The Korean polynucleotide treatment people search for as “salmon DNA.” We don't give it as a standalone injectable series. It is delivered into microchannels created in the dermis by microneedling or LaseMD ULTRA, performed by a physician in Houston Heights.
Rejuran is a polynucleotide (PDRN) treatment made from purified DNA fragments derived from salmon. That origin is why it circulates online as the “salmon DNA facial” or “salmon sperm facial” — the nicknames are informal, but they refer to this treatment.
It does not add volume. Filler occupies space; Rejuran does not. What polynucleotides do is signal — they prompt fibroblasts to produce collagen and elastin, support the extracellular matrix, and calm inflammation in the dermis. The change you see comes from skin behaving differently, not from product sitting under it.
That distinction matters when you are choosing. If the concern is a hollow temple or a flat cheek, Rejuran is the wrong tool. If the concern is crepey texture, dullness, fine crinkling under the eyes, or skin that has stopped bouncing back, it is squarely the right category.
A note on the nicknames. “Salmon sperm facial” is the version that spread through social media. Rejuran is manufactured from salmon DNA, purified to a pharmaceutical standard, with the protein removed. The viral name is memorable and inaccurate in equal measure.
Rejuran is a family, not a single product, and the two forms you will hear about are used for different reasons.
| Form | What it targets | How it is delivered |
|---|---|---|
| Rejuran Healer (PDRN) | Skin quality at depth — texture, elasticity, pore appearance, resilience. The regenerative workhorse. | Delivered into the dermis, most often paired with microneedling so it reaches tissue evenly. |
| Rejuran Skin Booster | Surface hydration and glow, with polynucleotide support. Lighter, more superficial, faster to settle. | Also paired with microneedling; chosen when the priority is radiance rather than structural repair. |
Most people asking about “Rejuran Healer” are describing the first row. Which one you receive is a clinical decision made at your assessment, not something you need to arrive knowing.
Many practices offer Rejuran as a standalone injectable series. We do not, and the reason is mechanical.
Microneedling creates thousands of controlled microchannels through the epidermis into the papillary dermis. Those channels do two things at once: they trigger the skin's own wound-healing and collagen response, and they provide a distribution route so polynucleotides disperse through the dermis rather than sitting in discrete deposits. You are combining a mechanical stimulus with a biochemical one in the same visit, in tissue already primed to respond.
The result is more even delivery, fewer visible injection points, and one appointment instead of two.
Our most-performed version. SkinPen microneedling with polynucleotide delivered into the dermal microchannels. Chosen for texture, laxity, and overall skin quality.
The same technique with the lighter formulation. Chosen when hydration and glow are the priority over structural change.
Our most complete protocol. The 1927nm thulium laser creates fractional microchannels while resurfacing and correcting pigment; Rejuran is delivered into the dermis through them. Surface and structure in a sequenced plan.
The LaseMD combination is worth understanding, because it is the one that produces the results people remember. LaseMD ULTRA works on the top layers — tone, pigment, clarity. Rejuran works below that, on the scaffolding. Treating one without the other leaves half the problem in place. Sequenced properly, they compound.
We publish our pricing because the most common question about this treatment is the one practices are least willing to answer directly.
| Treatment | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Microneedling + Rejuran PDRN | from $600 | Per session. Full face. Physician-performed. |
| Microneedling + Rejuran Skin Booster | from $450 | Per session. The lighter formulation. |
| LaseMD ULTRA + Rejuran PDRN | from $850 | The full protocol — resurfacing and regeneration in one visit. |
| Consultation with Dr. Bui | $99 | Credited toward treatment when you proceed. |
Rejuran is given as a short course rather than a one-off, with the number of sessions and the spacing set at your assessment. Skin that has been neglected for a decade will need more than skin that has been maintained; you will be told which category you are in before you commit to anything.
What moves the number is area treated and which formulation your skin calls for. Nothing is added to your invoice mid-treatment, and the quote you receive at assessment is the quote you pay.
