Vampire Facial, its dangers
On one side, we see the slogan, “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”, and on the other side we see extreme measures being promoted to achieve clearer skins, which the Main stream Media promotes as Beautiful.
The much important question to ask would be, given the Risks involved in achieving what is considered as beauty by the Main stream Media, is it really worth the undertaking?
What History tells us
It is imperative to understand that in the name of achieving Beauty, women have in fact adopted extreme measures, such as to the extent of trying face masks made out of Lead, Antimony and Bismuth.
In truth there are reported records where even Radioactive elements were worn to increase skin shine and glamour.
When the skin turned pale, they thought their face was becoming fairer and clearer and thence continued the procedure uninterrupted.
There were recorded instances where the entire facial skin fell off liken to a walnut casing falling off , exposing the kernel.
The scenario today
Today, an American woman spends around $3800, a year on Skin care and beautifying products. Doing some Math would add up around a quarter of a million in a life time, starting from 16 years to 56 years. The stunning fact is that 80% of all the monies goes towards making the facial skin, clearer, fairer and brighter.
The Alarming fact is that most of these products are Cancer causing. Of course, there are certain safer products to enhance the skin and offer care, which we shall reserve for another post.
What Exactly is Vampire Facial?
The procedure known as Vampire facials has been there since ages but under a different name. The procedure was originally meant to heal patients who had suffered burns or carry scars on their faces. The procedure was performed by Medically acclaimed ER Surgeons alone.
The word Vampire facials was coined by Dr. Runels and was patented by him. But that did not stop the cosmetic clinics and beauty parlors from preventing their quack practices.
large scale commercialization by Cosmeticians, Beauticians and Dermatologists.
There was a time when Everyone jumped into the Computer Sciences band wagon. The only reason being the potential for employment that the field offered.
In fact, all of the branches of Engineering Graduates applied for jobs as Programmers and the irony was that they were absorbed, and some even made it to the top. That should also be a pivotal reason for the Area being mashed up to the core with no Ethics.
Well, that was the case in Professional Education, but imagine the same scenario happening to a sensitive area such as the human face.
But today, due to the commercialization thought values and illicit practices of the Cosmetic industry, a noble cure was converted into a money fleecing idea.
Thus over night, every quack in the area of Cosmetic cares, facial therapy clinics and dermatology clinics got in to capitalize the craze for beauty.
The vampire facial procedure
The Procedure involves puncturing the facial skin, and using a device to suck the blood up, then pacing the drawn blood in a centrifugal, mixing it with collagen and then re injecting back on to the person’s face.
How the patient is fooled
It is imperative to understand that Cosmetic Procedure have no governing bodies to Regulate, scrutinize and validate, procedures and practices. Most claim to have FDA approved, but that in itself is meant to fool the person/patient.
For, FDA, stands for Food and Drug Administration, and that causes one to wonder, what has a Food and Drug administration has to do with scrutinizing and regulating procedures done on a patient’s skin, which involves incisions and blood transfusions?
The Illusion
The scene always goes something like this. The disillusioned Patient thinks that the procedure will change her or him into the most beautiful person on the planet, and with this thought process they step into these Parlors.
At first sight, most would be overwhelmed at the dream land illusion that some of these Salons and Cosmetic clinics adorn themselves with.
Printed Certificates all add up
Printed and framed Certificates such as “Certified Dermatologist”, “Specialist in Dermatology”, “Certified Cosmetologist”, and so on and so forth will also be seen augmenting the place.
If you are a clear thinking person, then the question asked would be, on what authority does a Dermatologist or a Cosmetologist draws blood from a Patient. Are they Medical Surgeons?
The Crime committed on the Innocent patient
This act within itself should be considered equally on par with Homicide, having the potential to inflict harm and put the person/patient in danger of losing one’s life.
The step by step process that a Patient will encounter
The Procedure will start with the drawing of first blood. Usually the so called Dermatology specialist would invite the Patient with a broad smile, with words such as, “This is going to be so good for your face”.
The much important question then to ask here would be, “How does the Dermatologist know that it is going to be so good on the patient face?”. When no Surgeon can predict the outcome of any procedure for that matter, how on earth can a self claimed Dermatologist say that the procedure is going to do good to the person’s face.
More so, when everyone’s face reacts differently even to a less harm causing face mask application, then how could these quacks claim that all will be fine for all. This is what is called, using Sugar coated words to fool people.
