Your skin is the largest organ of your body and one of the first things people notice about you. That’s why there’s such a huge market for skincare products. From anti-aging serums to moisturizing creams, acne soaps, to clay masks, you’ve probably seen it all.
We often allocate a large portion of our spending to achieving beautiful skin, so it can be frustrating when we don’t see results. Unfortunately, many skin care products actually contain harmful chemicals and harsh additives that do our skin more harm than good.
Are you feeling frustrated with your skincare products? If so, don’t despair! There is an all-natural treatment that comes straight from your own body that can slow down premature signs of aging and rejuvenate your skin.
Introducing Platelet-Rich Fibrin
Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF) is an all-natural treatment derived from your own blood and cells that are proven to do wonders for a whole range of cosmetic and medical concerns.
There is a protein in our blood called fibrin. Fibrin helps our blood clot when we get a cut or a wound. In case you skipped your high school science class, let’s break down how this works.
Your blood plays a major role in cell and tissue repair. This is because white blood cells and fibrin release growth factors that encourage your cells to duplicate. These growth factors are essential to our body’s healing processes.
When Platelet-Rich Fibrin is injected into a specific area of the body, it releases growth factors, increases collagen production, regenerates the old and damaged tissues, improves blood circulation, and enhances the overall structure of the specific area. Pretty amazing, right?!
The PRF Procedure
For a Platelet-Rich Fibrin treatment, you give a blood sample to your medical professional, and your blood is run through a process called centrifugation. Don’t worry; it’s just like giving a standard blood sample during an annual checkup.
After the first round of centrifugation, the middle layer, which contains fewer platelets and more growth factors, is separated. This layer slowly converts into a fibrin network and gets trapped by cytokines. It undergoes another round of centrifugation, which will separate another layer of fibrin containing platelets and plasma.
These medical terms might be unfamiliar to you, but essentially what this process is doing: This process separates the blood with a high concentration of fibrin and platelets, i.e., the blood that will encourage healing and cell growth. These growth factors are what will naturally encourage your skin to repair itself, leaving you looking fresh and rejuvenated.
Then, the Platelet-Rich Fibrin solution (basically from your own blood!) is injected into the problematic area of your skin like eye bags, forehead wrinkles, fine lines of your face, and jowls. **NOTE we are not injecting PRF yet, we are only offering this in conjunction with SkinPen Microneedling***
The PRF procedure is performed multiple times, with four to eight weeks between treatments, depending on what your specialist recommends.
This might sound like a hassle, but it’s actually a really quick and simple procedure. You can get back to your busy day in about 30 minutes, and you should start seeing results after just six to eight weeks!
For the full effect of PRF, you have to be willing to stick with treatments for a little longer. If you want to tighten your skin, experience the hydrating and elasticity of increased collagen, and even out your skin tone, you may need to continue treatments for about six to twelve months.
Luckily, this means you can kiss all those ineffective drugstore products goodbye as you treat your skin to the collagen and fibrin boost it needs to look and feel rejuvenated.
Benefits of PRF Treatments
So you might be wondering, what benefits will I see if I use PRF?
There are a ton of reasons to try PRF for your skin!
- Platelet-Rich Fibrin injections tighten your skin by boosting collagen production.
- The collagen boost aids in the disappearance of wrinkles and fine lines, including laugh lines, upper lip wrinkles, and forehead wrinkles.
- PRF is perfect for addressing those unwanted crow’s feet.
- PRF for your under eyes treats dark circles, spots, and undereye puffiness.
- Growth factors from the fibrin and blood cells help develop new blood vessels under your skin and improve your blood circulation. This means your skin will appear brighter, so you can get that glowy, hydrated look without using makeup.
- The PRF treatment improves your skin’s texture and lessens redness and inflammation. This is great for general skin complaints as well as skin ailments like rosacea.
- For general dullness and lackluster skin, PRF improves skin texture, tone, and overall quality of your skin.
