Kard work trying to keep up with Kim
Injected with needles of own blood still better than botox
KIM Kardashian started a global trend when she posted a selfie of her face pumped with blood with the tagline #Vampirefacial. Having resisted for almost a decade, gave it a go in a bid to keep her youthful glow.
ISIOBHAN O’CONNOR
’m in my 40s and still a Botox virgin, but I’m up for the more natural alternative. Arriving at Dr Emma Cunningham’s clinic in Dublin’s Merrion Square she advises microneedling as the antidote to fine lines.
Unlike botox, a drug prepared from botulinum, the vampire facial uses your own blood plasma to create a similar smooth effect via needling.
With less of a frozen look, PRP or Platelet Rich plasma injections are gaining momentum as a go-to rejuvenation treatment.
In essence, tiny channels are created in your face by needling the skin to pump back in your own collagen – producing blood plasma.
Banishing fine lines and wrinkles is the aim and using my own blood to achieve results sounds more appealing than lashing toxins into my forehead. The doc assures me the process won’t hurt thanks to a special numbing cream applied an hour before the microneedling begins.
The facial which left Kim looking like her face was slashed does not feel ghastly as one might believe.
I kid you not – it was almost relaxing. After the numbing cream is applied, Emma inserts a needle into my arm to extract my own blood.
The plasma extracted from the blood is full of “growth factors” Emma explains, which help boost cellular renewal.
My blood is spun in a high-tech machine that looks like a lettuce spinner from the 80s.
Emma said: “We’re spinning the blood, we’re going to isolate all the plasma rich protein.
“We are going to deliver your plasma into the skin using this numadic gun, it’s using air pressure to inject slowly and controlled into the skin at the depth that I set it.”
I’m told the deeper the needle goes in the better the result, yikes. The small needles stabbing the plasma-rich protein back into my face sounds similar to a stapler.
I feel a bit unnerved but it doesn’t hurt and feels invigorating, like a good hard facial scrub. I’m left with a blood smeared face after being gunned with my own blood to within an inch of my life – but zero pain.
VERDICT
Two hours after the treatment the numbing cream wore off and I could feel a slight tinge of discomfort, but this eased after an hour. I had some slight bruising above my eyebrows but that vanished in two days. After two weeks I could visibly see a reduction in fine lines and my skin looked fresher. To boot I noticed a reduction in pigmentation and less sagging skin. I’m a fan of this treatment and to keep the winning results it’s recommended to get the procedure done twice yearly. To conclude, I’ll be back for another session with Dr Emma.