Regenerative Medicine at UPC · Riverside & Menifee, CA
Platelet-rich fibrin for the under-eye area
PRF uses a small sample of your own blood to improve the quality of the thin skin beneath the eye — thickness, tone and crepiness. It is not a volumizer, and it is not right for everyone. This page explains, honestly, what it can and cannot do.
Book a consultationThe short answer
What PRF does under the eyes
PRF (platelet-rich fibrin) is a concentrate made from your own blood that releases growth factors slowly over several days. Injected into the thin skin below the eye, it is used to improve skin quality — thickness, texture, crepiness and, in some patients, the bluish shadow that comes from translucent skin. It does not fill a hollow the way hyaluronic acid filler does, and the published evidence for this specific use is thin. It is a reasonable option if the problem is skin quality; it is the wrong tool if the problem is volume.
Start here
Three different problems that all look like “tired eyes”
Most disappointing under-eye treatments come from treating the wrong problem. Before anything is injected, it is worth being precise about what you are actually seeing in the mirror.
A hollow (volume loss)
A true depression along the tear trough, where fat has descended or thinned and the orbital rim becomes visible as a ridge. Casts a shadow that changes with the light. PRF is not the right tool for this. Hyaluronic acid filler restores volume immediately and predictably; fat transfer is an option for larger deficits.
Thin, crepey or translucent skin
The skin itself is the problem — fine crinkling, loss of thickness, and a bluish cast because the underlying vasculature shows through. This is what PRF is used for. The aim is a thicker, better-quality dermis rather than added volume.
Pigment
Genuine brown discolouration, common in deeper skin tones and often familial or post-inflammatory. Neither PRF nor filler treats pigment. Topical agents, sun protection and, selectively, certain lasers or peels are the relevant options — and PRP has somewhat better published support than PRF for pigmentation.
Many people have some combination of all three, which is why a treatment plan that only offers one modality tends to underdeliver. Part of what a consultation is for is deciding which of these is actually driving your appearance — and telling you if the honest answer is that PRF is not what you need.
Comparison
PRF versus hyaluronic acid filler
These are not competitors so much as different tools. The table below is the comparison patients most often ask for.
| PRF | Hyaluronic acid filler | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Concentrate from your own blood — platelets, fibrin, white cells. Nothing synthetic. | A manufactured hyaluronic acid gel, cross-linked to hold its shape. |
| What it does | Stimulates the skin’s own repair response. Aims at skin quality and thickness. | Occupies space. Adds volume where volume is missing. |
| Result timing | Gradual — visible change usually over 6 to 12 weeks as collagen remodels. | Immediate, visible on the table. |
| Predictability | Variable between patients; response is not guaranteed. | Highly predictable; the injector can see the result as it is placed. |
| Durability | Reported benefit often fades within about six months. Longer-term data does not exist for this indication. | Commonly 9 to 18 months in the tear trough, product-dependent. |
| Reversibility | Not reversible, but fully absorbed. Nothing foreign remains. | Reversible with hyaluronidase — a genuine safety advantage in this area. |
| Typical problems | Bruising and swelling for several days. Under-response is the common disappointment. | Puffiness, Tyndall effect (bluish tint), migration, and rarely vascular occlusion. |
| Allergy risk | None — it is your own tissue. | Very low, but not zero. |
| Evidence base | Thin for this specific indication. See below. | Large, with years of published outcome data. |
If you are filler-averse — and many people specifically are, around the eyes — PRF is a legitimate option, provided you go in understanding that it works on the skin rather than the shadow, and that it may not do enough on its own.
What happens
The appointment, step by step
- AssessmentWhich of the three problems above you actually have, your medication list, and whether treatment is appropriate at all. If it is not, we will say so rather than treat.
- Blood drawA small volume, drawn in the office. Dr. Guiang performs the draw himself.
- PreparationThe sample is spun at low speed with no anticoagulant and no additive, so a fibrin matrix forms. That matrix is what makes PRF release growth factors over days rather than hours.
- NumbingTopical anaesthetic to the treatment area, with time allowed for it to take effect.
- InjectionSmall deposits placed in the dermal and subdermal plane below the eye, under sterile conditions. The periorbital region is dense with vessels; this is anatomy where technique and anatomical knowledge matter, and it is not delegated.
- AfterwardsExpect swelling and some bruising for several days — often more than you expect the first time. Most people plan around a week before an event. Change is assessed at six to twelve weeks.
Most patients are treated two to three times, four to six weeks apart, and the effect on skin quality builds across the series rather than appearing after the first session.
Candidacy
Who this suits, and who it does not
Reasonable candidates
- Thin, crepey or finely wrinkled skin below the eye
- A bluish cast from translucent skin rather than brown pigment
- People who want to avoid synthetic filler, for any reason
- Patients who have had filler and want to improve the skin’s quality over it
- Mild early change, where filler would be more than the problem calls for
Not appropriate
- A true hollow driven by volume loss — filler or surgical options are the honest answer
- Genuine brown pigmentation
- Fat pad herniation or significant skin laxity, where the relevant discussion is oculoplastic surgery
- Active infection or inflammatory skin disease at the treatment site
- Platelet dysfunction or a bleeding disorder
- Active malignancy
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy — not an automatic exclusion, but requires individual assessment. Never stop a prescribed anticoagulant on your own.
