Injectables · Regenerative
PRP and PRF in Fort Worth
PRP and PRF use nothing but your own blood. It is drawn at your appointment, spun to concentrate the platelets, and placed where you want repair. Platelets carry the growth factors your body already uses to heal tissue, so this is less about adding something to your face than about concentrating something you already make.
- SourceAutologous. Made from your own blood, at your appointment
- PRP vs PRFPRF is spun slower, holds together, releases more gradually
- Best forSkin quality, under-eye texture, hair thinning
- OnsetGradual over months, usually a short series
PRP and PRF are not quite the same thing
PRP, platelet-rich plasma, is blood spun at higher speed to separate a plasma layer rich in platelets. It is liquid, and it disperses relatively quickly once placed.
PRF, platelet-rich fibrin, is spun more slowly and without an anticoagulant. The result is a soft fibrin matrix rather than a thin liquid: the platelets sit in a scaffold and release their growth factors gradually rather than all at once. It also retains white cells and stem cells that faster spinning tends to leave behind.
PRF is what most injectors have moved toward for facial work, particularly around the eyes, because it stays where it is placed for longer and requires nothing added to your blood but the spin.
What it does well
The strongest evidence is in skin quality and texture. A randomized controlled trial in 2018 compared treated and saline-treated sides of the face and found improvement in texture and wrinkles on the treated side, which is a well-designed way to test something like this.
Hair thinning from androgenetic alopecia is the other area with real support behind it, with multiple randomized trials showing benefit, though results vary between studies.
Preparation is not standardized across the industry, which is simply a reason it is worth having it done somewhere that follows a consistent protocol.
The under-eye question
PRF under the eyes is one of the most requested treatments in aesthetics, and for good reason. The skin there is thin and unforgiving, and PRF improves its quality, thickness and tone without introducing a product that can hold water or catch the light. Because it is your own tissue, it integrates and resorbs naturally.
It works best on skin quality: crepey texture, thinness, dullness and dark tone in the under-eye area. Where the concern is a genuine hollow, the answer is usually support in the cheek above it, which is covered on the facial balancing page, and the two are often planned together.
It builds gradually across a series rather than appearing at once, which is what makes it look like better skin rather than like something you had done.
Questions people actually ask
PRP & PRF: frequently asked
Is PRF better than filler under the eyes?
They do different jobs. Filler replaces volume and works immediately. PRF improves the quality of the skin itself, gradually. If the skin is thin, crepey or dull, PRF is a very good answer. If there is a genuine hollow, that is usually about support in the cheek. Many plans use both, in sequence.
How many sessions, and how long does it last?
Typically three, spaced about a month apart, with maintenance afterwards. Because the result is your own collagen and tissue response rather than a product sitting in place, longevity varies more between people than filler does, and most people return once or twice a year to keep it up.
Does having my blood drawn make this a bigger deal?
Practically, no. It is a standard blood draw at the start of the appointment, done while your numbing cream works. Mention it if you have ever felt faint with blood draws and it will simply be handled differently, lying down and taking a little longer.
Is this the same as a "vampire facial"?
Broadly yes, that nickname usually means microneedling with PRP or PRF applied afterwards. The nickname describes how it looks in a photograph rather than what is being done. In a licensed medical setting it is a straightforward, well-tolerated treatment.
Can I have PRF if I am on a blood thinner?
Often yes, depending on the medication and why you take it. Bring your full medication list, including anything over the counter, and it will be reviewed before anything is planned.
Not sure this is the right place to start? The guide to choosing a nurse injector in Fort Worth covers what to ask, and what to be wary of, before you book anything.
Related
- Skin · Collagen induction Microneedling & Morpheus8 Microneedling is one of the few treatments that changes what skin is made of rather than how it looks this week.
- Filler & structure Full facial balancing Filler is not a volume competition.
- Biostimulators Sculptra & biostimulators Biostimulators do not fill.
- Lips & perioral Lip filler Lip filler, placed well, restores what a lip has actually lost: definition at the border, support in the body, hydration through the tissue.
Disclosure and scope. Lindsey Strelecki, BSN, RN is employed as an aesthetic injector at Manor Aesthetics & Wellness, Fort Worth, and treatments described on this page are performed at that practice under its medical direction. This page is general education, not medical advice, and reading it does not create a nurse-patient relationship. Whether any treatment is appropriate for you is determined at an in-person evaluation. Individual results vary and no result is guaranteed. Product names are the trademarks of their respective manufacturers.
Where these facts come from. What each product is approved to treat is set by the FDA and published by the company that makes it. Those are the sources for the approval statements on this page: Progress in the Use of Platelet-rich Plasma, Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. Approved indications change; if anything here disagrees with the manufacturer, the manufacturer is right and this page is out of date.