‘Liquid Gold’
Bella Body Medical Spa expands its offerings to include PRF, a revolutionary new treatment capable of restoring clients’ youthfulness with natural, refreshed results.
Collagen has been referred to as the body’s “scaffolding.” Considering the fact that the human body loses as much as a teaspoon of collagen per year, it’s understandable why some people say they feel as though they’re “falling apart” as they age. The delicate skin under the eyes may appear sunken in, and the cheeks become less full. Lines on the face suddenly become more noticeable.
For these reasons, many people turn to injectables for a restorative look. Options have evolved and improved greatly in recent years. One of the most compelling advances in this realm is known as PRF, short for platelet-rich fibrin. Many clients of Bella Body Medical Spa in Yardley have benefited from PRF, though few clients who come to the med spa have heard of it upon arrival. Bonnie Benedetto, CLT, co-founder of Bella Body, says clients often make an appointment for under-eye filler and are excited to learn that PRF may be a better option.
PRF uses the natural healing powers of an individual’s own blood to restore youthfulness to the face. PRF, which has been referred to “liquid gold,” is not exactly new. It has proven to stimulate healing and regeneration for patients in need of medical procedures such as dental implants and bone grafting, but it is new to the med-spa setting—and it’s producing amazing results. Benedetto says clients love that PRF requires nothing “foreign” to be injected into the body because it’s essentially manufactured from their own blood.
“With PRF, we draw patients’ blood and put it in the centrifuge, the same technology a medical practice would use, to separate the red blood cells from the fibrin, which is rich in growth factor,” explains Lisa DiLello, R.N., aesthetic nurse injector with Bella Body. “We then use that as an injection, providing all those wonderful healing properties in the fibrin. It fills in hollowing and gives a much more refreshed look than filler. I’ve done it for clients under the eyes, in the lips, and in the temple area, and witnessed how it gives much more strength and fullness to those areas.”
DiLello says she often promotes PRF instead of filler because of its ability to provide a more natural result. She suggests patients often come in and specifically express their concern about looking “fake” or “frozen,” or mention that they don’t want to resemble certain celebrities known for having had too much “work” done.
“When people come to Bella Body, the goal is not for them to leave and have a bunch of friends tell them their injections look amazing,” Benedetto adds. “Instead, we want people to say, ‘You look really great! Did you go on vacation or something?’ It’s that refreshed look that is our goal—not a frozen look that we know patients are afraid of.”
DiLello says the aesthetic result has been impressive, particularly when combined with micro-needling, a skin rejuvenation treatment that adds epidermal growth factors.
“Together, the two treatments can get a really amazing result because you’re going at the problem from two different angles,” she explains. “You’re improving the texture of the skin while also building up the collagen underneath.”
While the results have been impressive, it can take some time to realize them, according to Jordonna Fulop, R.N., CPT, another of Belly Body’s aesthetic nurse injectors. She tells each client to be patient and to wait for the treatment to complete its work. It takes approximately four to six weeks for the restorative healing to take place beneath the skin. For under-eye treatments, the spa typically recommends three treatments. By the end of the four- to six-week period after the final treatment, patients will see a noticeable improvement.
Fulop says that the era of online meetings has resulted in an influx of new clients. People now have to look at themselves on a videoconferencing screen—and many are not thrilled with the face they see staring back.
“All of the sudden we’re seeing ourselves in HD, and there’s no filter on those webcams,” Fulop says. “So, we’re seeing more people want to make changes that will refresh their look.”
Whether it’s PRF or some other aesthetic treatment, Fulop suggests the med spa’s ability to rejuvenate a client’s facial structure has gotten better than ever. Likewise, Bella Body has become proficient in giving each client a natural, subtle look that restores youthfulness, not make someone look different.
“My best advice to new patients is to keep in mind that it’s not always just one treatment or modality that is going to give you the results you’re looking for,” Fulop adds. “Sometimes, it’s a combination of options. We don’t force anything on patients; we just make sure they know all the different options available to them, and then we work together to make a decision about what’s best for them.”
In the 10 years since Benedetto first opened Bella Body, it has been her mission to create a comfortable, low-pressure, stress-free environment. She has achieved her goal by hiring professionals who show kindness and genuinely care about the spa’s clients. While people have many choices when it comes to choosing a medical spa, Benedetto says a warm and welcoming atmosphere has helped Bella Body grow.
“If we didn’t do amazing work, people wouldn’t keep coming back,” she says. “However, I think a big reason why our clients love coming here is that we make them feel completely comfortable. We’re not constantly upselling them or making them feel like they’re just a number to us. We actually get to know all of our clients—and they get to know us. It becomes a warm and friendly experience where people want to keep coming back. It feels great to help make people feel better about themselves and to see them so pleased with their results.”
Bella Body Medical Spa
734 Stony Hill Road, 2nd Floor
Yardley, PA 19067
(215) 622-7724
Photograph by Alison Dunlap
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, May 2021.
