For more than one reason, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, or the “vampire facial” as it’s known in popular culture (Dr. Oz has talked about it in these terms) is a race against time. First, cosmetic surgeon Dr. Marc DuPéré explains to me, he only has eight to 10 minutes to put the blood he takes from your body back in your face.
“So when I do it, I don’t talk much.” He laughs. “I keep the talking to a minimum.”
Second, this type of facelift is the newest wrinkle fighter on the tip of everyone’s tongue, for men and women trying to reverse the signs of aging.
It’s probably no coincidence that vampires happen to be in vogue right now, thanks to Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and the whole Twilight series. But whether or not I’m about to adopt the latest trend in cosmetic procedures is another story.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy has been used for the past decade in sports medicine to speed up recovery of muscles and bones. A few years ago, plastic surgeons started using this in hair transplants, to speed up recovery. And now, naturally, it’s being used for anti-aging.
“Talk to me like I’ve never taken a science class,” I tell Dr. DuPéré at our consultation when I ask what exactly it entails.
Blood, he explains, is made up of red and white blood cells, plasma and platelets. Platelets release proteins called growth factors, which stimulate body tissue repair. “We take two vials of blood, then spin them for six minutes and divide the red and white cells and take the liquid gold.” He mixes the platelets with something called Selphyl and injects the solution into the problem areas of the face. This procedure takes very little time, and it is often said that it can be performed over a lunch hour — DuPéré does in fact have people in and out within 45 minutes.
Dr. DuPéré goes over the benefits of this non-surgical procedure, which include decreased frown lines, forehead lines and wrinkles around the eyes. “It’s perfect for women and men who have those crepe-like wrinkles,” he says.
Some people are drawn to this lift because it’s a more “natural” alternative to Botox and fillers, and it fights signs of aging using the power of your own body. “There’s a group of people — shall we call them friends of the environment — who would never do Botox and find this a good alternative,” Dr. DuPéré says.
However, he adds, he usually combines it with other treatments. “People don’t want to wait six months, which is generally when you get to see the results of this. People want immediate gratification.” Which is why he usually does the PRP with some Botox or a filler such as Restylane.
He checks out my face and says the skin around the cheeks is starting to fall, due to age. PRP for me, at age 39, with fillers and Selphyl, would cost about $4,000. Still, I decide to turn down this freebie from Dr. DuPéré.
“It has to be done on people who trust us,” DuPéré says, understanding why I’m backing out.
It’s not that I don’t trust him. His credentials are solid: trained at McGill University faculty of medicine, then U of T where he completed his fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in plastic surgery. He is down-to-earth and not pushy and runs two GTA offices, one in downtown Toronto and one in Richmond Hill. Other plastic surgeons (I asked!) have heard of him. And he has a sexy French accent, to boot.
But I already started having second thoughts in his waiting room, checking out the menu of services written on a chalkboard, with coloured chalk, like at a restaurant: tummy tuck, face and neck lift, calf, buttock and facial implants, lip rejuvenation, ear reshaping, neck lift, laser hair removal, removal of sun spots.
I’m not sure what is making me so queasy: the idea of blood being taken and then put back into my face or the dizzying amount of options out there that I could, technically, have done to make myself look younger and better. Where does it end?
Plus, trends change.
The latest trend in the face, says Dr. DuPéré, is not bigger lips but bigger cheeks (like chipmunks). “For women, this kind of stuff is like nail polish now,” he says of some clients’ nonchalance about trying all the trends.
When I tell Dr. DuPéré that I have my daughter’s singing concert that night, he shakes his head and says, “No. I’d wait.”
(“Thank God,” I think. I’m not good with needles. In fact, I can’t wait to get out of there.)
Bruising and swelling can last from three to five days, he warns.
(Um, yeah, don’t exactly want to be seen like that.)
So I’m off the hook. I’m sticking to red nail polish and dreams of Robert Pattinson — at least for the next few years.
Post City Magazines’ columnist Rebecca Eckler is the author of Knocked Up, Wiped!, and her latest books, How to Raise a Boyfriend and The Lucky Sperm Club.
