Hyaluronic acid (HA)is an amazing substance. It is present in huge quantities in your body, especially during youth. Its job is to absorb 1000 times its weight in water in order to provide bounce and resilience. The presence of HA also facilitates proper function and communication between all the cell types. Aging, sun and pollution exposure unfortunately drastically decrease the skin’s HA content over time, resulting in wrinkles, folds and laxity.
There are 3 major brand names of HA: Restylane, Juvederm and Belotero Balance
All 3 are FDA-cleared, non-animal, non-human in origin. All 3 provide a very natural correction, when used appropriately. One of the major advantages of using an HA is that it can be dissolved if it were ever necessary.
All 3 lines have various formulations consistencies that address different wrinkle depths, skin thicknesses and facial contouring needs. Most already contain Lidocaine for comfort.
Restylane-L, Restylane Lyft, Restylane Silk, Restylane Defyne, Restylane Refyne, Juvederm XC, Juvederm Ultra XC, Juvederm Ultra Plus XC, Juvederm Voluma XC, Juvederm Volbella XC, Juvederm Vollure XC, Belotero Balance, Belotero Intense (coming soon to the US)
RADIESSE is a wrinkle filler used to plump the skin. RADIESSE consists of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHa). It is injected through a small needle or cannula and placed under the skin. This filler works immediately to add volume under the skin and, over time, the benefits of RADIESSE continue by stimulating your body’s own natural collagen. The natural results have been shown to last a year or more in many patients, making the treatment results both immediate and long lasting.
Sculptra is an FDA-cleared synthetic, biocompatible and biodegradable filler composed of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA). PLLA is immunologically inert and has been present in dissolvable sutures and soft tissue implants for almost 30 years.
Belotero Balance® is a hyaluronic acid (HA) injectable filler that completely integrates into the skin tissue.2,3 While some fillers are designed to rebuild facial volume and structure, Belotero Balance specifically treats moderate-to-severe etched-in lines and wrinkles such as vertical lip lines above and around the lips.4