PRF (Platelet-Rich Fibrin) injections are fast becoming a go-to option for revitalizing dull skin and restoring a youthful glow.
From fading acne scars and correcting skin tone to repairing sun-damaged skin, PRF injections for the face are granting many a refreshed look. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg!
Here’s everything you should know about PRF injections for the face. Get to understand the procedure, its benefits and side effects, helping you evaluate your options clearly.
What is PRF?
Simply put, PRF is a refined and concentrated portion of your blood, loaded with growth factors, white blood cells, platelets, and fibrin.
To obtain PRF, a practitioner draws a defined portion of your blood and places it in a centrifuge.
The centrifuge spins the blood at a low and controlled speed, separating or splitting it into layers without the need for anticoagulants or additives. And, from these layers, PRF is obtained!
Meet the “second generation” of PRP
At times, due to some similarities in preparation and properties, some confuse PRF to PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma).
While PRP is also a product of your blood, preparation requires additives or anticoagulants.
The anticoagulants are crucial to prevent clotting as the centrifuge used in PRP preparation spins at high speed.
Preventing clotting serves the purpose of keeping the platelets in liquid state, facilitating smoother injection.
Despite both PRP and PRF treatments utilizing your blood’s healing properties, PRF is superior. That’s because PRP lacks white blood cells and fibrin. This is why some refer to PRF as the “second generation” of PRP.
With the help of white blood cells, fibrin, platelets, and a higher contraction of growth factors, PRF will help you clear either of these facial aesthetic concerns effectively.
Which Facial Skin Conditions Does PRF Improve? (PRF Benefits)
As time flies by, our skin's natural elastin and collagen tap starts dripping slowly. With this comes signs of aging, including volume loss around the cheeks, lines or wrinkles, and sagging facial skin. Why?
While elastin sustains your skin’s elastic nature, collagen maintains its firmness or structure. So, the less your skin releases the two building blocks of healthy and youthful skin, the more you notice the signs of aging.
Fortunately, with the help of PRF’s rich concentration of growth factors, you can revive your skin’s ability to generate elastin and collagen.
Growth factors are more like messengers capable of signaling your skin to rump up the flow of collagen and elastin, resolving most of the aging concerns.
Here is more of what PRF for face areas has to offer other than turning back the clock on aging:
1. Volume loss in areas like the cheeks and under the eyes
Besides volume loss due to aging, your lifestyle or sun exposure can lead to volume loss around the temples, jawline, cheeks, and under the eyes.
To address volume loss, PRF’s growth factors not only encourage elastin and collagen production, they also signal the skin to regenerate or repair damaged tissues.
White blood cells, on the other hand, help fight off infections and inflammations after PRF injections for the face. This creates a favorable environment for cell or tissue regeneration.
Moreover, once PRF is injected into the treatment area, fibrin forms a gel-like structure (the fibrin matrix) that acts as a supportive system during tissue regeneration. The structure holds on to the primary components of PRF and releases them over time, allowing for gradual tissue regeneration.
2. Dark circles and puffiness
Other than volume loss, dark circles and puffiness also affect the under-eye area.
As highlighted, elastin and collagen production declines as you age. This causes the skin within the under eye region to thin further, making blood vessels noticeable. This leads to the formation of dark circles in the under eye area.
Besides skin thinning, poor circulation, stress, sleep deprivation, and genetics do lead to the formation of dark circles. These dark circles may occur alongside puffiness or form separately.
Puffiness is characterized by fluid buildup within the under-eye area. It is also caused by sleep deprivation coupled with fluid retention or allergies. And, the more you age, the more noticeable puffiness becomes.
PRF injections for the face combat dark circles and under-eye puffiness by releasing growth factors to facilitate tissue regeneration.
Moreover, growth factors stimulate the production of collagen and elastin to thicken under eye skin, making dark circles and puffiness less noticeable with time.
Remember, even though PRP and PRF treatments are widely used for addressing under-eye aesthetic issues, PRF is much more effective as it has a greater concentration of growth factors compared to PRP.
3. Acne scars
Examine the nature of your scars. If you have sunken scars, these are referred to as atrophic scars. Other than forming depressions on your skin, they take different shapes and sizes.
If you have broad and rectangular shaped scars, with defined edges — those are boxcar atrophic scars. If the scars are wide, shallow, and rounded, with sloping edges — those are rolling atrophic scars.
PRF injections for the face can help with both boxcar and rolling atrophic scars. However, the injections are pretty ineffective when it comes to another type of atrophic scar known as the ice pick scar. This type is usually V-shaped, deep, and narrow.
Moreover, PRF injections are ineffective on raised scars, including hypertrophic and keloid scars. These scars are as a result of excessive collagen synthesis, leading to the formation of a thick and raised area of skin.
PRF injections are not suitable for raised scars because they are known to trigger further collagen synthesis. That’s why the injections are used on rolling and boxcar scars to encourage the release of collagen, filling in the depressions.
4. Fine lines and wrinkles
Most fine lines and wrinkles on your face are usually evidence of various emotions, resulting in repetitive facial movements.
From smiling to frowning, fine lines start forming around the forehead, eyebrows (frown lines), and mouth (smile lines).
The size of the fine lines or wrinkles varies based on your skin’s vitality. In short, the lesser collagen and elastin your skin releases, the deeper the creases go or form.
