Vampire Facials. Lasting benefits, or just overpriced microneedling?

PRP offers many benefits to the skin and as I use it myself, I can tell you it works very well.  Unlike other products that are used with the micropen, PRP is a biologic- it has your own DNA matched growth factors which are saturated into the pores left by the micropen.  In this way, the top few millimeters of skin are impacted, stimulating growth of collagen, elastin, vessels as well as thickening the skin.My preference is to use it with microneedling as well as by injection.  In this case I will use it along with an HA product.  The additional volume and growth factors significantly improve the quality and texture of the skin.  There is nothing else to compete with this combination therapy.Give it a try.In good health,Ellen Mahony, MD

Thank you for your question. You’re asking if a Vampire Facial®is effective in particular areas such as subcutaneous fat, if it really enhances the benefit of microneedling, or if it’s overpriced microneedling. This is a very good question, and one that deserves clarification so you understand the limits of this procedure is.
A little background: I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon. I have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years. I’ve been a member of the Vampire Facelift® Network for many years and a resource for the media whenever the topic of Vampire Facelift® and Vampire Facial® arise, particularly a few years ago when a famous individual got the Vampire Facial® and it made a lot of news.
I think you’re hitting a very important question by asking about subcutaneous fat. One of the challenges of communication with our patients as aesthetic surgeons are the limits of what you can do from the outside to help things on the inside. When people look at themselves, they see lines, wrinkles, and what they don't necessarily appreciate is the associated volume loss underlying those lines and wrinkles. Study after study show significant loss of bone, muscle, and fat that characterizes facial aging. Yet, cosmetics is a multibillion dollar industry selling hope in a jar, selling creams. People believe in so many of the miraculous effects of creams.
Close to that is the perception about facials. Different kinds of facials are promoted and certainly the concept of needling is not new starting with dermarollers, then microneedling.
The limit is the thickness of the skin. When you think of microneedling, whether the Vampire Facial® which is micro needling combined with a topical application PRP, microneedling creates defects in the skin that is broadly categorized under the umbrella of collagen induction therapy. You injure the skin, you stimulate collagen, then the skin texture and quality improves; when you add PRP, it improves significantly more. So there isn't necessarily an equivalence between not using PRP and using PRP. In my own observation, PRP expedites the healing, and delivering PRP into the skin certainly is an advantage to helping skin quality.
You asked about how long it lasts. With skin, there is always a strategy that has to be customized to the individual. The strategy typically has to do with first addressing particular concerns: wrinkles, discoloration and texture being the most common. Beyond that, there has to be a maintenance plan that works with you in terms of treatments in office and skincare products as skin requires maintenance.
When you ask about subcutaneous fat, I think it’s more likely you will find a solution that addresses the foundation - the deeper parts of facial volume loss before you do something on the surface. We can do things in combination. It’s routine for us to do Structural Volumizing which is the placement of a long lasting filler such as hyaluronic acid in the Juvederm family of Juvederm Ultra Plus and Voluma, placing it in the cheeks, jawline, and chin to create essentially a lifting type of effect.
The same patient often needs skincare, so they would benefit from microneedling or HydraFacial. There are definitely ways to polish the external skin: Q-switch lasers, fractional lasers, ways to improve texture of the skin. I think a lot of people get frustrated when they try to do something limited to working on the outside when the more dramatic effects or benefits can occur from the inside, but this doesn't only apply to fine lines and wrinkles. We have patients who come in after having multiple treatments for acne scarring by placing volume in the cheek, where their scarring may be accentuated. By placing volume in the bone structure level, the acne scars look a lot better.
It’s important to get a proper evaluation with a doctor who has extensive experience, come up with a treatment plan that meets your needs, and figure out how to best allocate your resources and your time. I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck, and thank you for your question.