Platelet-rich plasma (or PRP)
What is PRP?
Platelet-rich plasma (or PRP) is your own blood plasma that has been enriched with regenerative growth factors to stimulate skin healing and natural recovery.
At Chicago Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology we use the Eclipse PRP™ system to prepare your own platelet rich plasma by drawing blood and centrifuging it to collect concentrated platelets in a tube. We only need to collect a small amount of blood to isolate the PRP, which is produced from your own blood, so there is virtually no risk of an allergic reaction or rejection. PRP is rich in collagen growth factors and has powerful anti-aging properties and promotes skin regeneration.
Using PRP with Microneedling
What has previously been dubbed “vampire facial”, we first use a Micro Pen to create hundreds of superficial micro-channels. These superficial micro-injuries are designed to ultimately improve your skin condition upon re-epithelialization, stimulating collagen and elastin fibers to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, acne scars and crepey skin texture over time. When used in conjunction with the MicroPen, PRP essentially “turbo charges” the treatment to further enhance your treatment with collagen growth factors.
The procedure is convenient and takes about 30 minutes to perform. New collagen growth can be observed in 4-6 weeks. Typically, the skin has a nice glow immediately following an MicroPen microneedling session.
PRP with Laser Resurfacing
Our Board-Certified Dermatologists are all fellowship-trained cosmetic laser surgeons who are experts in the field of laser skin resurfacing. Just as we use PRP after treating patients with the MicroPen, we can also treat patients with PRP following Fraxel Dual and Fractionated CO2 laser resurfacing treatments. These lasers both make micro-channels in the skin to promote new collagen growth and the PRP will only enhance your final result.
PRP For Hair Loss
Hair loss is a huge concern for many men and women. After being extracted, PRP is injected in the scalp causing hair follicles that are miniaturized to become larger and healthier, thus promoting hair growth. PRP is loaded with growth factors that promote rapid cell growth and hair restoration. New hair growth can be seen as early as 2 months, but is usually more evident between 5-8 months. Hair growth will continue to improve up to a year after treatment.