Many of us would go to great lengths for beauty—but Kim Kardashian is taking her quest to the dark side. The Kourtney and Kim Take Miami star opted for a so-called "vampire facial," tweeting a gory photo of the procedure, which she underwent on the latest episode of her reality show.
No actual vampires were harmed here. The in-office treatment, which is intended to fill out hollow cheeks and wrinkles, gets its name from the procedure's bloody side-effects. As described in greater detail by The New York Times, pracitioners draw blood from a person's arm, spin it in a centrifuge to separate the platelets, and then inject them back into the face in hopes of stimulating new collagen production.
Sometimes called Selphyl, the system hit the market in 2009—but has been gaining traction after exposure on The Doctors and The Rachel Ray Show this year. About 300 doctors around the country offer the treatment, claiming the effects can last two years, although those statements are not yet proven.
But maybe even Kim K. has limits to how much she'll endure in the name of beauty. "I love trying anything that makes you look and feel youthful," she said before the procedure—but contorted her face and wailed in agony during the bloody treatment.
Alesandra Dubin is a Los Angeles-based writer and the founder of home and travel blog Homebody in Motion. Follow her on Twitter: @alicedubin.
A version of this story originally appeared on iVillage.