Health, Beauty & Fitness:You don’t have to be a sucker for punishment to try this rejuvenating treatment

VAMPIRES have always had a certain aura of romance, from Christopher Lee feasting on the blood of virgins, to a pasty-faced Robert Pattinson fighting for the love of Kristen Stewart.

The theory goes that vampires are blessed with eternal youth and beauty – but at a terrible cost.

Well, we can talk about the cost later, but the vampire treatment now sweeping the western world’s beauty salons certainly promises rejuvenation, by taking your own blood, extracting the plasma, then reinjecting it into the area to be treated. It’s like giving back the very best of you; the essence of your youth. And because it uses your own blood, there is no risk of allergy or adverse reactions.

Recommended for areas such as the decolletage, the hands or bingo wings, or in the furrows under the eyes, it is not considered a replacement for Botox or a filler – rather, it works on areas of the skin that have lost their elasticity. Plus, it appeals to customers who recoil from the idea of having something synthetic injected into their system.

Jackie Partridge, of Edinburgh’s DermalClinic, starts by taking blood from my arm. Once I’ve donated the required amount – around half a test tube full – it goes into a centrifuge for a few minutes to spin, sending all the red blood cells to the bottom and the important, platelet-rich plasma to the top. This is the liquid gold, the part that contains the magic ingredients such as bioactive proteins that promote tissue repair, stimulate collagen production and activate stem cells.

I’m getting it injected into my crepey decolletage, which has already been treated with an anaesthetic cream to keep things as pain free as possible. Which, for the most part, it is. But now and again it can be quite nippy. By the time we’re finished, I’m quite numb and a little bruised, but able to go straight back to work. The whole process has taken no more than an hour.

Immediately, my skin feels smoother; more elastic; younger. The grooves along my chest – the result of over-exposure to the sun and not wearing enough sunscreen – have gone and even the pigmentation seems more even.

The bruising lasts the best part of a week, which is worth considering, especially if you are getting the treatment done somewhere more visible.

The good news is the results can last up to two years, so it’ll be a long time before I need to do it all again. Johnny Depp, eat your heart out.

RUTH WALKER

DermalClinic, 13-15 Church Hill Place, Morningside, Edinburgh (0844 800 7786, www.dermalclinic.co.uk)