PRP. A2M. PDRN.
What does any of it mean?
Regenerative medicine has developed an entire vocabulary of products, acronyms and treatments—and somehow everyone is expected to already understand the difference.
You shouldn't have to.
Some treatments come from your own blood. Some support the environment inside a joint. Some are focused on skin quality. Others are used in hair restoration or intimate wellness.
The important question isn't which treatment sounds newest. It's what you're trying to treat and why a particular option makes sense.
Regenerative medicine is not one treatment.
Regenerative medicine is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of therapies intended to interact with tissue, blood components, cellular signaling, hydration, inflammation, healing or recovery.
They do not all work the same way—and they are not interchangeable.
PRP and A2M begin with your own blood. Hyaluronic acid is a viscosupplement rather than a blood-derived biologic. Plasma can be processed into different forms for different purposes. PDRN and polynucleotide products are generally focused on skin quality. Exosome-related products involve cellular signaling and require a particularly careful discussion about product source, evidence and regulatory status.
Then choose the tool.
Same category. Very different jobs.
Here is the simplest way to understand the major regenerative treatments and products you may hear about at Lush.
PRP
Platelet-rich plasma concentrates platelets within your own plasma. It may be used in selected joint, soft-tissue, hair-restoration and aesthetic protocols depending on the treatment goal.
A2M
Alpha-2-macroglobulin is a naturally occurring protein found in plasma. Concentrated A2M-rich preparations are being studied as an orthobiologic option, particularly in degenerative joint conditions. Clinical evidence is still developing.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid viscosupplementation is used primarily in selected joint-pain treatment plans. You may hear these called “rooster comb shots,” although not every HA product is actually avian-derived.
Plasma + Biofiller
Plasma from your own blood can be processed in different ways for aesthetic applications. Certain preparations can create a gel-like plasma product often referred to as biofiller.
PDRN + Rejuran
Polynucleotide-based treatments such as Rejuran are generally used to support skin quality, hydration and regenerative skin-focused treatment goals rather than simply adding volume like a traditional dermal filler.
Exosome-Based Products
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles involved in cell-to-cell communication. They are an active area of research, but the term is also heavily marketed and not every product or use has the same evidence or regulatory status.
Plant Stem Cell Extracts
Plant stem-cell skincare does not place living plant stem cells into human skin. These products use ingredients derived from plant cell cultures within topical cosmetic formulations.
VRS
VRS is a non-surgical intimate wellness option used within selected female rejuvenation plans. It belongs in a very different treatment category than a joint injection or PRP procedure.
Sometimes the starting material is already yours.
Autologous means the material used for treatment comes from the same person receiving it.
A blood draw can be processed to separate or concentrate different components depending on the goal of treatment.
Hyaluronic acid is not PRP.
Hyaluronic acid injections belong in this conversation because they are often discussed alongside regenerative joint treatments, but they work differently.
Hyaluronic acid is naturally present in synovial fluid and contributes to the lubricating and viscoelastic environment inside the joint.
Viscosupplementation places a hyaluronic-acid product into a selected joint—most commonly the knee—as part of a non-surgical treatment plan.
The nickname “rooster comb injection” comes from products historically derived from avian tissue. Some contemporary hyaluronic-acid products are produced through other manufacturing methods, so the nickname is not accurate for every formulation.
Skin has its own regenerative toolbox.
These treatments are not all fillers, and they are not all designed to create volume.
PRP
PRP may be paired with selected skin procedures or incorporated into aesthetic treatment plans using the patient's own platelets and plasma.
Plasma Biofiller
Biofiller uses processed autologous plasma rather than manufactured hyaluronic-acid filler. Its composition, behavior and treatment goals are therefore different from conventional dermal filler.
Rejuran + PDRN / Polynucleotides
Polynucleotide-based products are generally used with the goal of supporting skin quality, hydration and regenerative skin processes rather than simply filling a line or creating facial volume.
Plant-Derived Stem Cell Skincare
Professional skincare may contain ingredients derived from plant stem-cell cultures. These are topical cosmetic ingredients—not human stem-cell injections or stem-cell transplantation.
Interesting science deserves careful language.
Exosomes are microscopic extracellular vesicles involved in cell-to-cell communication.
They are being studied in regenerative medicine because they can carry signaling molecules between cells.
They have also become one of the most heavily marketed terms in the industry—which makes it especially important not to treat the word “exosome” as proof that a particular product or treatment has been established as safe and effective.
Regenerative thinking extends beyond skin and joints.
Female intimate concerns may involve tissue quality, hydration, hormones, pelvic-floor function, aging, childbirth, menopause or several things at once.
VRS is one of the non-surgical options that may enter that conversation. Other approaches may be appropriate depending on the specific concern.
The important part is that intimate wellness treatment should begin with figuring out what is actually causing the symptoms—not simply selling everyone the same procedure.
Explore Female RejuvenationStart with what you're trying to change.
You do not need to walk into Lush already knowing whether you need PRP, A2M, Rejuran or anything else.
Joint Pain
Diagnosis, imaging, severity, prior treatment and goals help determine whether PRP, A2M, hyaluronic acid or another approach belongs in the discussion.
Hair
PRP and other strategies may be considered within selected hair-restoration plans after evaluating the type and cause of hair loss.
Skin
PRP, plasma biofiller, PDRN/polynucleotides and selected topical products serve very different skin goals.
Intimate Wellness
Hormonal, topical and other non-surgical strategies may be considered depending on the concern and underlying cause.
You don't need to know
which acronym you need.
Tell us what hurts, what has changed, what you want to improve or what you are trying to avoid. We'll figure out whether regenerative medicine belongs in the plan—and which option actually makes sense.
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