The cosmetic world is always on the lookout for techniques that can crack aging, turning to advanced technologies with increasingly greater success. But one of the most powerful tools has been under our noses the whole time (or rather under our skin) — blood platelets.
Our team at Integrative Medica pride ourselves on offering clients with the latest tools and evidence-based techniques to fight back aging. The forces we face are formidable, which is why we’ve turned to a resource that’s up to the challenge — your platelets.
Through platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, we’re helping our clients in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area rebuild healthier, younger skin from within. Here’s a look at how PRP works and why it should be a mainstay in your anti-aging regimen.
Before we dive into PRP injections, let’s take a quick look at aging so we have a better idea of what we’re up against. Declining skin health happens through two processes known as intrinsic aging and extrinsic aging. Intrinsic aging is the slow and natural decline of resources inside your body, namely collagen, and elastin. Extrinsic aging includes all the factors that assault your skin from the outside, including the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
The combined result of these two processes is skin that becomes increasingly less toned and elastic, which leads to wrinkles and sagging.
You might already know that the platelets in your blood play a life-saving role through clotting, but they’re capable of so much more.
Once your platelets stem the flow of blood to an injured area, they release growth factors (or proteins) which call in the necessary repair resources. During this process, they stimulate fibroblasts, which are cells that can activate your extracellular matrix and collagen. What all of this means is that your platelets play a crucial role in how your body responds to damage, facilitating the repair process in order to promote quick healing.
Realizing its potential, orthopedists started tapping the power of platelets through PRP therapy to help heal soft tissue injuries and speed up post-surgery recovery. Soon, the cosmetic world also began to apply the same principle to treat aging skin, yielding some remarkable results.
Let’s leave science behind now and take a look at how PRP works. The PRP process is made up of a few simple steps:
Once your platelets arrive on the scene, they start rebuilding your skin on a cellular level. As we described earlier, platelets trigger fibroblasts that activate collagen production. This process is gradual, so you won’t see an immediate change in your skin. A few weeks after your PRP injections, you may begin to notice the diminishing of wrinkles and fine lines, along with an overall more radiant appearance.
You should return for follow-up PRP injections in order to maintain these results, but the frequency of visits will be uniquely tailored to match your skin’s response. Since the process is relatively simple, PRP injections can become a quick and easy tool in your anti-aging regimen.
If you’d like to get started on rebuilding your skin from the inside out using PRP injections, please give us a call or schedule an appointment using our easy online booking tool.
