This was definitely a ‘hold my beer’ moment for anyone who believed that clinic was legit.
Officially, it’s called a plasma-rich protein facial. Unofficially, it’s called a ‘vampire facial’. One shuttered clinic is leading to a health scare. Here’s what you’ll want to know.
First, things first…
What the heck is a ‘vampire facial’?
According to to the explainers on one website:
A Vampire Facial, or PRP facial, combines microneedling (also known as collagen-induction therapy) with topical application of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) derived from your own blood.
This skin rejuvenation treatment creates an overall improvement to skin texture and tone. It can also reduce scars (including acne scars), correct hyperpigmentation, tighten lax skin, smooth fine lines, and minimize the appearance of large pores.
There’s been a lot of hype about Vampire Facials—Kim Kardashian West famously got one and shared a post-procedure selfie with blood on her face.
According to Dr. Justin Harper, a physician in Columbus, Ohio, the attention is well-deserved. “The growth factors in the PRP help with faster regeneration of new skin and production of collagen,” he says. “It can make skin look more refreshed, smoother, and firmer.” — RealSelf
They included a factoid list in the article:
One rogue plastic surgeon
At the heart of this crisis is a New Mexico clinic that has since been shut down after the owner, Maria Ramos de Ruiz was sentenced to 3 1/2 years for practicing medicine without a licence.
In August 2018, a person contracted HIV after getting a “vampire facial” at an Albuquerque salon. When officials inspected the business a month later, they discovered unwrapped needles strewn about, unlabeled blood tubes in the kitchen area and phony certificates – for Botox and “vampire facial” training – hanging on the walls.
[…]
Inspectors found “numerous health code violations and unsafe infection control practices,” including unwrapped needles, blood being dumped into the kitchen sink and unlabeled syringes beside food in the refrigerator. They also found foreign and American prescription and “dangerous” drugs, and medical products that required an order from a licensed physician. Inspectors discovered inadequate cleaning and disinfection, and Ramos de Ruiz told inspectors that machine tubing was not cleaned or changed between clients. — Albuquerque Journal
Three positive HIV tests
Two new HIV-positive clients have now been linked to an earlier case of HIV transmission connected to this treatment.
A department spokesperson told NBC News that it’s unclear how HIV was transmitted via the procedure. They said that “genetic sequencing of HIV cases confirm a unique, highly related cluster of HIV infections among former VIP Spa clients without other known risk factors.”
Blood-borne pathogens such as HIV can be transmitted when infected bodily fluids enter the bloodstream of another person, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That can occur via the use of syringes, injection equipment, or needles that contain an infected individual’s blood, the agency warns. –Epoch Times
Authorities are trying to warn the public
If you got the procedure from VIP Beauty Salon and Spa at 809 Tijeras NW, you are urged to get a free blood test to know if you have been exposed to HIV or other serious blood infections like Hepatitis.
NMDOH recommends clients of VIP Spa to get tested for blood-borne infections
Read the full news release at https://t.co/6y3gqPHghT pic.twitter.com/ambn3SiNqH
— NM Dept. of Health (@NMDOH) July 5, 2023
If you know someone that might need to hear about it, be sure and let them know.
In Doug Giles’ latest book, Biblical Badasses: The Women, Giles spotlights ten epic ladies who did awesome things for God with the odds severely stacked against them. These girls weren’t your typical church ladies. They were holy movers and shakers who upset hell with their God-honoring, faith-filled, lives. Giles’ unique take on these terrific women makes the scripture come alive. This book is real, raw, relevant, and irreverent. Giles’ prayer is that after reading, Biblical Badasses: The Women, not only will your noggin be filled with these amazing tales of high and lows from real women who rocked in a hard place, via the power of God, but that you will get off your butt, quit pursuing stupidity, start chasing down your high calling and at the end of your life, you too, like the holy femme fatales featured herein, will have left a massive scar on Satan’s haggard backside.
Get your copy of Biblical Badasses: The Women today!
Sources Cited:
Real Self
Albuquerque Journal
Epoch Times
