Microneedling with PRP in Chicagoland

Microneedling, also called collagen induction therapy, works by injury. A pen-style device passes fine, sterile needles through the skin at a set depth, creating thousands of microscopic channels. None is large enough to leave a mark, but together they register with your body as damage that has to be repaired, and the repair response lays down new collagen and elastin. That is the whole mechanism of standard microneedling, covered in more depth in our guide to what microneedling is and how collagen induction therapy works.

Platelet-rich plasma changes what is present while that repair is starting. Platelets are the cell fragments your body dispatches to any wound, and they carry a payload of signalling proteins: platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor beta, vascular endothelial growth factor, epidermal growth factor and insulin-like growth factor. Concentrating them where the skin is already primed to rebuild is the entire idea. Because the plasma comes from your own blood, no foreign product is introduced and there is nothing in the plasma itself to react against. That is not the same as risk-free: the anticoagulant in the collection tube, the antiseptic, the topical numbing cream and the device materials are all still things a person can react to, which is why your history is reviewed at every visit.

Topical glide, not an injection

This is the detail most descriptions online get wrong. At Express Med Spa the PRP add-on is applied to the skin as the glide the pen moves through, not injected. Your blood is drawn, spun in a centrifuge to separate the platelet-rich layer, and that layer is laid onto the treatment area. The needling pass then opens the channels while the plasma sits on the surface, which is intended to carry it into them rather than leave it on top. How much actually reaches the deeper layers, and how much stays active there, is not something anyone can measure in the room. Injected PRP is a genuinely different procedure with a different price and a different consent, and we offer it separately.

In practical terms, yes. Vampire facial is a nickname the press attached to microneedling performed with platelet-rich plasma, and our booking system lists the add-on under its own nickname, Dracula Facial. The nickname carries some baggage, because the procedure has been offered in unlicensed settings where blood handling was not controlled. That is a real concern and it is worth asking about anywhere you book. At Express Med Spa the draw, the spin and the application are performed by licensed medical providers using single-use sterile needle cartridges and single-patient tubes, and your plasma is never out of the room it was drawn in. A separate PRP consent is required alongside the microneedling consent before any session.

What the FDA does and does not say

Microneedling devices have not been FDA authorized to deliver blood products, including platelet-rich plasma, into the skin, and the combination of a microneedling device with another product has not been evaluated by the FDA for safety or effectiveness. That does not make the treatment unlawful or unusual, and it is offered widely, but it does mean the combination sits outside any reviewed indication. Ask about it at your consultation, and be sceptical of anyone who tells you otherwise.

What the published evidence shows

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of controlled trials in atrophic acne scarring have found that adding platelet-rich plasma to microneedling improves validated scar severity scores more than microneedling alone. Two caveats belong with that finding. The pooled trials used inconsistent preparations and delivery methods, some injecting the plasma, some applying it topically as we do, and some both, so the size of the benefit attributable specifically to a topical protocol is uncertain. And a statistically greater score is not the same as a difference you would necessarily notice. It is a reason to consider the add-on for scarring, not a promise about your result, and the literature is much less settled for general anti-ageing use.

The PRP add-on attaches to any microneedling service on our menu, which means the area treated is whatever you book the base service for. That gives four practical shapes.

Full face. The most common booking. It covers forehead, temples, cheeks, nose, peri-oral area and chin in one pass. Cheeks and temples are where atrophic acne scarring concentrates, and the peri-oral area is where fine vertical lines show first, so a full-face pass is usually the right unit even when one zone is the reason for the visit.

Spot treatment. A single area the size of a half dollar or smaller. Useful for one boxcar scar, a small patch of textured skin, or a single stretch mark, and priced accordingly.

Neck. The neck is booked as an add-on alongside a face treatment rather than on its own, because neck skin is thinner and is treated at a shallower depth than the face. Crepiness at the neck responds slowly and generally needs the full series.

Body areas. Decolletage, upper arms, abdomen and thighs are all treatable. Body skin is thicker and slower to remodel than facial skin, so expect the timeline to run longer than it would on the face. Surgical scars and stretch marks are the usual reasons people book a body area, and both need a completed series before the change is fair to judge.

The $195 PRP add-on is a flat charge whichever base service you book, so the area you choose is what moves the total, not the plasma. Depth is set to the area rather than to a single house setting, which is why the neck and the body are treated differently from the face even within one appointment.

The add-on is available at all four clinics: Frankfort, La Grange, Shorewood and Mount Greenwood in Chicago. If you would rather read about the base service at a specific location first, we have detail pages for microneedling in Frankfort and microneedling in La Grange.

