While we debate the morality of stem cell usage here, China’s gone ahead and started marketing it as a beauty product. A Beijing medical center is offering “age-reversing” stem cell therapy for your face.
RNL Puhua Plastic and Cosmetic Medical Center is a partner of the Beijing Tian Tan Puhua Hospital, which helps last-hope Parkinson’s and spinal cord injury patients. But instead of focusing on that aspect of stem cell therapy, RNL has turned its attention to the multimillion-dollar beauty industry instead.
For about $4000, patients go through a process where fat cells removed from their abdomens are turned into a crop of stem cells. The stem cells are then injected into their faces to plump out skin and erase wrinkles. It sounds like an opposite liposuction. It also sounds like suspiciously iffy science.
Apparently, it’s getting pretty popular though. People—South Koreans are specifically mentioned—are allegedly flocking to the center for a chance to have their own fat needled into their faces. [Cityweekend Beijing]
