Your blood contains a number of elements, including platelets. Platelets are powerful substances that contain high concentrations of different growth factors, helping the body trigger cell regeneration and healing. By harvesting these platelets and adding them to an aesthetic treatment, we can help you heal faster and give you more robust, longer lasting results.
Creating the serum
Creating both PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) and PRF (Platelet Rich Fibrin) involves us drawing a small sample of blood similar to a lab draw. For both, we place your whole blood sample into a centrifuge where the blood is then processed to help separate it into distinct layers.
PRP spins at a higher speed causing the heavier cells in the blood, such as red and white blood cells, and some stem cells to collect in the bottom part of the test tube, and the lighter platelets and plasma to collect in the top part of the test tube. Most PRP test tubes contain an anticoagulant such as sodium citrate or acid citrate dextrose (ACD) to keep the blood from clotting too quickly, allowing us to carefully collect just the platelets and plasma from the upper part. It’s this combination we use for your treatments.
PRF spins at a lower speed so that the layers of the blood do not separate as distinctly. This allows some of the white blood cells and stem cells to remain within the platelet layer that we collect for treatment. The slow spin also allows for fibrin to form in the process. The benefit is that there are more healing and growth factors within PRF than is typically seen in PRP. The fibrin also creates a matrix to help keep the serum in place, allowing the growth factors to be absorbed over a longer period of time. There are no anticoagulants used during the processing of PRF.
The prepared PRP or PRF serums are ready for us to inject into the treatment areas. Immediately, the platelets go to work helping trigger cell regeneration and healing.
Benefits
Both are effective treatments to help improve the overall health and appearance of the skin. While they have many similarities, there are also some key differences:
PRP is best used to speed healing and even out texture when used superficially during/after treatments such as microneedling, radiofrequency, or laser. It also has blood-thinning additives so it is readily absorbed but has a shorter active duration, releasing all the growth factors quickly.
PRF releases the growth factors for longer. Think of PRF as a supercharged version of PRP since it retains fibrinogen molecules to give a boost to the healing process. PRF also allows for the slow release of growth factors that boost your natural healing processes and building from the inside out. For this reason, PRF offers more healing benefits than PRP and is better when injected under the skin.
Using PRP and PRF in aesthetic treatments
Based on your specific needs, our expert aesthetic nurse offers PRP and PRF in many aesthetic treatments. Both use your own blood, making your risks for side effects or complications minimal.
PRP
We may recommend adding PRP to your Microneedling treatment. It’s a great way to kickstart and enhance the regenerating process, to give you fresh, healthy new skin tissues and create a more youthful facial look. PRP injections are often used to improve skin texture and tone, as well as to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
PRF
This is a great way to correct aesthetic issues that develop as you get older, including facial lines, wrinkles, dark circles, loss of facial volume, deep facial folds, and sagging tear troughs. PRF injections can improve the overall health and appearance of your skin, as well as stimulate collagen production.
To ensure your comfort, we’ll apply a local numbing injection or topical numbing cream prior to your treatment. Following your treatment, you may notice an immediate improvement. Better yet, your results will continue to improve in the weeks following your treatment as new collagen forms in the treatment area.