A woman receiving a facial injection Photo: Shutterstock
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have said that “vampire facials” conducted in an unlicensed New Mexico spa caused multiple women to contract HIV. It’s the first time that the cosmetic procedure has been linked to an HIV outbreak.
The facials, also known as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) microneedling, extracts blood, separates its plasma, then injects the plasma into the face with tiny needles. It leaves behind blood droplets on the skin, which is why it’s called “vampire facial.” The procedure claims to treat scarring, lesions, wrinkles, and other skin issues, but the American Academy of Dermatology says little evidence supports these claims.
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The women who later contracted HIV received the facials years ago at the now-closed VIP Spa in Albuquerque. State health regulator shut down the business in September 2018 after two clients contracted HIV.
Investigators began examining the spa after a former client took a rapid HIV test in the summer of 2018 that came up positive. She had none of the usual risk factors for contracting HIV: no history of injection drug use or blood transfusions, and her then-sole sexual partner tested negative. A second former spa client also tested positive for HIV in the fall of 2018.
Soon after, investigators from the CDC and New Mexico Department of Health found a rack of unlabeled tubes of blood on the spa’s kitchen counter and next to food in the refrigerator. Investigators also found the spa had no autoclave steam sterilizer for regularly cleaning equipment. Investigators concluded that the spa’s storage and sterilization practices “could potentially spread blood-borne infections,” NBC News reported.
A third woman tested positive in 2019, and a fourth tested positive in 2023. All the HIV-positive women had received vampire facials at the spa. The third woman is believed to have transmitted HIV to her male sexual partner afterward.
The spa’s 62-year-old owner, Maria Ramos De Ruiz, pleaded guilty in 2022 to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. While the original source of the HIV-positive blood was never discovered, health authorities worried that at least 20 other spa clients — most of whom speak only Spanish — who had received vampire facials could potentially develop HIV later on.
However, the spa was unlicensed, had no appointment scheduling system, and did not store client contact information, ArsTechnica reported, making it difficult for investigators to locate or contact potentially affected individuals.
Nonetheless, the CDC has suggested all previous clients of the spa get tested for HIV and other blood-borne infections. Health officials have also said that the HIV outbreak could have been avoided if the spa followed state-licensed infection-control practices for safely conducting the procedure.
