Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) are increasingly used in the skin care industry for their many benefits, including skin rejuvenation, improvement of fine lines and wrinkles, marked improvement of acne scarring, and the treatment of melasma. 

While platelet-rich plasma was the first generation of platelet-rich plasma to be used, the second generation is called plasma-rich fibrin (PRF), and while both are extracted from a patient’s blood sample, they vary in their components. Both are often referred to as liquid gold, but there are distinctions between the two. 

PLASMA VERSUS FIBRIN

Platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin require a sample of the patient’s blood to be centrifuged. In the case of platelet-rich plasma, an anticoagulant is first added to the test tube before centrifuging; in the case of platelet-rich fibrin, no anticoagulant is added. The spin speed and the time of centrifuging vary between the two components. 

Both platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin contain a cocktail of growth factors and cytokines, which are proteins that control inflammation in the body and initiate a healing response, but there are some differences. During centrifuging, the faster spin speed of platelet-rich plasma allows the distinct separation of blood components, heavier red blood cells (RBC), and stem cells to sink to the bottom of the tube, followed by a layer of white blood cells (WBC), then platelet-rich plasma, and finally, a layer of platelet-poor plasma. 

A slower spin speed is utilized in the collection of platelet-rich fibrin, and the layers do not separate as distinctly. A platelet-rich fibrin clot occurs in the centrifuge process of platelet-rich fibrin. More healing components are collected from platelet-rich fibrin as less trauma is caused to the cells. Centrifuged blood provides five to 10 times the baseline platelets in a blood sample. Either method involves extracting the platelet-rich serum to be used topically or injected into the patient’s areas of concern. 

References

1. Du, Rina, and Tiechi Lei. 2020. “Effects of Autologous PlateletRich Plasma Injections on Facial Skin Rejuvenation.” Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, February. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.8531.
2. Everts, Peter, Kentaro Onishi, Prathap Jayaram, José Fábio Lana, and Kenneth Mautner. 2020. “Platelet-Rich Plasma: New Performance Understandings and Therapeutic Considerations in 2020.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21 (20): 7794. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21207794.
3. “Microneedling.” n.d. Yale Medicine. Accessed March 1, 2024. https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/microneedling#:~:text=These%20%E2%80%9Cmicro%2Dinjuries%E2%80%9D%20do.
4. Nanda, Soni, Kavish Chauhan, Vinma Shetty, Shuken Dashore, and Satish Bhatia. 2021. “Platelet-Rich Plasma in Aesthetics.” Indian Dermatology Online Journal 12 (7): 41. https://doi.org/10.4103/idoj.idoj_290_21.
5. Whatley, Adam. 2020. “Injectable Platelet Rich Fibrin (I-platelet-rich fibrin) Stimulates Greater Skin Collagen Production for Rejuvenation.” Dynamicregenmedicine. January 16, 2020. https://www.dynamicregenmedicine.co.uk/post/injectable-platelet-rich-fibrin-i-prf-stimulates-greater-skin-collagen-production-for-rejuvenation#:~:text=Also%2C%20injectable%2Dplatelet-rich fibrin%20demonstrated%20a.