Platelets carry the growth factors the body uses to repair tissue. A small blood draw is spun in a centrifuge to separate and concentrate them, and that concentrate is placed where repair is wanted. The material is autologous, meaning it came from you, so there is nothing to be allergic to and nothing foreign left behind.
The skin below the eye is the thinnest on the body. It has almost no fat beneath it and very little structural support, which is why it shows fatigue early and why it responds differently to everything done to it. Depth, volume and technique all matter more here than anywhere else on the face.
What it treats
Why anti-inflammatories undo it
PRP works by starting a controlled inflammatory response. Anti-inflammatories suppress exactly that response. Ibuprofen, naproxen, fish oil, vitamin E and flaxseed oil stop three days before treatment and stay stopped for three days afterwards. This is the most important instruction on this page, because it changes how well the treatment works rather than how comfortable it is. Prescribed blood thinners are a different matter and are never stopped without speaking to the physician who prescribed them.
Where this sits
Under-eye PRP is an emerging treatment. The published work on the periorbital area is newer and smaller than the literature behind PRP for the scalp or for acne scarring, and the studies that exist use different preparation methods, which makes them harder to compare directly. That picture is still developing and it is worth saying plainly rather than glossing.
In my own experience treating this area in prior practice, patients have done well with it. That is clinical experience rather than trial data, and the two are different things, so I would rather label it accurately than let one stand in for the other.
What it does not do
PRP treats the quality of the skin. It does not correct the bony shape of the eye socket, it does not change fat position, and it does not address puffiness caused by fluid or by fat pads pushing forward. Those are structural findings with their own answers, and identifying which one you actually have is most of what happens at the consultation.
How the result arrives
Slowly, and that is the point. The change follows collagen rather than an injection, so nothing looks different in the first week. Most people notice something at four to six weeks, and the fuller picture sits three to six months after a completed series. In an area this thin, a change that arrives gradually is also a change that looks like nothing was done.
What a session is like
- Blood draw
- A small draw from the arm, like a routine blood test.
- Processing
- 10 to 15 minutes in the centrifuge while numbing cream works.
- Sensation
- Pressure and brief stinging. This is the more sensitive area of the face.
- Session length
- 45 to 60 minutes start to finish.
- Onset
- Most people see change at 4 to 6 weeks.
- Full result
- 3 to 6 months after a full series.
- Cadence
- 3 sessions, 4 to 6 weeks apart.
- Downtime
- Swelling for a day or two. Bruising here is more visible and more common than elsewhere.
Before, during and after
This is the protocol we follow. Open any of these to read it before booking, or again the week of your appointment.
Common questions
Will I bruise, and how visible is it?
Bruising is more common here than anywhere else on the face, because the skin is thin and the vessels beneath it are close to the surface. When it happens it is usually visible for several days and covers well with makeup after the first 24 hours. Stopping anti-inflammatories, fish oil, vitamin E and alcohol three days beforehand meaningfully reduces the chance. Booking away from anything you have to show up to is the other half of the answer.
Why can I not take ibuprofen around PRP?
Because PRP works through a controlled inflammatory response, and anti-inflammatories suppress it. Ibuprofen, naproxen, fish oil, vitamin E and flaxseed oil should stop three days before treatment and stay stopped for three days afterwards. This is the single most important instruction for any PRP treatment, because it changes how well the treatment works rather than just how comfortable it is. Prescribed blood thinners such as apixaban, rivaroxaban, warfarin, clopidogrel or aspirin taken for cardiac reasons are different and should never be stopped without speaking to the prescribing physician.
My dark circles are pigment rather than shadow. Does that change things?
Yes, and it changes the plan rather than just the expectation. Darkness under the eye can come from pigment in the skin, from shadow cast by the shape of the socket, from thin skin showing the vessels beneath it, or from a combination. These are different problems and they do not all respond to the same thing. Working out which one you have is what the consultation is for, and it happens before anything is offered.
Is there anything in it besides my own blood?
No. The only thing injected is your own concentrated platelets, separated from a small draw taken the same visit. Nothing synthetic is added and nothing foreign is left behind, which is why allergy is not a consideration the way it is with materials that come from outside the body.
How is this different from PRP on the rest of the face?
The material is the same. The technique is not. The skin here is thinner, the plane you are working in is shallower, the volumes are smaller, and the margin for error is narrower, so it is treated as its own procedure rather than as the face treatment extended downward. It is also the reason the aftercare for this area has its own instructions.
Who should not have PRP?
PRP is not performed in anyone with an active cancer or a history of blood cancer, in anyone with a platelet or clotting disorder, or where there is active infection, rash or an open wound in the treatment area. Pregnancy and breastfeeding are also reasons to wait. Because the treatment depends on your own platelets, anything that meaningfully affects them affects the result, which is part of what gets reviewed at consultation.
This page is for general education and is not medical advice. It does not establish a physician-patient relationship, and it cannot account for your individual history, medications or skin. Suitability for treatment is decided at consultation following examination.