Sculptra
Sculptra® Aesthetic Collagen Stimulator
As we age, we lose collagen, which acts as the skin’s support structure, and helps maintain its shape. In fact, 70% of the skin is composed as collagen, and collagen loss causes the skin to lose its elasticity and moisture. A common misconception about facial aging involves the role of gravity. The real culprit is deflation (loss of volume and structure) rather than descent (drooping or sagging).
Collagen Explained
Collagen is a strong, flexible fibrous type of protein that is found throughout our bodies, including our bones, muscles, tendons and in the middle or dermis layer of the skin. It acts as skin’s support structure or scaffolding that helps maintain skin’s shape. As we age, our body’s collagen production decreases. Gradually, skin loses its youthful bounce, leading to lines, wrinkles, and folds, as well as a loss of skin volume and support.
Think of collagen like springs in a mattress. Over time, the springs weaken and the mattress on top starts to sag and crease. Similar changes in our skin happen as a result of both natural aging and sun exposure.
We naturally lose about one percent of collagen per year after the age of 18. And by age 50, we can lose up to 30 percent of our collagen. Over time, our face loses collagen, fat, muscle and bone. This leads to a flatter face, hollowing under the cheek bones, sunken temples, jowls and a sinking jaw line. Look at a picture of yourself from your 20’s and 30’s. Note the more rounded face, filled temples and smooth angular jaw line. Sculptra is meant to restore that facial volume bringing youth to the facial features.
Benefits of Sculptra
The good news is that it’s possible to help boost the skin’s own natural collagen production. Sculptra® Aesthetic is the only FDA-approved facial injectable treatment on the market that helps boost the skin’s own natural collagen production to help treat the underlying cause of aging – the loss of collagen. In doing so, it subtly and gradually adds volume that lifts the soft tissues and plumps the skin from within.
- Restores Facial Volume and Provides Support to the skin to improve the look of smile lines (called nasolabial folds), marionette lines, pre-auricular wrinkles (the vertical wrinkles in front of the ears), radial cheek folds (vertical wrinkles on the lower cheek) and chin wrinkles.
- Provides Gradual and Natural-Looking Results that become visible over a period of a few months.
- Long-Lasting: Lasts more than two years.
How Does It Work?
Once injected Sculptra Aesthetic works deep within the skin’s surface, and is gradually and naturally absorbed by the body to help stimulate collagen production to reinforce skin’s inner structure and increase facial volume.
How is Sculptra Different From Other Fillers?
Unlike traditional hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers, which work immediately upon injection to fill in lines, wrinkles and folds, Sculptra Aesthetic is made from Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), which helps stimulate your skin’s own natural collagen production over time, helping to reinforce skin’s inner structure and increase facial volume that has been lost to aging. PLLA is a biodegradable substance that has been proven safe and has been used in medical products, including dissolvable sutures, for more than 30 years. It contains no animal by-products or human DNA.
The typical treatment regimen for Sculptra Aesthetic consists of three injections over three to four months. Results appear gradually over a period of a few months, and are long-lasting, more than two years. In contrast, HA fillers last until the HA is absorbed by the body and excreted (typically 6 to 12 months after injection).
Best Candidate
If you want to appear more youthful-looking — without appearing like you’ve had work done — then chances are Sculptra Aesthetic may be a good choice for you. Neurotoxins such as Dysport®, Jeuveau® and Botox® can provide dramatic results in reducing lines. Restylane and Juvederm hyaluronic fillers also reverse the signs of aging by filling in deep folders to take years off your face while still looking natural. However, neurotoxins and fillers are sometimes not enough. Through weight loss, aging, or other factors, some people lack the structure, support, and volume in their face that’s necessary for fillers to make a desired difference in their appearance. These patients need a “framework” to which hyaluronic acid fillers can be layered on top. Men and women of any age can have success with Sculptra if they are concerned with hollowness and/or loss of volume.
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
On average, a series of three treatment sessions over the course of a few months may be needed. The number of injections at each session will vary, depending on the degree of correction needed and the treatment plan determined by you and your nurse injector. A maximum of 2 vials can be injected per treatment, so expect to come in for at least 2 treatments, with 6 weeks between each treatment.
Since the product triggers your body to build its own collagen, results are not immediate and can take anywhere from 4-6 months. Changes can continue through the 9th month to realize the full results..
How Much Sculptra Will I Need?
The general rule of thumb for Sculptra is one vial per decade of life. If you are in your 60’s, you will most likely need 6 vials. There are exceptions to this rule depending upon volume loss. There are discounts for additional vials and discounted sales packages. A complimentary consultation is required to determine if you are a good candidate for treatment and how many vials are recommended.
Recovery Time
Technically, there is no actual downtime. It is an out-patient treatment that takes less than an hour to perform. Patients can resume their normal day activities. Like dermal fillers, there may be some swelling at the injection sites which will generally resolve within a week. Mild to moderate bruising, tenderness, itching, and redness are other common side-effects. Do not get a facial or massage for 2 weeks after your filler procedure. Avoid strenuous workouts and alcohol for 24 hours if possible.
- Massage the treated areas 5 times a day for about 5 minutes for 5 days after treatment to distribute solution and help prevent nodule formation. This may be uncomfortable and even painful for the first few days, but it is necessary. The easiest time to massage is when the face is moistened with cleanser or moisturizer.