Coming back, the drawn blood is then placed in a Centrifuge, which spins at 2500 RPM for about 20 minutes. The Plasma rich platelets will be separated from the blood.
Now for Micro needling
They call it Micro-needling, but there is nothing micro about the procedure. We would call it Incisions of the smaller magnitude.
It starts with the application of a numbing cream. You might ask, why would you need to apply a numbing cream when the claim is that the procedure is harmless and painless, well to tell you the truth, you have a point and we too share the same concern too.
There are no numbing cream during an Acupuncture procedure, and yet still health benefits from an Acupuncture treatment is immense.
The reason as to why they apply the numbing cream would be to increase the tolerance levels of the Patients when Trauma is applied.
Though these Cosmetic beauty clinics claim that the trauma is good, which is quite contradictory to what the field of Medicine defines Trauma to be.
You sign your life off
Then comes the signing part. A list of papers would be given to you, where you sign your life out.
Congratulations! Now, they have your consent to do anything and everything that they wish and think. In short, you are paying for your pain, for your trauma, and for a probable acquired cross infection of a HIV or even a STD.
Then comes the piercing part. The gadget which looks like a scifi weapon system that came all the way from a Star Trek combat scene would be used to make small piercings [this is their claim].
The Dangers of Skin reaction
Different skins react differently to this procedure. It is imperative to understand that during these piercings, the needle of the instrument actually comes in contact with the patient’s blood, thus putting the Patient at high risks for acquiring STD and other blood related disorders, given the sterile practices adopted by most of these Salons and Beauty parlors.
Are these Instruments Sterile?
The main concern- whether these instruments used in these procedures are Sterile? And if so, who has validated their use?
Given the notoriety of Cosmetic industry for profit making, belief and trust would be two things that cannot be seen under their roof.
Is the Environment where the Procedure performed-Bacteria free?
The second cause for concern would be the environment where these procedures are performed. You will alarmed at the audacity of these so called specialists and beauticians, who perform these procedures in rooms as if their clients are undergoing a pedicure service.
Whenever human blood is involved it is imperative that the environment is sterile and bacteria free and has been fumed clear for Pathogens. Then again, are the patients who shell out huge sums of money aware of these risks?
The Trauma to the face-implications
The third concern. You are piercing your face which is considered one of most sensitive body part, with a needle, multiple times.
Now, given the complexity of the Human face [Animals have a protective cover that can resist attacks, but a human’s face is very sensitive] and its intricate design.
There are innumerable reports where patients who had undergone procedures of these nature and had often suffered from excruciating pain after the second week, why would excruciating pain start after the second week? A very important question to pose, but we don’t have an answer, when we sent requests for an explanation, they were all turned down.
There are also cases when patients have reported severe allegoric reactions due to micro-needling. Rashes, frequent itching, skin watering have all been reported.
There also reported cases where patients had contracted severe dermatology disorders due to cross infections. Some worse cases also includes, HIV and STD.
It has been reported that many who undergo such procedures have found no change as to what they thought would have been the end result.
In fact, there are incidents where these Clinics, generate simulated images of patients and portray them with assurances of like outcomes, when in reality, the technique is to fleece the patient.
The Claim
The claim is that the procedure stimulates the Collagen levels and thus brings about Skin glow. But there is literally no evidence that the procedure has been effective. Even if we were to give the benefit of doubt to the procedure, given the weight of the Risks involved, it is just not worth.
The After care- heights of idiosyncrasies
Plus the general care that they [the clinics and salons which perform the procedure] advocate is, wash and apply Sunscreen. Would you believe this?
Most Sunscreens available in the market are cancer causing except a few selected ones. Now why would they prescribe something like that without specifying in clarity, the dos and don’ts.
Concluding thoughts
There is a popular saying which says, “Age gracefully”. Aging in beautiful. Aging symbolizes the distance that one has traveled amidst the challenges that life has thrown at them. So, why should Aging be treated with contempt and disdain.
Plus, why would anyone want their skin it glow? The skin is not a torch or a lantern.
The most popular Philosopher once said, you are products of your thoughts. The real glow often comes from within. In other words, unless you change from within, no real outer transformation will give you the expected results.
In other words, don’t put yourself at the mercy of these clinics and salons after drawing inspirations from Youtube.com, Videos.
It is imperative to understand, these Video makers are making a living out of this and are not doing it for Social cause or concern. If you were to ask us, should you follow their advice, the answer would be, Not if you want to live a long and healthy life.