Perhaps you have relatively healthy skin but still smoke, sun bathe a lot and hydrate less. Make these activities regular habits and you’ll end up with fine lines and wrinkles.
PRF’s constituents help with filling the fine lines and wrinkles by promoting skin tissue regeneration. PRF releases white blood cells to support tissue repair and the overall skin’s ability to synthesize more elastin and collagen.
Now that you understand what facial aesthetic concerns PRF injections for the face address, let’s paint a clear picture of how the procedure is done to get you either results or effects (we’ve also included before and after photos to showcase results).
PRF Before and After Photos (Procedure Experience)
Before you undergo PRF injections for the face, you must book a consultation with a certified and experienced practitioner.
During the consultation, express yourself openly and ask all the questions about the procedure. Your select practitioner is obligated to assess the state of your skin, medical history, and expectations, assessing whether PRF may realistically help achieve your goals.
While many aesthetic practitioners are vetted and certified before they can even start offering their services, always be on the lookout for common red flags in some practitioners.
If the practitioner can’t show proof of certification, skips checking your medical history, operates in an unsanitary and unprofessional space, skip proceeding with the procedure.
Also, assess how the practitioner answers your questions. Vague or rushed explanations are also a red flag.
Overall, a certified and experienced practitioner should explain how PRF works, what results to expect, and the number of sessions you may require, providing insights for an educated decision.
Should you choose to move forward with the procedure, here’s what you can expect:
PRF injection procedure
1. Blood draw
Just like in a regular blood test procedure, your select practitioner draws blood from your arm. You’ll generally feel a mild prick of the needle and that’s it! Expect no significant discomfort.
2. Centrifugation
The practitioner places the drawn blood into a centrifuge, which spins the blood at a slow speed, separating it into three layers. The top layer contains platelet-poor plasma (PPP) while the bottom layer contains red blood cells.
It’s the middle layer that houses the platelet-rich fibrin — a golden and gel-like layer with all the regenerative properties we’ve highlighted.
Thanks to the slow spinning speed, the platelet-rich fibrin stays intact, retaining the valuable elements — white blood cells, growth factors, fibrin, and platelets.
3. Preparation and injection
Since PRF starts clotting right after preparation, the practitioner immediately prepares the treatment area for injection.
The area is first cleaned and then the practitioner uses a fine needle to inject the PRF, often without adding chemicals or any additives.
4. Post-treatment care
Once done with the procedure, the practitioner must give you aftercare instructions to minimize side effects and optimize outcomes.
Some aftercare guidelines include not touching the treated region, avoiding harsh topical products and sun exposure for about a week or two.
Adhering to all the instructions should see you reach the highest potential outcomes.
Outcome and longevity
Right after the procedure, the treated area is usually red or pinkish, mildly bruised, and slightly swollen. These are among the common side effects of PRF injections and they should not worry you.
After PRF injections, the healing and tissue regeneration processes kick in instantly and keep unfolding gradually.
With time, you’ll notice the red or pinkish color goes away, including the swelling and bruising. Nonetheless, if you observe the following, reach out to your practitioner promptly:
1. Prominent bruising
The red or pinkish color we talked about is usually as a result of bruising(the outcome of the fine needle pricking a blood vessel).
Generally, mild bruising is expected to heal on its own as your body reabsorbs the blood.
However, if after a week you notice that the surrounding tissue is still discolored or the discoloration is getting darker, contact your practitioner to review the matter.
2. Persistent or severe swelling
Normally, the slight swelling is expected to go down after some days. However, if you notice intense swelling, which could mean that your body is reacting adversely to the fibrin matrix, you should contact your practitioner.
Severe swelling could also be a sign of an allergic reaction, tissue irritation, or an infection.
3. Unusual discharge, fever, or increasing pain
Apart from severe swelling, other signs of an infection include fever, increased pain, and unusual discharge or pus. Infections are common among those who neglect aftercare instructions.
Reaching out to your practitioner immediately you notice infection signs reduces the risk of the infection developing further.
4. Loss of sensation, tingling, or shooting pain
Though unlikely to occur, if your practitioner happens to inject PRF too deep or irritate a nerve during the procedure, you may experience a tingling sensation, absence of feeling, or a sharp pain whenever you touch the treated area. If these signs of nerve damage persist, you ought to contact your practitioner to explore various solutions.
Besides some of these signs of complications sending you back to the practitioner during the healing period, always attend the follow up appointments. This gives the practitioner a chance to monitor the healing progress and capture any issues in time.
For many, it takes about 4-8 weeks to see the full benefits of PRF procedures. The results last for up to 18 months depending on the treated area.
For instance, among PRF faqs, one is most frequent — PRF under eyes: how long does it last? Typically, results do last for 6 months to about 12, with proper maintenance and care.
Wrapping Up!
As the popularity of PRF grows, many are wondering what it has to offer. Well, there’s a lot.
From eliminating fine lines and wrinkles to fading acne scars, PRF injections for the face are capable of rejuvenating your skin, granting you that desired glow.
Refer to this guide to help you make an informed decision before committing.
Unlock the Full Potential of PRF Injections for Your Face
Besides preparing quality aesthetics guides to help with decision making, we are committed to manufacturing risk free and quality aesthetic products.
With multiple years of experience, we now manufacture and distribute PRF aftercare products. Explore our product collection to unlock the full potential of your skin after a PRF injection session.
