'I use the same face cream as Victoria Beckham...and it's made from my own blood.'

ICYMI, Victoria Beckham uses a $2000 face cream with her own blood in it and, of course she does. It’s the creation of Dr Barbara Sturm, a dermatologist with a namesake skincare line.

The cream is custom-made at the doctor’s practice in Germany using Vic’s own blood, which is then spun to extract what’s called the ‘platelet rich plasma’ (PRP), before it is mixed into the base lotion.

When the Mamamia team heard about it earlier this week they were all “eeeewww/gross/why?” and so I was forced to gingerly explain, “I’ve… done that before.”

Silence.

While mine wasn’t made by Dr Barbara Sturm (and didn’t have a $2K price tag), it was essentially the same process.

 

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A post shared by Dr. Barbara Sturm (@drbarbarasturm) on Sep 22, 2018 at 8:16am PDT

It was about three years ago when I was trialling a professional derma-rolling procedure called Dermastamp for the first time. Before the needling itself, which encourages collagen production, my doctor took some blood from my arm and then put the vial in a big fancy machine that spun it at great speed.

The spinning process separates the blood cells so what you’re left with is PRP, which is said to promote healing and reduce inflammation.

I know what you’re picturing – Kimmy K circa 2013 when she had a vampire facial which saw red blood smeared on her face, but PRP is a little different in that it’s actually a yellow-ish, fairly thick, sticky substance.

 

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Tonight on Kourtney & Kim Take Miami!!! #VampireFacial #kktm

A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Mar 10, 2013 at 6:14pm PDT

Immediately following the Dermastamp process, my doctor used the PRP straight on my face, massaging it in like a serum. Then he mixed the remainder into a base cream that was to be applied a couple of times a day for the next three days.

PRP has a shelf life of about a week at best, can only be used by the person whose blood it is, and needs to be stored in the fridge. Even then, does it work?

The research is sketchy. PRP has been used (as injections) in sportspeople to promote soft tissue healing and it has also been used to encourage hair growth, but more conclusive studies need to be done before science can claim it truly works.

Did I see any results? Yes. A week following the procedure my face was plump and smooth, and I healed very quickly. That said, I don’t know what would have happened needling alone without PRP.

But still, I can say I’m as posh as Victoria Beckham now and that’s gotta count for something.

Would you ever use ‘blood’ in your skincare routine? Have you ever tried a PRP treatment? Tell us in comment below.

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