People are getting salmon sperm injected into their faces. Why?

Life can be so disorienting. One minute you’re minding your own business and the next thing you know, someone says the words “salmon sperm facial”. Jarring, to say the least.

This is what happened to me recently, which is why I’m now doing it to you. Sorry. I heard about salmon sperm facials because reality star and nipple bra purveyor Kim Kardashian recently talked about getting one. Earlier this year, on her show The Kardashians, she told her mom, Kris Jenner: “I got a salmon sperm facial.” Then, to clarify: “With salmon sperm injected into my face.”

Another celebrity, Jennifer Aniston, told the Wall Street Journal in 2023 that she got a salmon sperm facial, per her aesthetician’s recommendation. Aniston’s main question, she recalled, was: “How do you get salmon’s sperm?” The actor told the WSJ she wasn’t sure if the procedure “did anything”.

For me, these declarations raised searing questions, like “What?” and “Salmon sperm, they said?” and also, “Why?” Luckily, experts were willing to answer them for me.

What is a salmon sperm facial?

Salmon sperm facials are also known as “polynucleotide treatments” – a more polite term to throw around at a family dinner or with colleagues.

“Polynucleotides are basically small fragments of DNA and RNA,” explains Dr Richard Westreich, a facial plastic surgeon in New York City. When injected into the skin, these fragments can help stimulate the production of new blood vessels, more collagen and keratinocytes, which help make new skin cells. All of this gives skin a thicker, healthier and more hydrated appearance, says Westreich. “It’s basically an overall skin boost.”

Polynucleotide treatments have been around in Europe and Korea since roughly 2015, says Westreich. There, the formula is generally injected into the skin. In the US however, the FDA has yet to approve the use of polynucleotides for injections (meaning, Kardashian might have gotten her treatment abroad). Instead, US providers usually apply polynucleotide formulas to patients’ skin after a microneedling treatment, in order to increase absorption.

Depending on where you get the treatment, a polynucleotide and microneedling treatment will usually set you back about $500. If you are somewhere it can be injected, it will probably cost about $900 to $1,000.

Why salmon sperm, though?

The nucleotides in salmon DNA are similar enough to humans’ that they are generally well tolerated by the body and don’t cause an inflammatory reaction, Westreich explains.

Related: Ask Ugly: all of the ‘iffy’ comments about my gray hair bother me. Should I start dyeing it again?

The testes contain a higher concentration of DNA, which makes it easier and more cost-efficient for manufacturers to extract from there, a biochemist explained to USA Today.

Do salmon sperm facials work?

It depends. A 2024 review of the use of polynucleotides in aesthetic medicine found that some studies demonstrated “significant improvements in skin elasticity and hydration”, while others “reported limited or no benefits”.

“I think there are more studies needed,” says Dr Lauren Taglia, dermatologist and medical director of Northwestern Regional Medical Group. Taglia says she is waiting to recommend the treatment to her patients until more research has validated the results.

According to Westreich, “there’s going to be variability between people in terms of how their body reacts”. Results fall on a bell curve: a few people will experience tremendous results, a few people won’t see any results and the vast majority will see some results, perhaps less transformative than they had hoped.

Overall, Westreich says, there are “very, very, very few” people who see no results. The treatment also has relatively few side-effects. With any injectable, there can be bruising and inflammation, he says, and microneedling can result in some swelling and redness.

Westreich says the results of polynucleotide treatments usually last around six to nine months.

Do animal rights groups have anything to say about this?

Peta made a meme about it.

What are some other things you could spend $500 on?

A guitar. A roundtrip ticket from Boston to Reykjavik. And this stool cover with a picture of cool sushi rice surfing on a piece of salmon is only $13.99.