At least three women were diagnosed with HIV after receiving a bloody “vampire facial” at a New Mexico wellness spa, an alarming Center for Disease Control (CDC) report reveals.
According to the report, this is the first documented transmission of HIV via contaminated cosmetic injections – not to mention a grim warning about the dangers that arise when unlicensed and poorly equipped practitioners blur the lines between beauty industries , wellness and medicine.
“Vampire Facial” is the colloquial term for what is medically known as a “PRP” facial, PRP being short for “platelet-rich plasma.” Popularized in 2013 after reality TV fame. Kim Kardashian posted a bloody mid-treatment selfie, the practice could be considered a supercharged and somewhat macabre version of the common – and much less bloody – practice of microneedling. Practitioners first draw blood from a patient, then use a machine to separate platelets from the blood sample. In some cases, the pads are applied locally; most often, however, they are then injected back into the patient’s complexion using a series of small needles. And to be very clear, the treatment is purely cosmetic, meaning there is no medical benefits – the practice is primarily touted as a skin-tightening anti-aging treatment.
The New Mexico case involves an unlicensed Albuquerque facility dubbed VIP Spa, which the CDC began investigating — and promptly shut down — just months after the spa’s first known HIV-positive patient was diagnosed in 2018. According to the report, the government agency’s inspection quickly discovered that the spa’s safety practices were horribly nonexistent.
A “centrifuge, heated dry bath, and rack of unlabeled tubes containing blood were found on a kitchen counter,” the report reads, adding that “unlabeled blood tubes and medical injectables were found on a kitchen counter.” stored in the kitchen refrigerator with food. The report further notes that “unwrapped syringes were found in drawers, on counters and thrown into regular trash cans”, and that there was no trace of a steam sterilizer – the standard means for ensure medical equipment has been properly sterilized – on site. . Worse still, the needles and blood vials showed signs of reuse.
In short, the place was a veritable nightmare of medical malpractices. Ultimately, investigators determined that the VIP Spa had been frequented by two patients with confirmed HIV diagnoses, and nucleotide analyzes concluded that the three VIP Spa guests who had tested positive for HIV for the first time After visiting the facility had been infected with similar strains – even though each of them was previously considered to be at low risk of contracting the disease.
“These are people who had no known risk of contracting HIV,” said Anna Stadelman-Behar, a CDC epidemiologist who investigated the case. The Washington Post. “It was definitely a shock to them.”
By WaPoFormer VIP Spa owner Maria de Lourdes Ramos De Ruiz, 62, pleaded guilty in 2022 to five counts of practicing medicine without a license and is currently serving a three-and-a-half year sentence.
HIV activists say the consequences of its harms remind us that HIV is not a threat reserved for historically vulnerable groups of people.
“People need to understand that it’s not just certain types of people who get HIV. It’s not, ‘Well, this can’t happen to me.’ I’m just going to get a facial, and I’m not one of those people,” said Dafina Ward, executive director of the Southern AIDS Coalition. WaPo“It’s not a disease just for those people. And that’s the stigma we’re working to eradicate.”
If you suddenly find yourself fiercely pressing to cancel an upcoming appointment with a vampire face, we should emphasize that when provided by licensed medical personnel, PRP treatments are not considered dangerous.
But that said, from another perspective, the VIP Spa incident does indeed fit into a broader set of lines that are often crossed and confused when the beauty and wellness industries meddle with the medical field. If you are looking for this treatment or any other treatment involving injections – botox, filler, microneedling, etc. – we recommend that you take the time to confirm that the facility where you are to be treated is authorized to perform the procedure. If not, avoid them. The risks are real.
Learn more about cosmetic treatments: Celebrities Permanently Damage Their Teeth to Get a ‘Perfect Smile,’ But It Will Come Back to Haunt Them Later
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