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“Vampire facials,” popularized by Kim Kardashian, are featured prominently on the facial rejuvenation menus of cosmetic spas from Boston to Los Angeles.
The facials have become newsworthy for more nefarious reasons after being linked to three cases of HIV.
The infected women received the treatments at an unlicensed clinic in New Mexico, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says makes them the first documented cases of HIV acquired from contaminated blood used in cosmetic injection services.
Northeastern Global News talked to a chemistry professor who launched her own skincare ingredients company and a law professor who specializes in health care to learn what vampire facials are, whether they work and how people seeking the procedures can protect themselves from harm.
David Simon, an associate professor at Northeastern’s School of Law, says vampire facials use tiny needles to inject platelets from the client’s own blood into the skin on their face.
It’s also known as a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) procedure, he says.
“You take the patient’s own blood and spin to separate out the platelets,” Simon says. “You then collect and concentrate the platelets in a blood plasma solution and re-inject it into the patient.”
The platelet-heavy blood is injected with a syringe or micro needling device that looks like a lint roller with tiny needles sticking out of it, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, which says the blood is originally drawn from the customer’s arm.
The association says orthopedic surgeons use PRP to help athletes recover more quickly following injuries, and it is also being tested as a treatment for hair loss.
With vampire facials, the idea is that the reinjected plasma has a richer concentration of growth factors that allow it to reduce wrinkles and smooth sagging skin.
The selling point is that it boosts collagen production and promotes cell regeneration, says Leila Deravi, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern.
The basic science underlying the vampire facial is sound, but the improvements might be marginal, says Deravi, co-founder of a skincare ingredient company called Seaspire.
Proteins enriched in plasma include important extracellular matrix proteins known for aiding cell regeneration and supporting the skin barrier function, she says.
During the aging process, cells’ ability to secrete proteins that help with skin elasticity decreases, resulting in wrinkles, Deravi says.
“The idea of stimulating cell recruitment, which could lend itself to more protein secretion, is the basis of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine across the board,” she says.
“But the problem is that when you age, your cell content also ages. So even though you might be recruiting cells specifically to that area, they just don’t function as well,” Deravi says.
“People have reported improvements with these facials, but it’s not going to be long lived,” she says.
The American Academy of Dermatology Association says few studies have been conducted on vampire facials because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “doesn’t require the large studies needed for new drugs.
“Since PRP uses needles and a centrifuge, the FDA classifies PRP as a medical device. The rules for medical devices are less demanding,” the association says.
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The New Mexico clinic visited by the three women who contracted HIV apparently reused disposable equipment intended for one-time use, according to the Associated Press.
The CDC said in an April report that an investigation of the clinic from 2018-2023 showed it did not follow recommended infection control procedures or maintain client records.
In addition to not following proper sterilization procedures and operating without a state license, the clinic also failed to have an appropriately qualified person doing the procedure, Simon says.
The owner of the clinic, VIP Spa in Albuquerque, pleaded guilty to practicing medicine without a license in June 2022. The state shut the clinic down in 2018.
Deravi says she considers the multiple punctures associated with vampire facials to make it a “super invasive” procedure that requires the operator to employ important biosafety precautions.
“Contamination is a gigantic problem” when handling tissue and blood samples, she says.
Simon says anything injected into the body should be done by a licensed medical professional. That includes Botox and PRP, he says.
“In either case, you want someone who understands the risks and benefits of the treatment — someone who is experienced with the substance being injected in your body and has proper knowledge and training to do the procedure,” Simon says. “Nothing is risk free.”
Contaminated needles pose a risk not only for HIV but also hepatitis B and C, he says, adding that people getting tattoos should only use licensed bodywork artists.
“Do your homework. Research what the injection entails, its risks, and who is qualified to do it,” Simon says. “It’s not like buying toilet paper off Amazon.”