Budget 60 to 75 minutes. The base microneedling service is scheduled for an hour and the PRP step adds about fifteen minutes for the draw and the spin.

Consultation and consents. Your provider reviews your medical history, current medications and skincare, and confirms the treatment depth and area. Two consents are required for this service: a microneedling consent and a separate platelet-rich plasma consent. No good faith exam is required to book.

The blood draw. A small sample is taken from your arm, the same as a routine blood test, into a single-patient tube. The tube goes into a centrifuge, which spins the sample so the heavier red cells separate from the lighter plasma. The platelet-rich layer is what your provider draws off.

Numbing. While the sample spins, a topical numbing cream sits on the treatment area for roughly 20 to 30 minutes. Most people describe the pass itself as a rough vibration or a sandpaper feeling rather than sharp pain, with the forehead and the area along the jaw the most sensitive. Our honest write-up of what microneedling actually feels like goes through this in more detail.

The pass. The skin is cleaned, the plasma is applied, and the CytoPen is worked over the area in overlapping passes at a depth chosen for the zone and your concern. Deeper settings are used on scarred cheeks, shallower ones around the eyes and on the neck. Pinpoint bleeding at the deeper settings is normal and expected.

Straight afterwards. Any remaining plasma is left on the skin. You will look flushed and feel warm, much like a moderate sunburn, and the skin may feel tight. You go home the same visit. Most people are comfortable in public the next day and back to normal by day three, though this is not a treatment to book the day before an event. Full aftercare is in our day-by-day microneedling aftercare guide, and the PRP-specific points are covered in our PRP aftercare guide.

There are two different things people call results here, and separating them prevents most of the disappointment around this treatment.

The early glow, days three to five. Once the redness settles, skin usually looks brighter and feels smoother. This is largely superficial: swelling has plumped fine lines and the surface has renewed. It is real, it is nice, and it is not what you are paying for.

Collagen remodelling, weeks four to twelve. The structural change is slow. New collagen is laid down and reorganised over roughly one to three months after each session, which is why the interval between sessions is four to six weeks rather than two, and why the honest before-and-after comparison is taken three months after the last session rather than a week after the first.

The series. For general texture, pore size and early fine lines, three sessions is a common plan. For atrophic acne scarring, expect three to six, and understand that scar improvement is measured in degrees rather than in a before and after that looks like different skin. Deep ice pick scars respond least well to needling of any kind and may be better served by a combined approach, which is what our acne scar treatment page is for. Our evidence-based answer on whether microneedling works for acne scars covers what the trials actually show.

How long it holds. In our experience collagen laid down by a completed series commonly holds six to twelve months, though the trials behind this treatment mostly measure improvement rather than durability, so treat that as clinic practice rather than a research finding. It is not permanent: the collagen loss that made the treatment worth doing carries on, at a rate that varies a great deal with age, sun exposure, smoking, hormonal changes and general health. Daily SPF 30 or higher is the variable you control most directly. Most people maintain with one session every six to twelve months once the initial series is finished, which again is how we plan it rather than a schedule the evidence prescribes.

Against standard microneedling. The base service at $295 for the face is the sensible place to start for general texture, pore size and early fine lines, and it is the option to choose if cost is the deciding factor. PRP at $195 more is most often chosen for atrophic acne scarring, which is where the comparative trial evidence is strongest, while accepting that those trials pooled several different delivery protocols. If you are weighing the base service on its own, the microneedling hub page compares all of our microneedling options side by side.

Against the stem cell growth factor add-on. Our STEMfacial option uses a manufactured growth factor matrix rather than your own blood, so there is no draw and no spin, and it sends you home with a continuing-care serum. It costs more than the PRP add-on. The practical distinction is biological source: PRP is autologous, meaning it comes from you, while the stem cell facial uses a standardised commercial product with a consistent concentration every time. Neither is categorically better than the other; they suit different priorities.

Against injected PRP. The add-on described on this page is topical. We separately offer PRP as an injectable, including PRP Full Face Lift, which sits in the injection category, costs more, and is used to regenerate tissue rather than to enhance a needling pass. Scalp PRP for thinning hair is a different service again: see PRP hair restoration, which combines PRP with needling of the scalp on its own schedule and pricing.

Against a chemical peel or IPL. Peels work on the surface and on pigment; needling works on structure. A network meta-analysis of acne scar treatments actually ranked microneedling combined with a chemical peel ahead of microneedling with PRP on some measures, which is a useful reminder that no single option wins across every scar type. Your provider will say so if a peel or a laser is the better fit for what you are describing. Before you book, it is worth reading our honest disclosure of microneedling side effects and safety.