- If you have acne scars or stretch marks, PRF can diminish their appearance and color, and in some cases, fade them altogether.
- Noticing the effect of sun exposure on your skin? PRF encourages your body to heal skin damage caused by the harmful rays of the sun.
- The growth factors in Platelet-Rich Fibrin have anti-aging properties and a high concentration of fibrin, leukocytes, and platelets that make it ideal for minimizing signs of aging.
- Other skin treatments can trigger allergic reactions or be rejected by the body. There is virtually no danger of allergic or adverse reactions with
- PRF because the solution is extracted from your own body.
- There is extensive research on the safety and high success rate of PRF treatments.
Platelet-Rich Fibrin can be used on any area of the skin that you would like to treat. - Platelet-Rich Fibrin treatments paired with micro-needling is an incredible treatment for premature aging. Small punctures are made with very fine needles as the PRF solution is injected. The PRF boosts collagen and elastin production and improves skin elasticity.
- The effects of PRF are long-lasting. These treatments last longer than other cosmetic treatments and are not considered a quick fix or band-aid solution like most cosmetic products.
More Effective than PRP
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is sometimes confused with PRF. They have both been used as anti-aging treatments for years, but although they treat similar issues, there are some key differences in their ingredients, success rates, and safety.
Platelet-Rich Fibrin is the advanced form of PRP because PRF focuses on the protein fibrin. As explained earlier, fibrin is the insoluble protein that releases growth factors to help blood clotting and encourage your body’s healing processes.
Growth factors are critical in these skin treatments because they encourage the natural healing processes in your body. Growth factors play a vital role in releasing collagen and elastin to keep the skin healthy and young.
Because there is no fibrin in PRP solutions, an anticoagulant is added to Platelet-Rich Plasma. However, PRF is the all-natural version of PRP. No additives are added to PRF, just your blood!
Both PRP and PRF release growth factors, but PRP’s additives only release growth factors for a few hours after treatment. The natural fibrin in PRF is slow releasing. This means the PRF solution keeps on releasing growth factors for weeks after injection. The fibrin protein makes a web that holds the platelets in the PRF solution and releases them slowly and continually.
PRF has a very minimal risk of side effects. The patient can experience mild bruising, swelling, and pain at the injected site, easily treated with ice. PRP has a higher risk of side effects and allergic reactions because it is not an all-natural solution.
Why ditch the harsh chemicals in your drugstore products just to inject additives in your body? Try PRF for a more natural and very low-risk solution to your skin complaints.
Are You a Candidate for PRF Treatments?
If you’re still reading, you probably think PRF sounds pretty fantastic. And it is! So now you need to know if PRF will work for you.
Luckily, almost everyone is a candidate for PRF. Because PRF is a non-invasive treatment using your body’s blood, it’s an excellent option for most people.
If you have hemophilia, HIV, cancer, or other medical concerns related to your platelets, fibrin, or white blood cells, PRF may not be the right skin solution for you. Discuss your concerns with a doctor before pursuing PRF treatments.
Replace Ineffective Anti-Aging Creams with Platelet-Rich Fibrin Treatments
There are so many factors in our daily lives that affect our skin health. Genetics, sun exposure, diet, age, medication, stress, and so much more contribute to cosmetic skin complaints that leave some people feeling unhappy with their appearance.
Hydration is necessary to keep your skin young and structural support is provided by collagen and elastin. Normal aging and ultraviolet radiation of the sun decrease the concentration of collagen and elastin in the skin, leading to developing wrinkles and fine lines.
Drinking lots of water, slathering on the sunscreen, and daily moisturizing will help you maintain your skin at home (if you use the right products!), but it can only do so much. If you’re already experiencing skin damage or want to take preventative measures, PRF is here to help.
Blu Cocoon Spa offers PRF treatments for a variety of skin complaints, as well as hair loss. Our attentive, physician-supervised staff can answer any questions you may have about your skin and determine the best treatment plan for you. Contact us today, or request an appointment online at our San Jose location.