PRP Facial: What It Does for Your Skin, and What It Doesn’t
A PRP facial uses your own blood. There is no product, no filler and nothing synthetic — which is exactly why some people choose it and exactly why it behaves differently from everything else on the menu.
Here is what it does, what it does not, and how to judge whether it is worth your time.
How it works
A small tube of blood is drawn and spun in a centrifuge, which separates the plasma and concentrates the platelets within it. Platelets carry growth factors — the signalling proteins your body uses to coordinate repair — and returning that concentrate to the skin prompts fibroblasts to produce collagen and elastin.
The improvement is therefore your own. Nothing is added to your face; something already in you is put somewhere it can do more good.
What it improves, realistically
Texture, tone, fine lines and general dullness. Skin that looks tired rather than hollow. It is particularly useful around the eyes and on the neck and décolletage, where the skin is thin and where volume would be the wrong answer.
It does not add volume, it does not lift, and it will not remove a line that is etched in at rest. Anyone promising those things from PRP is overselling it.
How it compares to skin boosters
PRP and injectable skin boosters are aiming at the same outcome by different routes. Boosters introduce hyaluronic acid or polynucleotides to hydrate and stimulate directly; PRP stimulates using your own growth factors and introduces nothing.
In practice, boosters tend to give a slightly more visible hydration effect early on, while PRP is often chosen by people who would rather nothing was placed at all, or whose skin is reactive. They can also be used alongside one another. Which is right for you is a consultation question rather than a price-list one.
The course and the timeline
PRP is a course, not a single appointment. Three sessions about a month apart is typical, with maintenance every six to twelve months.
Nothing dramatic happens on the day. The first change appears at around four to six weeks and continues building for three months, because you are waiting on your own collagen rather than on a product that fills. Judging it at four weeks and concluding it has not worked is the most common mistake, and it wastes a course that had not finished.
The appointment itself takes around forty-five minutes including the draw and the spin. Expect some redness for a day.
Who it suits, and who it does not
It suits people who want better skin rather than a different face, and who are willing to wait for it. It is a poor choice for anyone expecting an immediate change, and it is not the answer for volume loss — that is dermal filler territory.
Certain blood disorders, anticoagulant medication and active skin infection need discussing first. All of that is covered at consultation.
Where to have it done
PRP involves drawing and handling your own blood, which is a medical procedure rather than a beauty one. Every treatment here is carried out by Dr Haroon Ashraf, a GMC-registered doctor. There is more on the treatment itself on our PRP page, and pricing is listed on our pricing page.
The clinic is on Holmesdale Road in Reigate, open seven days a week, and patients travel to us from across Surrey: Redhill and Merstham under ten minutes away, with Dorking, Banstead, Leatherhead, Horley and Caterham all within a comfortable drive.