Vampire Facelift: Is It Worth the Hype?
“Vampire Facelift” with its catchy name has attracted a lot of media attention lately. some claim it is the best thing since sliced bread. However, is it all it claims to be?
Just to start and to be clear, a Vampire Facelift is not a facelift because it is not a surgical procedure. The word “facelift” is just acting as a marketing term to lure people in who are seeking a real facelift. A true facelift tightens and smooths out the lower face, neck, and jaw.
The name “Vampire Face Lift” comes from the use of the patient’s own blood to create a mixture that is injected under the skin, which fills with the tissue under the skin. The idea is that plumping the skin softens some of the signs of aging. The final result is not any different than the current crop of fillers that has been used until now.
As for the result, The VF has gotten a lot of media attention because of its name, not because of the spectacular results. So far, I haven’t seen any good photographs or scientifically valid studies to support the advantage of this technique over the existing and time-tested fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse, Sculptra, and Artefill.
Is the Vampire facelift safe? Since it utilizes the patient’s own blood, there probably isn’t much of a problem when it comes to safety.
How long the Vampire facelift lasts? There is not much evidence out there to answer this question. Long-term studies of the results are needed before we pronounce VF a successful long term and mainstream treatment.