The latest anti-ageing craze appears to have taken inspiration from Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ given that the procedure involves injecting your face with your own blood.

Stimulated Self Serum skin therapy, often shortened to just ‘S3 Therapy’ and colloquially known as the ‘Dracula Therapy’, is the latest anti-ageing craze to hit cosmetic surgery fans. The inventor of this new skin therapy, a French London-based cosmetic doctor called Daniel sister, claims that S3 therapy stimulates DNA repair, helps to heal scars, and generally improves the skin tone and texture, making it look smoother and younger.

S3 Therapy first involves having several vials of your own blood drawn. This is then separated into three parts – the red blood cells, the clear serum, and the platelets using a centrifuge Vitamins and amino acids are added before the serum before the mix is injected into the face.

The injections into the face are made in several places including the hairline, the jawline, forehead, between the eyebrows and between the nose and mouth. The injection phase of S3 Therapy takes as little as ten minutes to complete. Afterwards, there is little or no blood although the face may be slightly red. The patient is then asked to lie under some red and blue therapeutic lights which are said to be good at helping the skin to heal and destroying bacteria (including the bacteria that cause acne).

The next day, the skin may be a little sore or tender but there should be few signs, if any, that the patient has had any form of treatment. Over the next few weeks, the skin should start to look better and fine lines and wrinkles should start to smooth out, leaving the skin looking younger and plumper.

It is advised that patients have repeat S3 Therapy skin injections every four to six months to help maintain the new look.

The treatment sounds bizarre but the theory behind it is not a new one. For over 20 years, dentists have used patient’s own serum to help receding gums heal themselves; US research has also shown that injecting plasma into sport injuries can help them heal quicker. Thus, Dr. Sister’s claims that injecting serum into the face helps heal the skin and improve it’s tone may not be so far-fetched after all, particularly given that serum is rich in growth-factors, natural proteins that help healing and stop damage.

The one big downside to the treatment is the price. Although cheaper than a facelift, the injections still come with quite a hefty price tag of around £500 ($1000) per session.