Harness Your Body’s Natural Healing Powers for Beautiful, Age-Defying Results

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been attracting attention in the beauty world and from celebs like Kim Kardashian and Hailey Baldwin. But with all the hype and excitement, we have to ask ourselves the important question—does it work?

(Spoiler: YES!)

PRP treatments have actually been used for many years by orthopedic doctors and reconstructive surgeons to encourage more rapid healing without the need for surgery. Now, PRP therapy has moved into the realm of cosmetic skincare, proving itself to be an incredibly effective way to address variety of concerns including aging or damaged skin and thinning hair.

Here, we take a more in-depth look at PRP treatments including what they can do, how they work, and the types of treatments they can be combined with for even better results.

What Cosmetic PRP Treatments Can Do

Revitalize the Appearance of Your Face

people who have had PRP treatmentPRP treatments are a popular choice for patients who want to improve their skin’s tone and texture more naturally. PRP can address variety of aging and skin health-related concerns including:

  • Dehydrated or crepey skin
  • Mild to moderate lines and wrinkles
  • Scarring
  • Discolouration

The biggest difference between PRP and other injectable treatments is that PRP therapies use your body’s own platelets to naturally stimulate collagen synthesis and reinvigorate the look and feel of your skin.

Reverse the Effects of Hair Loss

For decades, men and women suffering from hair loss have had few options. They can rely on costly medications, which often need to be taken for a significant amount of time in order to effectively maintain the results. A hair transplant can provide a more immediate fix; however it also means lengthier recovery periods and long-term scarring. PRP gives people coping with hair loss a new and better alternative for treatment.

Using a growth factor found naturally in your platelets, PRP therapy stimulates blood supply to both active and dormant hair follicles to increase hair diameter and thickness. PRP has also been clinically proven to deliver better results compared with minoxidil, one of the most widely used medications for hair loss, without the associated side effects like dizziness and drowsiness.

Rejuvenate Your Hands

While people often focus on protecting their faces from the effects of sun damage and aging, there’s another area that slips under the radar—the hands. According to one study, a majority of people surveyed were able to accurately identify a person’s age by looking only at their hands.

PRP therapy can be used to minimize photo-damage, reduce the appearance of imperfections like liver spots, and smooth lines and creases.

How PRP Therapy Works

PRP therapy uses platelets, cells found in your blood that play a pivotal role in activating your body’s natural healing processes (including cell and tissue regeneration). When platelets are isolated from other elements like red blood cells and injected into targeted areas of your skin as a serum, they work to encourage collagen production, improve blood supply, and repair imperfections at a deeper level to leave you with radiant-looking skin.

How PRP Treatments Are Done

First, a nurse will take a sample of blood from your arm exactly as your family doctor would for something like a blood test. They will then take that sample to the in-clinic centrifuge, a machine specially designed to separate platelets from red blood cells and produce a platelet-rich plasma serum. Once the serum is ready, it will be injected into your skin at numerous points using a small needle.

PRP sessions typically last about two hours from start to finish, though this will vary between clinics. At Brampton Cosmetic, the procedure takes roughly an hour but we will apply a topical anaesthetic for about 45 minutes beforehand.

Results

For the first day or two after your treatment, you can expect to experience mild to moderate swelling (depending on the areas treated) and see small mosquito bite-like bumps on your face. These effects will subside, and you will begin to see changes within a few days. The final results will take shape gradually over the weeks that follow and can last up to a year. To maintain them, we recommend scheduling follow-up treatments once or twice per year (depending on factors like the type and severity of conditions treated).

Combining PRP Treatments with Other Cosmetic Skincare Procedures

PRP treatments can be paired with a variety of other facial treatments including dermal fillers, products, microneedling, and laser skin treatments to produce even better results.

Over the years, research has shown that combining PRP therapy with microneedling can produce better results and leave patients feeling more satisfied overall. One study in particular involved 30 people aged 18 to 34, all of whom suffered from grade II, III, or IV acne scarring. During the course of the study, participants were given two combination treatments—microneedling and PRP (applied to the right side of their face) as well as microneedling and vitamin C (applied to the left side of their face). After a series of four treatments spaced four weeks apart, the PRP/microneedling combination reduced acne scars by 1-2 grades for 77% of participants.

PRP/microneedling isn’t the only combination treatment that’s been proven to deliver positive results for patients. A 2017 study revealed that undergoing PRP treatments following laser skin therapy both accelerated healing and also left patients feeling more satisfied with their results.


To learn more about PRP treatments or schedule a consultation, get in touch with us today. We look forward to speaking with you about this new and exciting skin and hair therapy!

 

 

About Dr. Robert Sleightholm

Dr. Robert Sleightholm is one of the founders of the Brampton Cosmetic Surgery Center and Medical Spa. He is the clinic’s Director of Surgery and, since its opening in 1994, has safely and successfully completed more than 200 cosmetic surgery procedures each year. An Ontario plastic surgery veteran, he is a board-certified Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC).

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