The Kim Kardashian PRP Vampire Facial: Is It Really as Scary as It Seems?

Here at soFeminine we usually have to fight it out between us when it comes to trying the latest beauty inventions but it’s fair to say I was alone in my battle to land the PRP Dracula therapy. Apparently needles, blood and plasma don’t really do it for people but that wasn’t enough to put me off. I mean if Kim K could take a selfie mid procedure then just how painful can it be, really? Well, I came, I saw and I was injected with my own plasma BUT I lived to tell the tale. Read on if you dare.

I’m a sucker for a slightly wacky beauty treatment so the PRP treatment, AKA the vampire facial or Dracula therapy, was definitely one for me to sink my teeth into.

Here's what happened when I visited the Aesthetic Skin Centre for my very first bespoke vampire facial. Happy Halloween!

What is is?

There's a reason PRP is one of THE most talked about anti-ageing injectable treatments of the year, you see the vampire facial is no ordinary facial. If you're looking for a treatment where you can sit back, relax and be massaged for an hour then you might not be its biggest fan.

PRP stands for Platelet Rich Plasma, a natural substance created by your own body to enable tissue to heal and grow new cells. After a small 20ml blood test (trust me it's painless), the platelet rich plasma is spun and separated from the different components of the blood using a centrifuge machine and then reinjected into the areas you want to plump up. This bespoke plasma serum is concentrated far beyond the normal levels the body produces, hence where the PRP name comes from.

The high number of PRP promotes your own collagen to grow, regenerates tissue, and thus acts to naturally smooth and tighten the skin, creating smoother skin texture and tone. It basically kick-starts your own anti-ageing ‘smart-switch’, clever huh?

Rest assured, the only thing that likens this process to botox or fillers is the fact that there's injectables involved and that's where the similarities end. You can still move your face (shock), there's little downtime and it's all completely natural. I'm all for that.

My verdict

I had done my research before the process and by research I mean I had watched a close up video of the whole procedure and subjected myself to THAT picture of Kim Kardashian's blood-soaked post-PRP face for long enough.

Suddenly I was thinking how the hell am I gonna get out of this one? But actually it worked out for the best. I knew exactly what to expect, which kinda helps when you have a needle full of straw-coloured liquid coming towards your face. Oh the glamour.

After sipping on ginger tea and discussing my skincare concerns with Trudy, Owner/Director of ASC and a qualified registered nurse, we decided that most of my plasma would be injected around my eye area - damn you hard luck genes - and the rest would be injected in other areas prone to ageing.

I was then slathered in anaesthetic cream to numb my face and left to unwind for 10 minutes - surprisingly easy to do considering I was about to give up my own blood for this, all in the good name of beauty. And 'eternal' youth of course!

Cream off and skin fully prepped for treatment, it was onto the blood test. Gulp. I can't say it wasn't a little odd to see my own blood being drained out of my body Dexter style but it was definitely interesting.

Which brings me to phase 3 injection time. Shall I get it over with? It. Was. Painless. The most uncomfortable part of the whole process, if there is such a thing, is probably the blood test and even then it only got a measly 2/10 on the ouch-o-meter from me.

There were two needles, neither terrifyingly huge and shooting scary substances everywhere. More's the pity. One was used for my outter cheeks, jaw and forehead and the other finer, thread-like needle was used to focus on my delicate eye area.

After around 30 minutes of injecting I had an anti-bacterial cleanse and had to lay off the liquid makeup, but as far as blood loss and bruising was concerned all I had to show for my Halloween scare session was a touch of swelling under my peepers. Needless to say I still managed to get the train home with minimal stares.

A natural approach to anti-ageing? Not so eerie after all!

Note: Results take up to two weeks to show so stay tuned to see the full results of @LareeseCraig's PRP vampire facial.