Vampire Facial

About

Vampire Facial refers to a cosmetic procedure in which a doctor draws blood from a patient's arm with a needle and separates the platelets into a platelet-rich plasma. The doctor then combines the plasma with Restylane or Juvederm, and injects this into the patient's face to stimulate collagen production, creating new skin and remove fine lines and acne scars.

History

The Vampire Facial was patented by Alabama doctor Charles Runels.^[1] The practice began spreading online in the early 2010s. News reports and YouTube videos about the procedure began appearing in 2011 (examples shown below).

Kim Kardashian Facial

The procedure first gained national media attention after Kim Kardashian got the procedure in 2013 and hated it, crying out in pain during her filmed session (shown below). This led to coverage about the procedure from national news organizations including the New York Daily News,^[1] Elle,^[2] Independent^[3] and others.

HIV Scare

On September 11th, 2018, the New Mexico Department of Health announced that people who received the Vampire Facial procedure at VIP spa, an Albuquerque, New Mexico spa should get themselves tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C after a client may have developed HIV after a treatment.^[4] VIP spa has been shut down after the New Mexico Department of Health said "practices were identified at the spa that could potentially spread blood-borne infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C to clients."

Search Interest

External References