What is A Vampire Facial

Kim Kardashian followed her best friend Jonathan Cheban’s advice and got a vampire facial. The bizarre procedure involves taking blood out of the patient’s arm, spinning out the platelets and dripping what’s left through tiny needles onto the face. To be perfectly honest, it sounds like some crazy experiment science fiction writers would have conceived decades ago, but here and now, it’s become a reality and people are swearing by it.

Take a look at a picture of Kim getting the procedure below, courtesy of her Instagram…

Khloe took to Twitter immediately after the episode to call her sister crazy, but not surprisingly, the general public’s reaction to Kim’s behavior has been pretty mixed. There are some who think the procedure is so stupid and over the top that the reality star should be ashamed of herself for putting her body through it and for letting the general public know it exists. There are others, however, who think new age beauty treatments are worth looking into, especially since spinning blood is a commonly used on high level athletes to help them overcome injuries more quickly.

There’s a new kind of cosmetic procedure available, and it doesn’t require injecting any acids, fat or toxins into the body. The main ingredient in this wrinkle- removing procedure is a patient’s own blood.

The technology is called Selphyl, and it involves injecting a mixture of blood products into the affected areas. It’s also called the “vampire face-lift,” although calling it a face-lift is not accurate. Selphyl is a nonsurgical procedure akin to filler injections, while a face-lift is the surgical repositioning of facial tissues that have become loose over time.

Dr. Andre Berger of the Rejuvalife Vitality Institute in Beverly Hills, Calif., said the procedure is becoming very popular.

“I think this whole recent theme in the entertainment industry … of using vampire, Dracula themes, has definitely caused a lot of the interest out there,” Berger said.

But today’s bloodthirsty pop culture is just part of Selphyl’s allure. Some of the more well-known cosmetic fillers — Juvederm, Restylane and Perlane — are artificial. There are also collagen fillers and fillers that use parts of a person’s own body, such as fat fillers and Selphyl.

“What’s nice about [Selphyl] is you’re only using that person’s blood,” said Dr. Susan Stevens Tanne, a cosmetic and laser surgeon at Cosmetic Laser MD in New Jersey.