Warning, some may consider what I’m going to talk about “graphic, or disturbing.”

While I’m being somewhat facetious, I promise if you Google images of this procedure you’ll see what I mean.

That’s why I won’t be including any images in this article.

Today, I’m going to talk about an interesting new type of medical treatment that we may, or may not offer at Robinhood Integrative Health.

The reason we may not offer it isn’t because this doesn’t work (my research indicates this could help change many people’s lives); the reason we may not offer it is because this form of medicine isn’t something we’d normally do.

That’s because a vampire facial is a form of “beauty enhancement”.

The reason I put beauty enhancement in quotes, is because a vampire facial is something you’d expect to find at a day spa where people traditionally go to get facials.

The difference here is a vampire facial is actually a medical procedure, one that helps to improve skin tone, texture, and appearance.

I think most people would associate vampire facials with the work an esthetician would do.

And heck, they were made popular when Kim Kardashian had one done on TV.

All that being true, as you’ll see, thanks to an incredibly innovative medical component, vampire facials aren’t something you could get done just anywhere… and could have the ability to help match your appearance to the youth you feel inside.

We’re still actively considering whether we’ll bring this new treatment into the office.

And I plan to use this email to get your input on the matter.

So, before we do anything related to vampire facials, let me tell you what they are, how they work, who might want one and more.

 Vampire Facials – Only Scary For the First 24 Hours

I’m writing this a few weeks after Halloween and realize I timed this article poorly, I should have published it then, and not right before Thanksgiving.

Oh well.

Let’s get to it.

A vampire facial is a procedure where your facial tissue is poked with tiny little needles thousands of times to abrade the surface of the face and cause it to bleed tiny droplets of blood.

This needling of the face isn’t excruciatingly painful, but it wouldn’t be considered pleasant either.

There are 2 reasons for the needling of the face.

The first is that puncturing the soft epidermis and some of the dermis underneath helps to promote circulation as well as collagen formation. Enhanced circulation helps to keep skin youthful and supplied with nutrients it needs to maintain a radiant glow.

The formation of collagen helps promote skin tightening, which could make your face appear younger and firmer.

Another component of a vampire facial is before the needling takes place, a sample of your blood is drawn and put into a centrifuge.

Once inside the centrifuge, the blood is spun at an incredibly high rate of speed so we can separate and extract something known as protein-rich plasma (PRP).

We take the top layer of the blood (the PRP) coat it on your face and then needling drives the PRP down into your facial tissue.

The reason we need the PRP is simple.

PRP has several growth factors in it which promote regenerative effects on your skin cells. When PRP makes its way into the cells it helps to heal them from the inside out. This helps improve appearance and can reverse damage the skin has sustained over the course of a lifetime.

The concept of applying PRP to facial tissue is relatively new, but Orthopedic surgeons have relied on PRP for years to help heal injured ankles, knees, elbows and more. So there’s definitely solid evidence to show that PRP is helpful at fixing broken down parts of our bodies.

As you might expect, the microneedling of your face leaves your face rather raw looking for 24-28 hours. Think… really bad sunburn.

It’s also highly sensitive to chemicals and sun exposure, too.

For these reasons, anyone who has a vampire facial is supposed to block out 1-2 days of time for healing. After 48 hours the skin is generally healed up enough that one can go about your daily routine without worrying anyone is going to stare them down.

Typically all it takes is two sessions to achieve noticeable results.

There’s nothing to say you can’t have more sessions done, but most people stop at 2.

It really is one of the best treatments for wrinkles, smile lines, crows feet, and aging skin.

Plus it is an all-natural treatment so no toxins or fillers are used.

        There Are Some Downsides of Vampire Facials, Too

While the integrative community is excited about vampire facials, there are some downsides to this procedure.

Namely that you’re not going to look like you just had a facelift.

I don’t believe that many people will care about that, but it’s important to realize this won’t turn back the clock and make you look like Jane Fonda.

Also, vampire facials won’t work for anyone who has blood-clotting conditions. Even if you’re on a coagulating medication, they’re not recommended.

That being said, we’re considering bringing this into the office.

If you’re wondering why we’d consider offering them, the explanation is quite simple.

Our pioneering work to help people feel like they’re experiencing health as it ought to be, full of life and vigor has made it so helping them heal the damage to their face is a natural extension of what we already do.

If you’re interested in this, or have a comment about the procedure, please click this link and fill out a brief survey about vampire facials.

We want to get your input on this and determine if we should bring this in house.