If you’re reading Dr. Lipton’s blog, you no doubt follow the aesthetic world, and you’ve surely heard of Botox and maybe Juvederm and Restylane. But you may not know about Radiesse. Radiesse is a long-lasting option for our patients with smile and marionette lines, and other problems resulting from volume loss.
How does Radiesse work its magic?
Dermal fillers are classified as either “natural” or “synthetic.”
Natural fillers are derived from hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid naturally occurs in your body; its job is to bind with water molecules and plump and hydrate the skin. Radiesse is a synthetic filler and is different. It is comprised of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) microspheres suspended in an aqueous gel carrier.
Radiesse works in two ways. First the aqueous gel instantly fills and plumps the area when injected beneath a crease or wrinkle. That’s how most fillers work, by filling the depressed area, but that’s only the first part of how Radiesse works. The hydroxylapatite microspheres stimulate the body to produce new collagen in the injection area. This occurs in the weeks following your injection and the results last for a year or more. So, while most fillers lose their function once the body absorbs them, Radiesse, because it initiates the building of new collagen, continues to show its effects even after the microspheres and gel are absorbed.
What does it work on?
Radiesse is a volumizing filler, meaning it is effective for replacing volume and for deeper wrinkles such as those around the mouth. Here are the areas that Dr. Lipton uses Radiesse.
- Smile lines — Clinically known as nasolabial folds, these lines run from the nose down to the corners of the mouth. They are the result of decreasing facial volume and skin elasticity that comes with aging.
- Marionette lines — While these lines may help a ventriloquist and his or her dummy, you don’t need them around your mouth. These lines run straight downward from the corners of the mouth and can make you look unhappy.
- Corners of the mouth — Also known as oral commissures, the corners of your mouth can turn downward as you age and lose volume below the mouth. This phenomenon can make you look as if you’re frowning or mad.
- Pre-jowl area — The areas on each side of the chin, the pre-jowl sulcus, can hollow out due to sagging in other areas of the lower face.
- Chin wrinkles — Chin wrinkles form horizontally across the chin and can be distracting to a person talking to you. Volume loss in the lower face again is the culprit.
Those signs of aging above…were you nodding as you read some of them? Maybe it’s a good time to try Radiesse with Dr. Lipton. Call us at (972) 420-0023 to schedule an appointment.
