I just wanted to share my experience today from a PRP treatment with both injection and dermapen in one sitting. I was a 'lucky' guinea pig for a training session and pretty stoked I got to do this with my doc at no cost! It's been about ten hours and my face is pretty swollen so I can't see any of my old scarring but I'll update this as the swelling subsides. I'm in my early 30s with VERY fair and sensitive skin (redheads and blondes).
I had two vials of blood taken and then many nerve blocks done via lidocaine with epinephrine all over the face and a couple dental blocks from inside the mouth. Once I was numb and my plasma had been separated from my blood, in one section at a time a syringe was used to topically apply the plasma followed by the dermapen. Once my entire face had gone through this, I had the rest of the plasma injected into the face around the eyes, the forehead, cheeks, chin, lips etc and extra care and attention on the sides of my chin where deep acne had left quite a few ice pick scars and rolling scars as well as the smaller scars that just give that 'orange peel' texture.
After the treatment a collagen stimulating/growth factor cream was applied and massaged all over topically and left to dry. I kept it on a solid 9 hours after I got home and very gently used a damp warm washcloth to remove it followed by tiny dab of jojoba oil to clean up any residue and just my fingers for rinsing and air drying.
As I said above, I have a lot of swelling (I actually dig it because I look 15!). It's by no means bee-sting type though. I am not scaley and I was told I wouldn't end up scabbing, just red. I look like I have a really bad sunburn basically. Under each of my eyes near my zygomatic arch I have slight bruising, but they jumped on it immediately and massaged it so it's not bad. I'll be picking up some arnica to chow down tomorrow but was told NOT to take it before the procedure (should have had it ready at home).
Really hoping the redness goes away more tomorrow; I'll be throwing a chilly washcloth on tonight to try and chill out the situation. Lots of tingling going on in my face and a tiny bit of feeling like I got into a fight lol. Anyway, I'll update tomorrow so there will be a 'downtime' reference for anyone looking into it!
Hello Tootie,
I am scheduled to have this exact procedure done next month. Actually, I am to have 2-3 sessions of decreasing aggressiveness over a 12 week period (give or take as I understand it).
I am very interested in how your aftercare and recovery is going. Also, I would appreciate updates on the overall effectiveness of this treatment.
I wish you good luck and hope you get excellent results.
I've never heard of PRP. How's it supposed to work and where did you hear about it?
Good luck - I hope the treatment works out for you.
PRP is Platelet Rich Plasma. It is derived from your own blood: your blood is drawn, spun in a centrifuge to separate the plasma, the plasma is mixed with a calcium substance and applied topically to the traumatized skin, it is also injected in certain areas. While it is not FDA approved, it is believed to stimulate growth and increase healing. PRP has been used and known mostly to be effective for sports related injuries of the tendons. Or at least that is what I understand.
Geez sorry I haven't been on for awhile!!
Alright so post procedure, my swelling was all the way down about 8-9 days later. I really enjoyed it lol as my scars were invisible! Felt like I looked 14 
. Redness was splotchy but began to dissipate the next morning and was fully gone within 3-4 days (4 for the area that was REALLY done hard, sides of my chin where I've had deep acne). Rough texture from dermapen just as you get from needling... Plan on that for applying makeup.
My doc was impressed with how quick my redness was gone. I used my powdered zinc oxide along with Vaseline and coated my face all day the next day. The following night, I opened up one of my aloe leaves and applied some to the raw areas. This all may have greatly helped.
Obviously I was impressed with the texture change. To me it felt like my tretinoin results on hyper speed. I still don't have a layer of crappy dead skin as I resumed my tretinoin just yesterday, and only a VERY thin layer exfoliated. This tells me I haven't synthesized much new tissue yet (to be expected).
