PRF vs. PRP: what is the difference?
Medically reviewed by
Marie Jin, ACNP-BC, board certified acute care nurse practitioner
Last reviewed: August 2026
Both PRP and PRF start the same way: a small draw of your own blood, concentrated to harvest the platelets and growth factors your body uses to heal. The difference is preparation. PRP is spun fast with anticoagulants, yielding a liquid plasma. PRF is spun slower with no additives, which preserves a natural fibrin scaffold, and that scaffold changes how the growth factors are delivered: gradually, over time, instead of all at once.
Same blood, different preparation
PRP, platelet-rich plasma, is the first-generation approach: anticoagulant added, high-speed spin, platelets suspended in liquid plasma. It works, and it built the field. PRF, platelet-rich fibrin, is the refinement: no anticoagulant, a gentler spin, and the blood's own clotting protein, fibrin, allowed to form a soft three-dimensional matrix with the platelets and white cells held inside it.
Nothing is added and nothing synthetic is involved in either, but PRF's preparation is the more faithful mimic of how your body actually heals, since natural repair also happens inside a fibrin mesh.
Why slow release matters
Growth factors are signals, and signals do more work sustained than shouted. A liquid concentrate releases its payload quickly; the fibrin scaffold in PRF holds its growth factors and releases them gradually as the matrix breaks down, keeping the regenerative signal active in the tissue for longer. For skin work, where the goal is prompting fibroblasts to produce new collagen and elastin over weeks, the sustained signal is the better match for the job.
That is the substance behind calling PRF the more advanced generation of platelet therapy: not a stronger product, a smarter delivery.
What Marie Jé Aesthetics uses and why
The studio's regenerative treatment is PRF gel, prepared in-clinic from your own draw and used where skin needs rebuilding: restoring volume, improving texture, and rejuvenating from within. As a fully autologous treatment, meaning made of you, it is natural and biocompatible with nothing foreign to react to, which makes it the purest expression of a regenerative-first philosophy.
Common questions
Is one safer than the other?
Both are autologous, made entirely from your own blood, with nothing synthetic involved, and both have strong safety profiles. PRF's additive-free preparation simply means even the anticoagulant is absent.
Does the choice actually change results?
The delivery differs: sustained release from PRF's fibrin scaffold versus a faster release from liquid PRP. For gradual regeneration of skin quality, the sustained signal is the better theoretical and practical fit, which is why PRF is what is offered here.
Where is PRF used?
Wherever skin needs regeneration rather than disguise: classically under the eyes, through the cheeks, and around the mouth, restoring volume and refining texture. Zones and plan are designed at consultation.
At Marie Jé Aesthetics in Sunnyvale, PRF Gel is performed by Marie Jin, ACNP-BC, board certified acute care nurse practitioner and founder, at our studio on El Camino Real serving Silicon Valley and the South Bay. To see the difference applied to a specific area, read our guide to PRF for under-eye hollows. A consultation is the best way to confirm what’s right for you.
This is general information, not medical advice; candidacy is determined by a provider at consultation.