Vampire facials are very popular and potentially dangerous

A spa in Albuquerque, New Mexico, received a cessation letter and was forced to close this month because it could have exposed a client to an infection. Guilty party? "Vampire facials", a fashionable skin care that involves drawing blood from a patient's body, placing it in a centrifuge and then reapplying it on the face to promote cell renewal.

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, the company, VIP Spa, was treating patients "to pass on blood-borne infections to clients such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C." Fashionable skin care service that spreads in salons around the world faster than health leaders can regulate them.

The facials of vampires do not involve blood ingestion

The facials of vampires are not quite new, but you can reduce their popularity in recent years to a single woman: Kim Kardashian. In 2013, she created a rather shocking photo of her blood-soaked face to promote the episode of that night. Kourtney and Kim take Miami (RIP), leading to a barrage of press points to ask, "Uh, what's wrong with this new strange skin care thing?"

The problem is that blood is collected, usually from the client's arm, and placed in a centrifuge to separate plasma and platelets from red blood cells. The resulting liquid is called platelet rich plasma, or PRP. Plasma contains proteins and other nutrients that are supposed to stimulate the growth of skin cells and collagen. Then, this material is either applied topically or injected into the face using micro-referral techniques, which essentially consist of perforating the skin many times with very small needles. The theory is that the holes help the growth factors and other nutrients to penetrate the deeper layers of the skin.

The idea is that this will make the skin look younger – and for the skin care nerds, this makes the price of a few hundred dollars and the amount of nonsugar pain is worth it. The attitude that currently prevails with regard to skin care seems to be the following: "Even though there have not been many studies on the possibility that this product erases or not all my wrinkles, it may do so. "

The evidence is not clear for either of these assumptions in this case. The PRP has been studied in various medical settings to help with healing, but the evidence showing that it helps skin rejuvenation is still relatively new. Dermatologists seem to agree that PRP can improve pores, acne scars and fine lines, which has made vampire facials very popular, especially in medical spas such as New Mexico.

But as this case shows, the lack of regulation of these treatments can have serious consequences.

The Albuquerque Show fiasco illustrates the need for more standardization

With incidents like Albuquerque Spa, it is becoming increasingly clear that more surveillance and standardization is needed in the sector. Each state currently has different rules on how spas can be used. Often, they do not require a doctor to be on site, provided they are available on call. These spas market themselves as salons, but actually offer life-threatening procedures that require knowledge of appropriate infection control practices.

"In medispas, untrained people can perform unsupervised interventions in dangerous environments," said Dr. Michael McGuire, chair of the communication committee of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Prevention. There was the Pennsylvania woman in 2001 who went to a medical spa for laser hair removal and found herself with second degree burns. In 2004, a student died of brain damage caused by. Other horror stories involve tattoo removal services, fake Botox infections and dangerous allergic reactions due to microdermabrasion.

Obviously, these are extreme examples – but as skincare becomes more popular and more and more people are turning to more invasive procedures to try to look younger, we'll probably see more of 'stories like this. And it may be unfortunate cases like New Mexico for regulatory changes to occur.