Now the PRP... I was told not to expect results for around 3 months and this seems to be the norm. However I do know I have been on tretinoin quite awhile and am heading to my newest 12 month mark again and I seem to get quite a collagen boost after that long. So recently my face has seemed a TINY bit fuller compared to after the swelling subsided (I was sad when I saw all my scars back 
). Looking forward to the results after a couple months so we can see if this is all just hype or if it truly has some promise!!
Amicus that's awesome! I'm definitely excited to hear about such an aggressive pathway on this and I will want to share this with my doc as well. I think trying to do a Thursday or Friday will have you totally ready to face the world on the following Monday. Oh and if you bruise around the eye... Obviously that takes a week or so but can be covered or you can just make up a cool story 
.
Jollyhohnson, honestly I hadn't heard of it until my doc called me up to take part in it.
Tootie---
Did you take some before/during/after pics, by chance?
I didn't, though I wish I had!!
I will say that the doc was right about full effects kicking in at 3 months. I'm very happy with the resurfacing, and most of those tiny (almost like orange peel texture) scars are all gone and I assume will never come back. My deepest boxcar scar filled in about 75% as well by the 3 month mark. And AMAZINGLY, an indented scar on my forehead that I've had for ten years is almost non existent now.
I want to add that if anyone is still acne prone, be careful with the dermapen procedures. They do give you great resurfacing results, but I broke out soon after and I know my skin and it was an irritation break out. But I'm also very fair with sensitive skin. I should have hopped on spiro before going in.
Weighing the price vs. results, if this procedure is in your ballpark financially (not something I could afford right now), I'd say its worth it considering the results are not temporary, they are permanent unless you get another scar in those areas from a breakout. I DO recommend it for acne scarring and also for general collagen loss (smile lines etc.).
Yeah I also had 2 sessions of PRP + Dermapen in the past and I can agree that you will see improvement, even though it might be slight. In my opinion, it didn't really do much for icepick or boxcar scars, but I did see noticeable improvements with my rolling scars since the PRP injections plumps up your face like a filler.
Yeah I also had 2 sessions of PRP + Dermapen in the past and I can agree that you will see improvement, even though it might be slight. In my opinion, it didn't really do much for icepick or boxcar scars, but I did see noticeable improvements with my rolling scars since the PRP injections plumps up your face like a filler.
What did you pay per session? And was it full face? Thanks!!
Yeah I also had 2 sessions of PRP + Dermapen in the past and I can agree that you will see improvement, even though it might be slight. In my opinion, it didn't really do much for icepick or boxcar scars, but I did see noticeable improvements with my rolling scars since the PRP injections plumps up your face like a filler.
What did you pay per session? And was it full face? Thanks!!
Well they're kinda expensive if you pay straight up and I don't think the results are worth the full price but I bought a deal on groupon for $110. They were everywhere on groupon in my area. And yes the treatments were full face.
thanks for the quick reply....sounds like a good deal, no such luck where I live
but good to know it works for rolling scars, that's what I've got - although the derma stamping is working slow but sure
how far apart were your two sessions Tadamasa?
And thanks again!
They always make the appointments one month apart. Mines included dermastamp so they had to be atleast 4 weeks apart for the collagen to regrow
Hey all! Wanted to give an update. So I had two treatments with PRP and dermapen, then one last treatment with just the dermapen. Those were quite some time ago now. Lasting effects:
the itty bitty tiny pinprick scars you get after breakouts that look like orange peel skin are still GONE.
My nasolabial folds generally have lines and I have yet to have them reappear.
I had a combo hypertrophic and atrophic scar where tissue was like tethered on the side of my chin from a cyst that would haunt me for a few years... It has never come back.
I did have a pretty deep atrophic scar on the other side that SLIGHTLY filled in but is still just tethered down pretty bad so is still an indent (fixable with filler if the doc scrapes the needle back and forth as she's filling, I have had permanent results from this action).
Overall I'm glad I did it and if I had a tax return with a grande or two to blow I would highly recommend it as a starting point and would do it again.
I can imagine it does wonders for premature aging and sun damage too!
