PRP & Factor4

+ What happens during Factor4 treatment?

In preparation for Factor4 treatment,10-20 mls of your blood is collected in specially designed collection tubes. Your blood is then incubated for 6-9 hours, allowing the platelets and cells to produce growth factors and cytokines. Following this, the products are spun at a high frequency in a machine called a centrifuge, which separates the serum from the cell products. This crucial step allows for the purification of the autologous condition serum (Factor4). The solution is subsequently filtered to ensure only the purest, most concentrated extract is produced.

A major benefit of the aqueous serum is it’s storage properties; the solution itself may be frozen for up to 7 months for further treatments, removing the need for future blood extractions.

The two main forms of Factor4 treatment include direct injection into the skin to stimulate collagen and elastin production, or incorporation into a skin needling treatment.

+ What preparation do I need to do?

In the 24 hours before your blood extraction please consume 2 to 4 L of water and avoid or reduce consumption of alcohol.

+ How many treatments do I need?

Usually 4 treatments are required for skin rejuvenation and 6 treatments are required for hair loss. Each treatment is generally space 2 to 4 weeks apart.

+ What is the difference between Factor4 and traditional PRP?

There are several key differences that place Factor4 ahead of the PRP technologies on the market.

1. Unlike some PRP’s, Factor4 is 100% autologous( harvested from the bodies own substances) and has no chemicals or additives added.
2. Factor4 only requires blood to be collected once. As the serum does not contain any cells, it is able to be frozen for up to 7 months and still retain the full concentration of growth factors. In contrast traditional PRP requires the blood to be drawn at every single session
3. Factor4 contains four times the number of growth factors to traditional PRP. This occurs due to the incubation process whereby the serum is kept at body temperature 37°C for 6-9 hours. This gives the platelet and cells the time to produce maximum amount of growth factors which is the active component of the collagen stimulating process.
4. Factor4 is more comfortable. Traditional PRP is renowned for being quite painful as it is injected due to the platelets that is present in the plasma. Nerve endings in the skin identify the cellular products as being outside a blood vessel where they shouldn’t be and cause pain to the patient. Factor4 is highly purified and has no cellular products. As a result the injections are considerably more comfortable.

+ What are the possible side-effects?

After your Factor4 treatment, your skin may be red and swollen for 2 to 4 days. There may also be some discomfort, bleeding or bruising. Small bruises may take 1 to 2 weeks to resolve, however these can often be covered up with make-up. Infection is rare, but can occur.

+ When will I see the results?

For skin rejuvenation, improvement in skin tone and texture may be noticeable after a few weeks following the first treatment. Induction of collagen may take 4 to 6 weeks and will continue for several months.

In hair loss treatment most patients will notice a thickening in their hair by 6 weeks. However, this will continue to improve over the following 12 months.

Individual results do vary. For optimum results top-up treatment is recommended every 6 to 12 months.

+ What is the after-care?

• Stay hydrated
• Leave your skin make up free for at least 12 hours after Factor4 treatment
• Avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours
• Hydrate your skin 3 to 5 times a day using a recovery balm or hypo-allergenic moisturiser
• Use mild cleansing products only such as Cetaphil
• Do not use any active ingredients such as retinol or AHA/BHA for 5 days
• Avoid touching or rubbing the area.
• Sun protection is vital for the first week to prevent pigment changes in the skin
• No swimming for 5 days