- Hold ice packs on the treated areas gently for about 3-5 minutes a few times the day of treatment.
- Makeup can be worn a few hours after.
Risks & Safety Information
Sculptra Aesthetic is indicated for use in people with healthy immune systems. It should not be used by people that are allergic to any ingredient of the product or have a history of keloid formation or hypertrophic scarring. Safety has not been established in patients who are pregnant, lactating, breastfeeding, or under 18 years of age.
The most common side effects after initial treatment include injection site swelling, tenderness, redness, pain, bruising, bleeding, itching and lumps. Other side effects may include small lumps under the skin that are sometimes noticeable when pressing on the treated area. Larger lumps, some with delayed onset with or without inflammation or skin discoloration, have also been reported. Most side effects are resolved within a week.
A great deal of artistry, skill, and attention to detail is required when working with the subtleties of Sculptra. The skilled injectors at TLC Laser & Skincare assure you safe and beautiful results
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*Individual results may vary.
Kybella
You may not have heard of the term "submental fullness", but you know what it is: a double chin. Nobody wants that pocket of fat that creates a roll at your neck, especially when you look downward. While healthy diet and exercise can reduce unwanted fat throughout your body, this particular bulge can be particularly resistant to your best efforts to remove it through traditional methods. You may need help from Kybella®.
Our injectors carefully administer Kybella® into precisely selected areas in the submental region between the chin and neck. Our nurse injectorsensure that every patient who wants to reduce submental fullness benefits directly from their training, experience, and artistic eye. Their professional approach is focused on consistent results delivered with safety in mind.
Why Is Submental Fullness Difficult to Eliminate Without Kybella?
The number of fat cells in your body tends to stay steady from your teen years on, but their size can fluctuate as you gain or lose weight. A healthy diet and regular exercise can cause large fat cells to shrink down, but once small, they can easily grow again if such lifestyle measures are not sustained.
Sometimes, even your best efforts will not make an impact on a particular area. Diet- and exercise-resistant fat may stick with you through restrictive eating plans and intense workouts alike, due to a combination of genetics, age, and other factors. Both men and women can develop a double chin.
Your only option for getting rid of persistent chin fat is the physical removal of the problem fat cells, which is what Kybella® accomplishes. Its active ingredient, deoxycholic acid, breaks down the fat cells there, resulting in a noticeable reduction of chin fat over time.
Its active ingredient is deoxycholic acid, which is a naturally occurring chemical that helps the body break down and absorb dietary fat during the body's natural process of digestion. As a prescription cosmetic, it has been studied extensively and found to be a safe, effective way to get rid of an unwanted double chin.
Currently, Kybella® is approved only for use on submental fullness, and will not result in any significant weight loss. Kybella®, and any other fat reduction method, should only be considered an aesthetic treatment for reducing localized deposits of fat. Kybella® is best suited to patients who are at or near their appropriate goal weight, and can achieve long-term results for those who are committed to maintaining healthful lifestyle practices.
How Does Kybella® Work?
Kybella® has certain advantages over other methods of fat reduction. It is a minimally invasive and non-surgical fat reduction method, and as an injectable, it can be used with precision by a skilled and experienced injector to target specific areas of concern under the chin.
The deoxycholic acid in Kybella® physically destroys fat cells in the treatment area by triggering excess water accumulation in the cells, causing their membranes to rupture and release their contents.
This process triggered by deoxycholic acid is known as cytolysis, after which the released contents of the fat cells are to be removed naturally from the body. The rate which the fat cells are destroyed and flushed out is controlled by the natural processes of the body, and the synthetic deoxycholic acid in Kybella® is almost identical to that produced in the body, making the treatment safe and effective. Over a span of several weeks, you will notice your submental fullness receding.
Note that while the cells destroyed by Kybella® can no longer store fat, this does not stop existing fat cells from accumulating more and increasing in size with changes in diet and exercise.
What Should I Expect from a Kybella® Treatment Session?
A single Kybella® treatment session may include up to 30 injections in the submental area, but can be completed in less than half an hour. Our nurse injector will efficiently and safely administer the injections after numbing the area to minimize discomfort, and the Kybella® will begin working immediately.
Since the fat cells are physically destroyed, there will be fewer cells in the submental area, and your double chin will appear to melt away.
Typically, patients start to see the results they are expecting after two to four treatment sessions, each spaced about two months apart. The number of treatment sessions varies from patient, depending on their chin profile before treatment and the results they would like to achieve. No patient may receive more than six Kybella® treatment sessions in total.
Does Kybella® Have Side Effects?
Patients who experience side effects after receiving Kybella® find that they are consistent with what can happen after receiving any injection. Typically, this means minor and temporary swelling, discomfort, redness, and bruising at the injection site.
Other side effects are rare but possible, and your nurse can discuss all of this with you, as well as answer any questions you may have about Kybella® and your double chin, at your consultation.
Why Is Submental Fullness Difficult to Remove Without Kybella®?
The number of fat cells in your body tends to stay steady from your teen years on, but their size can fluctuate as you gain or lose weight. A healthy diet and regular exercise can cause large fat cells to shrink down, but once small, they can easily grow again under the right circumstances.