Women are now turning to themselves to combat aging skin.

The process, called Selphyl, extracts platelets from one's blood and reportedly promotes new skin cell growth and boosts collagen production.

Dr. Keith Burke, a family doctor who practises cosmetic medicine in Kitchener, Ont., says the procedure has been a popular alternative for patients seeking a more natural way to tighten their skin.

"The skin is tighter, more radiant, the crepiness that comes with age seems to be disappearing," Burke told CTV News.

He is a convert and has gotten the procedure done underneath his eyes.

"I've had patients comment on how I don't have any lines or wrinkles under my eyes," he said.

Patient Collette Detririch said she had no reservations before getting the procedure done.

"It's me, it's all me," she said, indicating how there's nothing artificial being injected into her.

The procedure costs approximately $800.

Since the filler is coming from the patient, Dr. Burke said the body won't reject it and the side effects are minimal.

Another popular route is fat grafting. Fat, once seen as a form of waste from liposuction, is now revered as a form of liquid gold to combat aging skin, say plastic surgeons.

In traditional liposuction, about 50 per cent of the fat was viable for fat transfer. But now, with newer techniques, 90 per cent of the fat can be used.

According to plastic surgeon Dr. Sean Rice, grafting can be applied to the hands, for breast augmentation, buttock augmentation and many parts of the body. He presented a slideshow of a patient who used the fat from her love handles that was re-injected into her hands.

"Once the fat takes, because it is a living entity, it hooks up to a blood supply and it should be there for an extended period giving you a longer lasting result than a typical filler," said Rice.

He says within four months, the patient should notice a nice glow and the texture of the skin will change as well.

However, there are potential pitfalls. Fat needs to be grafted carefully in small amounts to prevent bumps and lumps from developing. In 2007, there was a report suggesting fat grafting should be delayed until there is more research on its safety, but other studies suggest there are no serious issues with the technique.

Fat contains hundreds of times more stem cells than are found in bone marrow, making it a rich source of these powerful cells.

Dr. David Genecov, who also helped establish the Bio Life Cell Bank in Dallas, Texas, a facility that ships a patient's fat for storage, says that our fat has unique properties. It can restore volume for breast cancer patients who may not want implants, for instance.

"We will get better and better at applying our own cells for ourselves. People are beginning to understand that what we have inside of us may be all we need," said Genecov.

With a report from CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip