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While it has many of us turning away at the thought, others are adamant this is the new and natural way to getting beautiful skin, absorbing nutrients from your own body back into your skin, a way of connecting to your femininity and giving back to earth.
One fan of the homemade skincare treatment claims period blood contains “all the stem cells and all the nutrients that a baby would have needed and of course, that your skin and body needs."
She says: “When you use period blood as a fertiliser for your plants it grows, the same if you use it for your skin, it heals your skin and makes it so smooth. It heals all your acne. Just give it a try. Make sure not to do it on any open wounds.” She finishes by saying, “This is not medical advice.”
In one viral video, which has been watched over 1.3m times, one user posted "went off the hippie deep end and used period blood as a face mask," and the video shows her glowing, clear complexion, "And it's the best my skin has ever looked????"
Commenters were skeptical, “What in the Gwenyth Paltrow” wrote one viewer. Another said: “everyone’s joking right.”
Others seemed to be more curious. “My mom actually did this when she was a teen with horrible acne… she’s in her 40s now always has had CLEAR SKIN
.”
Another said: “I mean if you can get something good out of your period
I’m intrigued.”
When it comes to the science behind using menstrual blood on the face, the experts aren't so convinced.
Intimate women’s health expert Doctor Shirin Lakhani, who offers the vampire facial at her clinic Elite Aesthetics, said that period facemasks should not be confused with vampire facials (PRP), made famous by the likes of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, which uses your own platelets from your blood to stimulate a healing response.
“During PRP treatment, the blood is taken from the patient and then placed into a centrifuge to separate the platelet-rich plasma," says Dr Lakhani. "This platelet-rich plasma is then inserted into the deeper layers of the skin on your face using a microneedling device or injections.
“Once inside your body, the platelets get to work, stimulating the regeneration of old, weakened skin cells and promoting the growth of new collagen and elastin. It gives you brighter, healthier and more youthful-looking skin.
“Just putting menstrual blood on your face is not going to get any results similar to PRP, which helps with the appearance of wrinkles, scars and stretch marks, rejuvenating the under-eye area, reducing the size of open pores and plumping and volumising," she adds.
"A period facemask is not beneficial,” said Dr Lakhani. “Firstly, it isn’t just blood, it is your uterus lining and you are not collecting the blood in a sterile way. You could transmit infections and bacteria to your face. It is not something I would recommend.”
TikTokers are smearing period blood on their faces in the name of beauty
For many of us, our periods aren’t exactly a fun time of the month - cramps, hormone rages, leaks, the list goes on. However, for others, it’s proved to be the perfect time to start a natural beauty ritual - one that involves rubbing your menstrual blood over your face in the name of beauty. It’s called a period facemask and it’s all over TikTok right now. In fact, #periodfacemask videos have amassed 6.4 billion views on the social media channel (and counting).While it has many of us turning away at the thought, others are adamant this is the new and natural way to getting beautiful skin, absorbing nutrients from your own body back into your skin, a way of connecting to your femininity and giving back to earth.
One fan of the homemade skincare treatment claims period blood contains “all the stem cells and all the nutrients that a baby would have needed and of course, that your skin and body needs."
She says: “When you use period blood as a fertiliser for your plants it grows, the same if you use it for your skin, it heals your skin and makes it so smooth. It heals all your acne. Just give it a try. Make sure not to do it on any open wounds.” She finishes by saying, “This is not medical advice.”
In one viral video, which has been watched over 1.3m times, one user posted "went off the hippie deep end and used period blood as a face mask," and the video shows her glowing, clear complexion, "And it's the best my skin has ever looked????"
Commenters were skeptical, “What in the Gwenyth Paltrow” wrote one viewer. Another said: “everyone’s joking right.”
Others seemed to be more curious. “My mom actually did this when she was a teen with horrible acne… she’s in her 40s now always has had CLEAR SKIN
.”Another said: “I mean if you can get something good out of your period
I’m intrigued.”When it comes to the science behind using menstrual blood on the face, the experts aren't so convinced.
Intimate women’s health expert Doctor Shirin Lakhani, who offers the vampire facial at her clinic Elite Aesthetics, said that period facemasks should not be confused with vampire facials (PRP), made famous by the likes of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, which uses your own platelets from your blood to stimulate a healing response.
“During PRP treatment, the blood is taken from the patient and then placed into a centrifuge to separate the platelet-rich plasma," says Dr Lakhani. "This platelet-rich plasma is then inserted into the deeper layers of the skin on your face using a microneedling device or injections.
“Once inside your body, the platelets get to work, stimulating the regeneration of old, weakened skin cells and promoting the growth of new collagen and elastin. It gives you brighter, healthier and more youthful-looking skin.
“Just putting menstrual blood on your face is not going to get any results similar to PRP, which helps with the appearance of wrinkles, scars and stretch marks, rejuvenating the under-eye area, reducing the size of open pores and plumping and volumising," she adds.
"A period facemask is not beneficial,” said Dr Lakhani. “Firstly, it isn’t just blood, it is your uterus lining and you are not collecting the blood in a sterile way. You could transmit infections and bacteria to your face. It is not something I would recommend.”
"