Morpheus8
The Morpheus8 tip up close. The gold pins are what carry the radiofrequency energy below the surface — the needles are the delivery route, not the treatment itself.
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Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Morpheus8 vs Vampire Facial
Morpheus8 is the one that adds heat. It pushes insulated needles into the skin and releases radiofrequency current at their tips, heating the deeper layer. A vampire facial is microneedling with your own blood spread on top. The needling is the part with evidence behind it, and the platelet-rich plasma, or PRP, added on top is the part without.
At a glance
| The difference | Morpheus8 | Vampire Facial |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | The more expensive of the two | The cheaper of the two |
Vampire Facial
A vampire facial is microneedling with your own PRP spread over the skin, so the pen passes over a surface already wet with plasma.
Side by side
The differences that matter
What you actually do
Morpheus8
Needles plus radiofrequency heat
Needles go into the skin. Current then heats a small column of tissue at a depth the operator picks.
Vampire Facial
Needling, then your own blood on top
Blood is drawn and spun in a centrifuge. The platelet-rich part is spread on the freshly needled skin, or injected into it.
How it works
Morpheus8
The channel plus heat
Current flows between pins inside the tip. The immediate tightening and the deeper remodelling both come from that heat.
Vampire Facial
The channel plus a biological
The needles make the injury and normal wound healing does the rest. PRP is the theory that concentrating your own platelets speeds that healing up.
How deep it goes
Morpheus8
As deep as the needle is set
The operator picks the depth. The deepest figure in any FDA summary is 7 mm, on the body tip.
Vampire Facial
The upper skin layers
Microneedling pens go to about 2.5 to 3 mm. How far PRP travels down those channels is not established.
What you can expect to see
Morpheus8
Smoother texture, shallower acne scars
Acne scarring is the best-evidenced use, in a review of 16 studies and 481 people. In one same-patient trial it matched fractional CO2 laser on scar scores, with less downtime.
Vampire Facial
Smoother texture, from the needling
A review pooled 24 trials and 1,546 people. Microneedling plus something else beat microneedling alone. Microneedling with a chemical peel beat microneedling with PRP.
What it will not do
Morpheus8
Not a surgical lift
The heat gives a tightening component, not the result of an operation.
Vampire Facial
PRP may be adding very little
One trial added PRP on top of radiofrequency microneedling. It gave no significant advantage.
The downside
Morpheus8
Redness in almost everyone, 3 to 4 days
In one acne scar study, redness happened in 100% of patients and swelling in 30%. Downtime is about 3 to 4 days.
Vampire Facial
Like a sunburn for 24 to 72 hours
Plus bruising wherever blood is drawn or PRP is injected.
How many sessions
Morpheus8
1 to 6 treatments, 3 to 6 weeks apart
Labelling says 3 to 5 are generally needed. Published trials most often used 3.
Vampire Facial
Commonly 3 to 6 sessions
About 4 weeks apart. That is common practice rather than a tested dose.
Cost
Morpheus8
The more expensive of the two
It is a device treatment, and paying considerably more is part of choosing it.
Vampire Facial
The cheaper of the two
The needling is the part you are paying for. The PRP is an add-on.
The at-home or drugstore version
Morpheus8
No home version of the heat
A home wand puts a fraction of the power into the surface of the skin. It never reaches the clinic depth.
Vampire Facial
No home version of the PRP
Home rollers and pens do the needling badly. A roller drags sideways instead of going straight in and out, so it tears more than it punctures.
Who tends to be happy with it
Morpheus8
- Best for — Someone who wants the heat: texture and scarring plus a tightening component.
- The mindset — A course of treatments, judged at three to six months.
Vampire Facial
- Best for — Someone who wants a gentler, cheaper needling treatment for texture and scarring.
- The mindset — Choose the clinic before you choose the add-on. The needling is the part with evidence behind it.
What almost nobody mentions about Morpheus8
Morpheus8
Almost no published study used Morpheus8 itself. The research that supports radiofrequency microneedling was generated on other machines. The class evidence is real. It is just not this brand's evidence.
