As a member of the dermal fillers category, this therapy can lift jowls. We may start by injecting it into the cheeks and temples to fully rejuvenate your appearance. As we age, we lose volume in both of these spots; temples start to look hollow, while cheeks look droopy and tired. These effects make the face look like it’s being pulled down, an impression that is made more prominent by sagging jowls.
By treating the upper portion of the face, we can then turn our attention to the jowls and inject Sculptra around the jawline and mouth. This restores definition where fleshy skin creates “jowls,” or a heaviness along the jawline. The goal is to smooth this area so your jowls or jawline is once again contoured; this is one of the hallmarks of a youthful appearance.
In many cases, jowls creep into the neck and make it look wider and squatter. But re-defining the jawline can help the neck appear tighter as well. In short, several well-placed injections can instantly make you look lighter, fresher, and younger. Results are not permanent, but they are among the longest-lasting of all injectables, providing considerable improvements for two or more years.
Why do we recommend injecting this therapy in several different areas, rather than just the jawline? Jowls are, in part, the result of fat tissues that slide from cheeks during the aging process. These tissues settle along the jawline so the face is imbalanced; cheeks have lost their volume, while jowls are more pronounced. Strategic injections allow us to address each concern individually and dramatically lift the face – without surgery.
You may have already guessed this treatment doesn’t work like any other on the market. Many dermal fillers contain hyaluronic acid (HA), a sugar the body produces naturally. They have thick consistencies that, when injected below the skin’s surface, instantly help plump tissues for a more voluminous appearance. Results are dramatic and attractive but don’t last long.
This treatment works in a completely different way. It contains poly-L-lactic acid and restores the skin’s underlying structure. By prompting a specific skin reaction, this treatment ignites the body’s natural synthesis of collagen. It is this element that so successfully revitalizes your appearance; the injection itself does not plump and lift skin, but instead, the collagen that ensues does. And collagen benefits the face in multiple ways.
Together with vitamin C and elastin, collagen forms an interwoven network of fibers that supports facial skin. This network sits below many tissue layers to give your face a lifted, sculpted appearance. You might compare this to the foundation of a building. As long as all components of the foundation are in place, the building stands tall and strong. But if one corner starts to erode, the building loses its structural integrity.
The face is no different. In our youth, when collagen levels are high, the face looks soft and smoothly round. With time, however, collagen levels drop. This is when you begin to see sagging, wrinkles, and lines.
Most injectables get placed just under the skin, where they lift and plump in a way that looks very natural. But Sculptra goes deeper, under facial muscles, to induce protein production. Collagen, in the coming weeks, rebuilds the skin’s underlying structure, and your face becomes fuller. It doesn’t just look healthier, it physically is healthier.
Tissues absorb this injectable within about two years of treatment. The collagen layer that is left behind, however, can continue producing visible results for much longer. A series of treatments generally yields the best results, which is why we commonly recommend three or four sessions. These are delivered one at a time every six weeks to slowly but surely build newer and stronger tissues.
Patients commonly refer to this treatment as the liquid facelift because, with just an in-office session, it can:
In other words, this injectable can provide the effects of a facelift without forcing patients to endure incisions and lengthy recoveries. This makes it a great alternative for anyone who wants to look younger but doesn’t want surgery.
If you’re thinking this is just another soft-tissue filler, we want to assure you it is not. This therapy is known as a volumizer that works with the body’s healing processes. This means it reacts differently with tissues and ultimately produces different effects than dermal fillers like Restylane and Juvederm. While these therapies produce faster results, they don’t last as long. They also don’t provide the broad facelift effects that Sculptra does.
With the explosion of these products on the market, it’s no wonder you’re asking this question. Supplements can be a valuable source of protein, but so can chicken and chic peas. In other words, protein-rich foods can provide the same benefits. Additionally, by ingesting collagen, your body will use it throughout rather than delivering it in a targeted fashion to your face.
Ultimately, the place where you most need this protein may not directly benefit from ingesting it. As for creams, the collagen is typically watered-down or provided in such a small amount that it doesn’t do much. Stimulating collagen production directly in the face is a much simpler and more dependable way to improve your appearance.
Yes, it is. Before we go further, we need to explain. Massage helps move around the injectable’s particles so they evenly distribute under the skin. This prevents lumps and bumps that aren’t likely to develop, but we prefer to be cautious. You can follow the 5-5-5 rule:
It generally takes about six weeks for the body to ramp up collagen synthesis. Once production slows, it can take a bit of time to get the wheels turning again. Additionally, the body does not stockpile collagen to help with future shortages; the skin retains this protein in finite amounts. However, once production kicks back into gear, it will continue at a steady pace for a long time.
Repeat treatments keep production stimulated at a rate that replaces old collagen with new. But keep in mind that behind the scenes, while all of this is working, you may not see a visible change for about a week. Don’t be alarmed – once results do start to show, they will be transformative. This treatment comes with a greater than 80 percent patient satisfaction rate, proving it works.
Because results develop gradually, it’s a much more natural process than other treatments that instantly improve your appearance. In addition, collagen synthesis will provide progressive results without alerting others that you’ve had treatment.
You may not realize it because the process is gradual, but your face shape changes with time. Hollows in the top half make you look tired, while dimpling and sagging in the bottom half take away from your attractive features. This treatment restores the plump and perky curves of youth by filling in hollows and correcting sagging. This is why treating the whole face is so helpful – you look younger on a more holistic level.
Sometimes, we get so caught up in how our skin looks that we forget texture is just as important. With protein growth in the deepest tissue layers, you’ll enjoy a smoother texture that evens out scarring, such as that from acne, and looks fresher.
The primary ingredient of this injectable is created from lactic acid, which already exists throughout the body. For you, this means very little chance of adverse reactions. This treatment, in fact, does not necessitate an allergy pre-test before we commence injections.
Additionally, poly-L-lactic acid has been used in a variety of medical applications for over 30 years. This includes absorbable sutures, so you can rest easy in knowing it’s safe.
Throughout our twenties, high collagen levels keep the skin supple and soft. This is the time when that healthy glow comes naturally; you don’t even think about it, just as you don’t notice the taut way skin skims your jawline and provides you with sculpted cheeks.
If there’s a concern at this time, it’s generally relative to acne. Breakouts may be a carry-over from your teen years or may simply be the result of fluctuating hormones, especially if you’re starting birth control or coming off it in hopes of starting a family. In any case, wrinkles, lines, and hyperpigmentation aren’t yet on the horizon.
It is this decade that starts to show the effects of habits from earlier years. This can mean:
That’s right, long days spent in the sun and happy nights spent partying make themselves known in the thirties. But it’s not all bad. The skin at this time is still relatively plump. You also have some of that enviable glow that showed itself so effortlessly just a few short years before.
Here is when the effects of less collagen really become visible. You may start by noticing dry skin that doesn’t respond as well to the moisturizer you’ve faithfully used up to this point. Subcutaneous fat that kept skin plump throughout your twenties also starts to slide, although it doesn’t move equally in all areas. In general, padding in the temples goes first, followed by that in the mid-face region.
From there, we start to lose fat from the mouth and chin areas. By the time we reach 50, our skin looks a little like it’s falling. The real effect, however, is that skin is deflating, caused by a natural volume loss that induces sag. And, of course, wrinkles become more prominent; this means lines around the lips, extending from the eyes, and in the forehead.
Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom. Sculptra can help by restoring collagen levels in a way that mimics our youth. This means tauter, smoother, and more lifted skin. Fight back against the hands of time; call Nunnally Dermatology in Baton Rouge, LA, today to schedule your consultation.
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