Evidence
What the research actually shows
We would rather you hear this from us than discover it later. Of everything we offer, PRF for the under-eye area has the thinnest published evidence base. What exists is small split-face studies and case series. There is no randomised controlled trial comparing PRF against hyaluronic acid filler for infraorbital hollows, and no durability data extending meaningfully past six months.
The broader picture for platelet concentrates in facial skin is better characterised. A 2025 systematic review of 14 studies (Sollitto and colleagues, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology) found PRF tended to perform better for skin texture, fine lines and crepiness, while PRP performed better and more durably for hyperpigmentation — and concluded that the current evidence does not establish either as superior overall. Reported benefit for texture frequently diminished by six months. Adverse effects across these studies were mild and transient.
Two things follow from that. First, if a clinic tells you PRF under the eyes is proven to replace filler, that claim is ahead of the literature. Second, the honest framing is that this is a low-risk, autologous treatment with encouraging but limited evidence, best chosen by patients whose goal is skin quality and who are comfortable with an uncertain magnitude of benefit.
On regulatory status: the centrifuge systems used to prepare platelet concentrates hold FDA 510(k) clearance as devices, largely for orthopedic and wound-care indications. There is no FDA-approved PRP or PRF product for facial rejuvenation — this is off-label use. Off-label use is legal and routine in medicine, but you are entitled to know that is what it is.
Selected references
- Sollitto CF, Narduzzi M, Wolinsky C. Comparative efficacy of platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin in facial rejuvenation: a systematic review. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. 2025;24(11):e70524.
- Hesseler MJ, Shyam N. Platelet-rich plasma and its utility in the treatment of acne scars: a systematic review. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2019;80(6):1730–1745.
- Behrangi E, et al. Randomised split-face comparison of platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin for periorbital rejuvenation. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. 2026.
Cost
Pricing
Under-eye PRF is priced within our PRP and PRF skin rejuvenation programme. Regenerative and aesthetic treatments are not covered by insurance.
The number of sessions appropriate for you, and whether PRF or PRP is the better preparation, is decided at consultation rather than assumed in advance.
Common questions
Under-eye PRF — answered
Will PRF get rid of my dark circles?
It depends what is causing them. If the darkness is a shadow cast by a hollow, PRF will not remove it — that is a volume problem. If it is a bluish tint from thin, translucent skin, thickening the dermis can reduce it, and that is the situation where PRF has the best rationale. If the darkness is genuine brown pigment, neither PRF nor filler addresses it.
Is PRF under the eyes better than filler?
Not better — different. Filler adds volume immediately, predictably and reversibly, which is a real safety advantage in the periorbital area. PRF works on skin quality and is absorbed over months. There is no randomised trial comparing the two for infraorbital hollows. If the main problem is true volume loss, filler is usually the better tool, and we will tell you so.
What is the difference between PRF and PRP?
Both are concentrated from your own blood. PRP is spun faster with an anticoagulant and stays liquid. PRF is spun slowly with no additive, so fibrin remains and forms a soft matrix that releases growth factors over days rather than hours. PRF also carries more white cells and stem cells. For the under-eye area PRF is generally preferred; for pigmentation, PRP has somewhat better published support.
What is “EZ Gel” or a PRF biofiller?
Those terms refer to PRF that has been heat-treated and then cooled, producing a thicker, gel-like material that behaves more like a soft filler and is absorbed more slowly. It is still your own blood, and it is still not equivalent to hyaluronic acid filler in volume or durability. Whether it is appropriate for you is a consultation discussion.
How many sessions will I need?
Usually two to three, four to six weeks apart, with change assessed at six to twelve weeks rather than immediately. Because reported benefit for skin texture often diminishes by around six months, most patients who are pleased with the result return for maintenance once or twice a year.
How much downtime is there?
Expect swelling and bruising below the eye for several days — commonly more than patients anticipate the first time, because the skin there is thin and vascular. Plan roughly a week before a significant event. Sleeping slightly elevated for the first two nights and cool compresses on the first day both help.
Is it safe?
The material is autologous, so allergy and rejection are not concerns. The risk here is procedural — sterile technique, single-patient-use equipment, and injecting in a region dense with vessels. Ask any clinic who draws the blood, who prepares it, whether the tube is single-patient-use, and whether a physician is on site. At our offices Dr. Guiang performs the draw, the preparation and the injection himself.
Can I have PRF if I already have filler under my eyes?
Usually yes. PRF is often used to improve skin quality over existing filler rather than as a replacement for it. Bring the details of what was placed and when, since that affects both planning and what a realistic result looks like.
Where we are
Two Inland Empire offices
Serving Riverside, Moreno Valley, Corona, Menifee, Perris, Sun City, Canyon Lake, Wildomar, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula and Hemet.
Related care
Other PRP and PRF treatments at UPC
Find out whether this is the right treatment for you
A consultation establishes which of the three under-eye problems you actually have — and whether PRF, filler, or neither is the honest recommendation.
Book a consultationPRF for the periorbital area is an autologous biologic procedure. Results vary between individuals and are not guaranteed. Platelet separation devices hold FDA 510(k) clearance as devices; use for facial rejuvenation is off-label. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, and it does not create a physician–patient relationship. Treatment decisions are made individually following a comprehensive evaluation. These services are not covered by insurance.
