What is PRP Skin Rejuvenation?
Platelets have essential growth factors that, when secreted, handle tissue regeneration and rejuvenation, increase collagen production, recruit other cells to the injury site, and induce cell differentiation and extracellular matrix formation. Although platelet-rich plasma (PRP) microinjection is new in aesthetics, PRP has been recognized as an effective treatment in sports injury, diabetic ulcer treatment, and orthopedics, to name a few. It has an anti-inflammatory effect that will speed up healing time and ease recovery time after resurfacing procedure.
Platelets have essential growth factors that, when secreted, handle tissue regeneration and rejuvenation, increase collagen production, recruit other cells to the injury site, and induce cell differentiation and extracellular matrix formation. Although platelet-rich plasma (PRP) microinjection is new in aesthetics, PRP has been recognized as an effective treatment in sports injury, diabetic ulcer treatment, and orthopedics, to name a few. It has an anti-inflammatory effect that will speed up healing time and ease recovery time after resurfacing procedure.
Platelet Rich Plasma and Cosmetic Medicine
Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is an innovative therapy in cosmetic medicine. Although the procedure is new in aesthetics, PRP has been recognized as an effective treatment in sports injury, diabetic ulcer treatment, and orthopedics, to name a few. We stimulate long-term collagen growth with PRP therapy, providing a more youthful look.
“Any patient concerned about using neurotoxins or commercial fillers but still worried about aging skin or lost facial volume, causing deep folds or wrinkles — can look forward to this new option.” Prof. Moawad Says. This new addition in cosmetic enhancements has many possibilities, such as eliminating skin wrinkles, rejuvenating the skin, improving the appearance of acne scarring, and hastening the healing process after a facial peel. The platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has successfully been applied in androgenic alopecia in both males and females and hair transplant in both sexes.
How is PRP Penetrate the Skin?
Unlike Botox and fillers, be aware that there is a recovery period involving swelling and, in some cases, bruising. PRP does cause an inflammatory response, so a recovery period is expected due to swelling and bruises. The recovery period ends in 3 to 7 days. Patients are instructed to apply cold compresses, elevate their heads, and use anti-bruise cream to fasten recovery. PRR can be injected into the dermis or painted with a brush after using the dermal roller, dermapen, fractional lasers, and fractional radiofrequency. The latter two (fractional CO2 Laser and fractional radiofrequency) benefit skin tightening and long-term new collagen synthesis.
How Does It Work?
We still don’t know precisely how, but platelets release protein growth factors vital to wound healing, tissue regenerating, creating new blood, and stimulating stem cells. This all means that the platelets, once injected, release all the vigorous growth and healing proteins. These chemicals include PDGF (Platelet-Derived Growth Factor), TGF-beta (Transforming Growth Factor Beta), FGF (Fibroblast Growth Factor), IGFs (Insulin-like Growth Factor types 1 and 2), VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor), EGF (Epidermal Growth Factor), KGF (Keratinocyte Growth Factor), interleukins, connective tissue growth factor, and other growth factors.
Face and Neck Skin Rejuvenation
Platelets have essential growth factors that, when secreted, handle tissue regeneration and rejuvenation, increase collagen production, recruit other cells to the injection site, and induce cell differentiation and extracellular matrix formation. We stimulate long-term collagen growth, eliminate skin wrinkles, and rejuvenate the skin with PRP therapy. The numerous growth factors in PRP are thought to rejuvenate the skin, improving texture and smoothness while decreasing wrinkles.
Hyaluronic acid fillers or other dermal augmentation agents serve as a scaffold to bind PRP and enhance skin rejuvenation and soft tissue augmentation. Lasting cosmetic improvements are seen in treating nasolabial folds and horizontal necklines. PRP has an anti-inflammatory effect that will speed up healing time and ease recovery time after resurfacing procedure
Scarring and Stretch Marks Treatment
PRP is a vehicle for delivering growth factors when injected into the dermis. They induce the proliferation of fibroblasts, promote the production of new collagen and other extracellular matrix components, stimulate stem cell migration proliferation and differentiation, and improve new blood vessel formation. PRP is used to speed the healing time after using the ablative fractional resurfacing Laser to resurface scars.
Ablative Skin Resurfacing Procedures
Platelets have essential growth factors that, when secreted, handle tissue regeneration and rejuvenation, increase collagen production, recruit other cells to the injury site, and induce cell differentiation and extracellular matrix formation. It has an anti-inflammatory effect that will speed up healing time and ease recovery after the ablative resurfacing procedure.
Soft Tissue Augmentation
Recently there has been a great interest in adding PRP to the transplanted fat. The goal is to improve the fat retention or survival rate. Several well-conducted studies have shown impressive and promising results. No doubt, we are witnessing a promising role of PRP in fat transplantation.
Hair Loss and Hair Transplant Surgery
The hair follicle has an overly complex biologic structure, and the growth of the hair process is regulated by specific growth cycles. The mature follicle undergoes a successive transformation from anagen (active hair shaft production) to catagen (apoptosis-driven regression) to telogen (resting phase with the involution of a hair follicle). Many growth factors play a fundamental role in the life-long cyclic transformation of the hair follicle, functioning as biologic switches that are turned on and off during the distinct phases, controlling the active phase and promoting cell death to induce catagen and telogen.
The main growth factors involved in the establishment of the hair follicle are vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin 1-like growth factor, and fibroblast growth factor (FGF). Platelets release copious amounts of platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFaa, PDGFbb, and PDGFab), transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ1 and β2), EGF, and VEGF.
The beneficial effects of PRP in androgenic alopecia can be attributed to various platelet-derived growth factors causing improvement in the function of the hair follicle and helping hair growth. The addition to the scalp of PRP can thicken thinning hairs and help reawaken dormant hairs. PRP is offered as a stand-alone procedure for male and female pattern hair loss, where it is occasionally helpful in slowing down shedding or progressive hair loss.
New Trends: Platelet Rich Fibrin (PRF)
Platelet concentrates enjoyed some clinical popularity in facial plastic surgery several years ago. However, interest waned due to expense; blood required, equipment, space, and staff needed, and lack of clinically significant benefit. A novel, simple method of preparing an autologous platelet derivative allows the rapid and inexpensive generation of a platelet-rich fibrin matrix (PRFM) that can enhance healing after facial procedures and rejuvenate the face without tissue manipulation. PRFM provides autologous, natural, but concentrated platelet growth factor releases and stimulation of surrounding tissue.
Conclusion
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous serum containing high concentrations of platelets and growth factors. PRP continues to evolve as an essential treatment modality with many applications in dermatology, particularly in hair restoration, skin rejuvenation, acne scars, dermal augmentation, and striae distensae. The use of PRP results in improved aesthetic outcomes through angiogenesis, neo-collagenases, and adipogenesis. Furthermore, combining PRP with laser therapies, micro-needling, dermal fillers, and autologous fat grafting produces synergistic effects, improving aesthetic results.