide range of benefits, including:
- Healing of surgical scars
- Reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
- Smoothing rough skin texture
- Minimizing the size of pores
- Healing keloid scarring
- Treating mild to moderate acne scarring
- Minimizing the appearance of stretch marks
The process of micro-needling utilizes a device which glides gently along the surface of your skin, penetrating the upper layers up to 2mm in depth. This creates many tiny needle holes, which your skin responds to by producing healing tissue, including new collagen and elastin fibers. As the healing process continues, your skin will thicken, reducing the appearance of numerous imperfections.
If you would like to try either the PRP or micro-needling process, contact our office today! We would be happy to help answer any questions you may have about the process or the benefits and to help you schedule your first appointment.