Numbing cream goes on for roughly twenty to thirty minutes. The treatment itself takes another thirty to forty-five. Plan on about an hour and a half door to door.
Immediately afterward the skin looks flushed — similar to a moderate sunburn — with some tightness. That settles substantially within twenty-four hours and resolves over two to three days. Most people return to work the next day; most schedule the treatment for a Thursday or Friday if they would rather not explain anything.
You will be asked to avoid makeup for the first twenty-four hours, skip actives for about five days, and stay disciplined about sunscreen. That last one is not a formality — you have just asked your skin to rebuild, and UV exposure works directly against the process you paid for.
Rejuran is not an immediate-gratification treatment, and any practice implying otherwise is selling something else. Hydration and a certain softness show up within the first week. The meaningful change — texture, elasticity, the way light sits on the skin — builds across four to eight weeks as new collagen organizes, and continues improving through a series.
If your concern is genuine volume loss, Rejuran will not solve it and we will tell you so at the assessment rather than after you have paid for three sessions. If you have an active skin infection, are pregnant or nursing, or have a known salmon or fish allergy, this treatment is not appropriate for you.
| What it does | Best suited to | |
|---|---|---|
| Rejuran (PDRN) | Signals the skin to regenerate — collagen, elasticity, matrix repair. | Skin quality, texture, thinning, under-eye crinkling. |
| Dermal filler | Occupies space. Adds volume and contour immediately. | Structural volume loss. A different problem entirely. |
| Exosomes | Cell-derived signaling to support healing and reduce inflammation. | Often used adjacent to energy treatments; a newer and less established evidence base. |
| Microneedling alone | Mechanical collagen induction with no biochemical addition. | Lower cost, milder result. The base layer of the combination above. |
These are not competitors so much as different jobs. The reason to have an assessment first is that the honest answer to “which one do I need” is frequently not the one you arrived asking about.
At PH Med, microneedling with Rejuran PDRN starts at $600 per session and the lighter Rejuran Skin Booster starts at $450. The full LaseMD ULTRA and Rejuran PDRN protocol starts at $850. Your course length is set at assessment and quoted before anything is scheduled.
It refers to the same treatment. Rejuran is made from purified salmon DNA — polynucleotide fragments — with the protein removed. “Salmon sperm facial” is an internet nickname, not a clinical term, and not an accurate one.
Depends on what the under-eye actually needs. If the issue is skin quality — crepe, fine crinkling, thinning — polynucleotides are among the more appropriate options, because they improve the tissue rather than adding volume beneath it. If the issue is true hollowing, or there is existing filler sitting in the area, that is a different problem and Rejuran is not the answer to it.
The under-eye is thin, mobile and unforgiving of anything placed in the wrong plane. It is the area we are most conservative about and the one we assess before committing to anything.
It varies with what your skin needs — accumulated damage, how the tissue is behaving, and what you are trying to change. You will be given a specific number and schedule before you begin rather than an open-ended series.
Redness and tightness for twenty-four hours, largely resolved by day two or three. Most people work the following day. No makeup for the first day, no active skincare for about five days, and disciplined sun protection throughout.
Topical numbing is applied for twenty to thirty minutes beforehand. Most patients describe the microneedling pass as pressure and vibration rather than sharp pain. The area feels warm and tight for a few hours afterward.
Standard microneedling stimulates collagen mechanically and adds nothing. Adding Rejuran introduces polynucleotides into the microchannels the needling has just created, delivering them into the dermis rather than onto the surface. Same appointment, considerably more signal.
Dr. Bui performs it personally at our Houston Heights practice. That is our standard across every procedure we offer, not a premium tier.
Rejuran works by improving how your skin behaves, so durability depends partly on what you do afterward — sun exposure and skincare discipline both move it. We reassess rather than assume a fixed interval.
Assessment first. If polynucleotides are not what your skin needs, we will tell you that before you spend anything on a series.
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