'Stem Cells' Take Care of Skin Beauty and Boost Volume in Face and Chest

'Stem Cells' Take Care of Skin Beauty and Boost Volume in Face and Chest



Recently, there has been a trend in the field of plastic surgery to prefer natural beauty over excessive surgical enhancements.

Instead of drastically altering facial features, the current trend in cosmetic surgery involves gradually enhancing one's natural beauty through procedures such as laser lower eyelid surgery, nose tip reshaping, and fat grafting, building upon one's original foundation. Amidst this trend, the popularity of "stem cell cosmetic surgery" is steadily increasing.

Stem cells are suitable for cosmetic medicine because, in addition to their ability to differentiate and regenerate into fat, cartilage, bone, and muscle, they also possess angiogenesis-inducing and anti-inflammatory effects.

However, due to the indiscriminate advertising of 'stem cell procedures' by hospitals, customers who cannot distinguish the 'real' results eventually turn to places with lower prices.

Stem cell procedures vary widely in terms of name, cell origin, extraction technique, and transplantation method, making it difficult even for medical professionals to determine their superiority.

First of all, stem cells are good for skin care.

Applying stem cell culture fluid to the face and other areas results in smoothing rough skin. This is commonly referred to as a "stem cell anti-aging procedure." It involves culturing a specific individual's adipose stem cells, umbilical cord stem cells, or bone marrow stem cells to induce the absorption of their growth factors and nutrients into the skin layers.

This "anti-aging" effect stems from the "paracrine effect," in which various beneficial substances secreted by stem cells activate cells or stem cells within the body to improve symptoms or physiological conditions.

Dr. Shin Dong-jin, Director of SC301 Clinic, explained, “Research has shown that the beneficial components of stem cell culture fluid exhibit a strong inhibitory effect on melanin secretion, brightening the skin, and proliferate collagen and keratin-regenerating cells to reduce fine wrinkles and shrink pores.”

Generally, the cosmetic effects of such stem cells are expected to be strongest in the order of embryonic stem cells, bone marrow stem cells, adipose stem cells, and umbilical cord blood stem cells.

In fact, many hospitals are using stem cell culture fluid to promote the growth of new skin and firm the skin texture after laser treatment.

Stem cells are also effective for facial and breast augmentation. They play a role in improving the low engraftment rate, which is a drawback of conventional autologous fat grafting. Generally, pure fat cells and stem cells are extracted from fat cells harvested from areas such as the abdomen or thighs, mixed in a specific ratio, and injected into the dermis layer of the face or breasts.

Adipose-derived stem cells are the most suitable for producing fat.

Director Shin Dong-jin explained, “Existing research papers estimate that living nucleated stem cells make up 30 to 50 percent of the extracted fat cells,” adding, “The remaining young fat cells are vascular endothelial cells that perform functions similar to stem cells.”

He added, “These days, there are quite a few places that mix PRP (platelet-rich plasma) extracted from blood into fat cells and claim it is ‘stem cell therapy’ or ‘stem cell plastic surgery,’” pointing out that it is exaggerated.

Director Shin emphasized, “The effects of blood stem cells are virtually entirely due to PRP,” adding, “PRP contains concentrated platelets and growth factors that contribute to wound healing and improved cell engraftment rates, but it does not itself produce stem cell effects such as tissue regeneration or angiogenesis.”

Above all, when measured with a cell counter to determine the number of stem cells, the stem cells themselves are hardly counted in the blood.

Director Shin said, “When viewed under a microscope, stem cells are slightly elongated and shaped like a branched star, but they are not visible in the blood,” adding that “the efficacy of stem cell therapy using blood needs to be reconsidered.”

He continued, “Although there are places in Korea that claim to offer stem cell cosmetic surgery, less than 5% are properly equipped with the necessary equipment and have accumulated procedural know-how.” He advised, “Considering that proper stem cell extraction equipment costs over 3 million won and the procedure requires numerous trials and errors to mature, you should seek out a hospital capable of performing it well to ensure high satisfaction.”

Meanwhile, Director Shin Dong-jin secured the efficacy of the procedure by publishing an international paper, the first in Korea, proving a high fat engraftment rate of over 70% due to the effects of stem cells in stem cell breast augmentation (breast enlargement).

An analysis of the results of stem cell breast augmentation on 200 patients in their 20s to 50s who were available for follow-up observation during 2013 showed that the chest circumference increased from 79.11 cm before surgery to 84.02 cm after surgery for those in their 20s (77 patients), from 80.58 cm to 85.19 cm for those in their 30s (80 patients), and from 83.40 cm to 88.41 cm for those in their 40s and 50s (43 patients). Regardless of age group, the chest circumference increased by an average of about 5 cm.

Injecting stem cells and pure fat cells into sunken forehead, eye area, cheeks, deep nasolabial folds, sunken temples, and sagging jawline can restore volume and create a youthful and elegant image.

If you add a lifting effect using 'Ulthera,' a high-intensity focused ultrasound device, to such facial surgery, you can obtain the added benefit of improved skin elasticity and enhanced three-dimensionality.