The fine print
Morpheus8
Morpheus8 is made by InMode. Its clearance uses surgical words, not cosmetic ones: electrocoagulation and hemostasis, meaning sealing tissue and stopping bleeding (K192695, December 2019), then coagulation or contraction of soft tissue (K231790, 2023). Acne scars, wrinkles, laxity and pore size appear in none of it. A PubMed search returns 16 records for Morpheus8 and no randomised controlled trial; the supporting radiofrequency microneedling research was generated on Lutronic Genius and Infini, Jeisys, Pollogen, Lumenis and other machines.
Vampire Facial
The needling half of a vampire facial does have a named cosmetic authorisation. SkinPen covers facial acne scars in all skin types and neck wrinkles in Fitzpatrick II to IV, authorised in March 2018 through the request that created the FDA category for microneedling devices. Its labelling instructs treatment at depths up to 2.5 mm. Dermapen 4 is selectable from 0.2 to 3.0 mm and names facial acne scars in Fitzpatrick I to V, with no neck indication.
The PRP half has no aesthetic authorisation at all. The kits that spin your blood are cleared, and for the widely used product code the cleared use is preparing PRP to be mixed with bone graft in orthopaedic surgery. No PRP preparation system is cleared or approved for facial rejuvenation, acne scarring or hair loss. Aesthetic PRP is off-label practice of medicine, which is legal and common.
A clearance is a judgement of similarity to an earlier device, not proof that a treatment works. It is still worth knowing which words are actually in it, because that is what was reviewed.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Is a vampire facial the same as microneedling?
It is microneedling with PRP added. The needling is the part with an FDA-authorised cosmetic indication and the larger evidence base. The PRP is an add-on, and it is the part with no aesthetic authorisation and weak evidence of extra benefit.
Is PRP FDA approved?
No. The centrifuge kits that prepare PRP are FDA-cleared, and for the widely used product code the cleared use is preparing PRP to mix with bone graft in orthopaedic surgery. PRP itself has no FDA approval for any aesthetic indication, and no preparation system is cleared or approved for facial rejuvenation, acne scarring or hair loss. Using it on the face is off-label practice of medicine - legal, but not the same as approved.
Can I have PRP with Morpheus8 instead?
Yes, and that combination is the one that was actually studied. A randomised trial in 20 people with neck laxity compared radiofrequency microneedling with and without PRP. Both groups improved; the PRP group's advantage on measured dermal thickness was not statistically significant, and the authors said it remains questionable whether the combination helps.
Is a vampire facial safe?
The needling itself has a long safety record. The risk that made headlines was not biological but procedural: an investigation published in MMWR in April 2024 documented HIV transmission linked to PRP microneedling facials at an unlicensed New Mexico spa that did not follow infection control procedures or keep client records. Use a licensed provider, ask about single-use equipment, and ask to see the licence.
Which hurts more?
No study has compared the pain of the two treatments, so this is clinical description rather than a measured result: adding heat to needling is generally described as the more uncomfortable of the two, and deeper settings are the uncomfortable ones. Numbing cream is standard for both.
Which is better for acne scars?
Both are used for it, and neither has a head-to-head trial against the other. Radiofrequency microneedling has the stronger evidence file for acne scars, including a systematic review of 16 studies and 481 patients and a split-face trial that matched fractional CO2 laser. For PRP specifically, a review that pooled 24 randomised trials and ranked the treatments against each other found microneedling with PRP was outperformed by microneedling with a chemical peel.
Which costs more?
Morpheus8, considerably. There is no reliable published price for a vampire facial. For Morpheus8, RealSelf reported an average of $1,861 from 124 self-reported patient prices, last updated 10 May 2024, with prices starting at $549 for one small area and a series costing upwards of $4,000. That is consumer-reported, not audited and now dated, and no professional society publishes a price for either treatment.
Safety to keep in mind
Fat loss shows up in the FDA's own post-market reports. An analysis of that database found 114 reports covering 224 events, of which 26 were fat loss. That is the third most reported category. Reporting is voluntary, so this cannot be turned into your personal chance of it happening.
Six months is where the measured evidence stops. One review found collagen remodelling still improving 6 months after treatment. Nothing has been properly measured beyond that. Clinic copy promising 1 to 3 years has no published source.
RF microneedling can cause serious injury. The FDA has received reports of burns, scarring, loss of fat, nerve damage and disfigurement. Some injuries have needed surgery or other medical treatment. A few days of expected redness is not the full risk picture.
Choose a licensed medical professional trained on the device. Discuss the risks and other treatment options before deciding. RF microneedling should not be done at home.