The Vampire Face Lift – A New Approach on Non-Surgical Rejuvenation

When I first heard the term ‘vampire face lift’, I thought it was some kind of joke. The notion intrigued me, however, because I’m always looking for the latest discoveries in the field of face lift without surgery. I decided to dig a little deeper, hoping to find enough information for an interesting article on this subject. After a thorough online research, I found out that the ‘vampire face lift’ is not a joke – it’s simply the ‘colorful’ name of an authentic non-surgical rejuvenating procedure developed by Charles Runels, MD.

I will start this article by busting a common myth regarding this topic: many people think that the terms vampire facelift, blood face lift and Selphyl are synonyms, describing the same treatment during which the patient’s own blood is injected in a specific area of his/her face or body for achieving a rejuvenating, lifting or restructuring effect. This is not entirely true. Let’s take it one step at a time and see which is the difference between these related terms.

Blood face lift is a general non-scientific term referring to the face lifting procedure during which, indeed, some blood is removed from a vein on the person’s arm and is being used for synthesizing a special dermal filler called Selphyl – with the purpose of injecting this filler into the area of the patient’s face of body which needs to be rejuvenated (naso-labial folds, forehead, crows feet, hollow cheeks etc.).

Selphyl, consequently, is not the name of a non-surgical face lift procedure – it is simply the name of a blood-based dermal filler which can be used as the specialist considers necessary.

Now let’s see how Selphyl is being prepared:

After being collected, the blood is processed by using a chemical catalyst and a centrifuge. During this process, the specialist needs to separate platelets and fibrin from the other blood components. After activating the platelets by exposure to calcium chloride (or other substances), an autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) will be synthesized – also called Platelet-rich Fibrin Matrix (PRFM).

How does Selphyl work?

Researchers have discovered that after any injury, our body reacts by sending platelets to the affected site through the bloodstream. Platelets induce the production of different growth factors, also holding these factors in place by generating a gel-like matrix. As a result, multifunctional stem cells will develop into the needed type of tissue, also repairing the blood vessels: new, healthy tissue will replace the old, wounded one.

Before being used for cosmetic purposes, PRFM was employed by physicians for a wide variety of treatments, including healing scars and burns, treating orthopedic injuries (including arthritis) and growing bones.

When injected under the skin, this elixir is claimed to accelerate collagen production and tissue growth, regenerating the local blood vessels and removing wrinkles and facial lines.

So, this is the purpose of Selphyl injections – platelets are artificially sent to the area which needs to be treated; they ‘think’ that this area has been ‘injured’ and needs to be healed; as a result of their action, the skin is being rejuvenated.

What is a Vampire Facelift?

The term Vampire Facelift^TM is attributed to Dr. Charles Runels. It is a new patented treatment during which PRFM (Platelet-rich Fibrin Matrix) is injected in a specific way (sometimes even combined with Botox or Juvederm) to achieve the following results:

• the major facial folds are immediately filled – there is an increase in face volume;
• the skin is smoothed and tightened;
• because PRFM is a rejuvenating agent, the face will become more glowing because of the new blood flow (this glow will appear about three weeks after the treatment, continually improving for twelve weeks).

These results will last for at least 15 months.

In one of his interviews, Dr. Runels states that the term Vampire Facelift cannot be used for any face lift treatment which uses Selphyl or other related blood-derived dermal fillers. The Vampire Facelift is a patented procedure – its results are guaranteed only if the physician follows the guidelines developed by Dr. Runels.

As you see, there is an important difference between the terms blood face lift, Selphyl and Vampire Facelift. Even if these notions are closely connected by the fact that a substance derived from the patient’s blood is used as a face lifting dermal filler, a well-informed person who considers undergoing a non-surgical face lift procedure needs to know all these essential details – and only then decide what is best for him/her.

In the end of this article – which I hope will be helpful to all those who want to look younger without the expenses and the side-effects of plastic surgery – I will tell you some more facts about blood face lift in general.

As you already know, dermal fillers (usually combined under the name liquid face lift) are not a recent innovation. Substances like Juvederm, Restylane, Sculptra, Perlane, Radiesse (not to mention Botox) are used for many years in the industry of face lift without surgery.

However, in case of all these synthetic substances, several side-effects may arise, including allergy. These complications do not affect people who undergo a blood face lift.

Still, some side-effects may occur in case of blood face lifts as well (depending on the skill of the specialist and other factors which still need to be researched). These may include mild irritation, swelling, itching and bruising.

The cost of a blood face lift ranges between $800 and $1500, depending on a few factors: the location of the clinic; the amount of work that needs to be done (how many spots on the patient’s face/body need to be treated); and the experience of the physician.

In the end, another advice: don’t forget that the blood face lift is a new rejuvenating treatment. Even if some doctors claim that it is FDA approved, many specialists and researchers agree that this procedure still needs to be scientifically studied.

The good thing is that experts never give up on their purpose of developing as many alternatives as possible to the classical yet risky surgical face lifts.