PRF and Platelet-Rich Fibrin
A second-generation preparation of your own blood, spun slowly and without anticoagulant so the growth factors release over time.
What is PRF?
The patient’s blood is drawn and centrifuged slowly without anticoagulant, producing a fibrin matrix that holds the platelets and their growth factors, which is then injected or micro-needled into the treatment area.
PRF is platelet-rich fibrin. Like PRP it is made from your own blood, drawn and spun in the room at the time of treatment, but the processing differs in two ways that change what the preparation does. It is spun more slowly, and no anticoagulant is added. Without an anticoagulant the blood begins its natural clotting cascade, and the spin leaves a soft fibrin scaffold behind rather than a clear liquid. That scaffold holds the platelets, the white cells and the growth factors in place at the site, releasing them gradually over days instead of dispersing at once. It is also why PRF has body: warmed and processed further, the same draw becomes EZ Gel, an injectable the clinic uses where genuine volume is missing. Patients often arrive searching for “natural growth factor injections” without knowing the term — that is this treatment.
What happens during a PRF appointment?
It opens with a blood draw, the same as a routine blood test, and the sample goes straight into a centrifuge in the room. The spin is slower than the one used for PRP and no anticoagulant is added to the tube, which matters: left to behave naturally, the blood begins to clot, and what separates out is not a clear liquid but a soft fibrin matrix holding the platelets and white cells within it. That preparation is used immediately, because the clotting process continues and the material changes as it sits. Depending on the area it is injected directly, applied to the skin during microneedling so it passes through the channels created, or processed a step further into EZ Gel where volume is the goal. Nothing is stored between appointments and nothing is brought in from outside.
How soon will I see results from PRF?
Gradually, and that is inherent to how it works rather than a limitation of technique. PRF does not add volume or relax a muscle; it delivers your own growth factors into tissue and asks that tissue to repair itself, which happens over weeks. Anything visible in the first days is swelling from the injections rather than result. Because the fibrin scaffold releases those growth factors over a period rather than at once, the stimulus continues after the appointment ends. Improvement in skin quality, texture and under-eye condition accumulates across a course rather than arriving after a single session, and outcomes vary between people more than they do with a manufactured product, because the response depends on your own healing. Your clinician sets the number of sessions and the interval at consultation.
Is PRF suitable for everyone?
No, and the reasons are worth knowing before booking. Because the material is your own blood there is no manufactured product to react to or dissolve, which removes a whole category of risk. What remains are the risks of any injection — bruising, swelling, tenderness, and the small infection risk that comes with breaking the skin. Blood disorders, low platelet counts, active infection, some cancers and certain medications, anticoagulants in particular, can rule treatment out or mean it should be deferred. Anaemia may need addressing first. Treatment is avoided in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This is why medical history is taken properly rather than as a formality, and why for some patients the honest answer is that PRF is not the right treatment. Bring a current medication list to consultation.
PRF compared with PRP
| PRF | PRP | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Platelet-rich fibrin | Platelet-rich plasma |
| How it is spun | More slowly | Faster |
| Anticoagulant | None | Used |
| Structure | Contains a fibrin scaffold | Liquid concentrate |
| Growth factor release | Released gradually from the scaffold | Released sooner |
| Also the base for | EZ Gel, processed from the same draw | — |
Medically reviewed by Dr. Sherwin Hariri, MD, Medical Director & Chief Longevity Physician. Last reviewed August 2026.
This page is for information only and is not medical advice. Suitability for any treatment is determined at consultation.
1 treatment in this category
PRF (Platelet-Rich Fibrin)
Platelet-rich fibrin, a second-generation preparation of your own blood spun more slowly than PRP and without anticoagulant. The fibrin scaffold that leaves behind releases growth factors gradually rather than all at once, and is also the base from which EZ Gel is processed.
Common questions
What is the difference between PRF and PRP?
Both are made from your own blood, and both are prepared in the room at the time of treatment. PRP is spun faster and with an anticoagulant, which produces a liquid concentrate that releases its growth factors soon after placement. PRF is spun more slowly with no anticoagulant, so a fibrin scaffold forms and holds the growth factors at the site, releasing them gradually. PRP is the longer-established preparation and remains the right choice for many treatments. Which suits you is a clinical judgement made at consultation, based on the area and what it needs, rather than one being a straightforward upgrade on the other.
Are “natural growth factor injections” the same thing as PRF?
In most cases yes. Growth factors are the signalling proteins platelets carry, and both PRF and PRP concentrate them from your own blood so they can be placed where repair is wanted. The phrase describes what the treatment does rather than naming the preparation, so it is worth confirming at consultation which preparation is actually being discussed — the term is also used loosely elsewhere for topical products that are not derived from your own blood at all.
Where on the face and body is PRF used?
Across the full face for overall skin quality, under the eye where thin skin and texture are the limiting factor, on the neck and décolleté, and in the scalp for hair thinning. Under the eye it is often preferred to hyaluronic acid filler, which can hold water and puff in that tissue. Where volume rather than skin quality is the problem, EZ Gel processed from the same draw is usually the better answer.
Is anything synthetic introduced?
No. The only material placed is the one drawn from you at the start of the appointment. Nothing is manufactured, nothing is stored between visits and nothing is brought in from outside, which removes the category of risk that applies to a product that has to be tolerated or later dissolved. The remaining risks are those of any injection — bruising, swelling and tenderness — and the medical history taken at consultation establishes whether treatment is appropriate at all.
Also consider
PRP
Your own platelets and growth factors, drawn and processed in clinic at the time of treatment.
Learn more →EZ Gel
A filler made from your own blood — for smile lines and under-eye hollows, with no synthetic product involved.
Learn more →Hair Restoration
Scalp injections and microneedling to support follicle health and hair density.
Learn more →Exosomes
Signalling molecules applied to support regeneration, most often alongside microneedling.
Learn more →
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