Hyaluronic acid
Introducing hyaluronic acid injections
Hyaluronic acid is naturally present in the skin and acts like a natural sponge, trapping water. Saturated with water, the skin is plumped. The quantity diminishes over time, the skin dries out and wrinkles become more marked.
The fat tissues of the face also melt and the face loses its juvenile appearance and becomes more skeletal.
The use of hyaluronic acid
Hyaluronic acid can also be considered in order to embellish the face by giving volume where needed.
- Lips (volume and contour)
- Hollow and lack of volume: hollow under-eye, cheekbones, chin, face oval, cheeks
- Face oval: hyaluronic acid can be used to reshape the oval of the face thereby sometimes avoiding a surgical lift.
- Nose: the « five-minute nose job » was developed in United States. It consists in using hyaluronic acid to correct a slight bump or asymmetry without surgery.
Advice before getting anti-wrinkle injections
Aspirin-based medication should be avoided for 8 days before the treatment and we recommend taking a homeopathic preparation (arnica) 2 days before the surgery.
When treating lips, a complementary anesthesia will be performed just before the injection.
The treatment lasts a few minutes.
You can use make-up immediately after the injections.
Intensive solar exposure, sauna and hammam are strongly advised against for 2 days following the session.
You can go back to your normal activities after the injections, except for the above.
The results usually last from 10 to 18 months.
Types of hyaluronic acid used
Doctor Rajao usually uses the following products:
- Weakly reticulated acid for fine lines: Restylane®, Restylane Vital® (Qmed laboratory).
- Acid composed specifically for the lips: Juvederm Smile®, Volbella®(Allergan laboratory).
- Weakly reticulated acid for moderate lines: Surgiderm®, Juverderm Ultra 3®, Juvederm Ultra 4® (Allergan laboratory).
- Highly reticulated acid for volumetric treatment: Voluma® (Allergan laboratory) or SubQ® (Qmed laboratory).
Hyaluronic acid injections can be combined with complementary anti-aging techniques such as mesotherapy or laser resurfacing.
As with other aesthetic medicine treatments, hyaluronic acid injections are carried out at Dr. Rajaonarivelo’s office in Paris.
Frequently asked Questions
What does a hyaluronic acid injection procedure involve?
Hyaluronic acid injections are performed in-office. Photos are taken, and the skin is cleansed and disinfected. Depending on the area of the face, a numbing cream is applied a few minutes beforehand to ensure more comfort during the injection. The injection can be performed with a cannula or needle, depending on the area of the face and the effect you want. After the injection, arnica cream and a small cold pack are applied to reduce the risk of bruising and swelling. A healing cream is applied, and you can wear make-up immediately.
What is the difference between Botulinum toxin and Hyaluronic acid?
Botulinum toxin relaxes or even paralyzes targeted muscles (frown lines, crow’s feet and forehead wrinkles) to reduce their expressions. Treatment using a toxin therefore relaxes the muscles responsible for negative expressions (which make you look unpleasant, bitter, tired or older) and indirectly enhance positive expressions to give your face a more relaxed, rested, fresher appearance.
Hyaluronic acid is a filler that adds volume. It can be injected to add a small volume (fine wrinkles around the eyes and mouth), larger volume (nasolabial folds, lips) or even significant volume to reconstruct cheekbones or the chin.
How long does it take for the effects of hyaluronic acid to appear?
Effects appear immediately, which helps determine how much to inject. However, it takes three to four days to achieve the final result, the time it takes for the edema (swelling) to go down.
What risks are involved with a hyaluronic acid injection?
Complications from hyaluronic acid injections include both potential uncomfortable, but always temporary, side effects (irregularity, bruising, edema, cold sore flare-up in patients subject to them) and more serious complications. The most serious complication is the death of skin tissue, which occurs when the hyaluronic acid is injected in a blood vessel. In this case, healing can take several weeks. Even rarer is infection following an injection (performed in proper conditions of hygiene). Sometimes a granuloma can occur at the injection site. It’s a lump that forms as an inflammatory response to the injection. These granulomas are more common in patients with autoimmune diseases.
How old should I be to start having hyaluronic acid injections?
That depends on the treatment you want. For example, you can start treatment using hyaluronic acid to enhance lips or correct a bump at age 18. Similarly, to correct prominent areas of the face (cheekbones, chin), treatment can start relatively young.
What parts of the body can be treated with hyaluronic acid?
Hyaluronic acid is preferred in treatments for the face. But hyaluronic acid can also be used in the buttocks for small augmentations. Hyaluronic acid injections in the breasts are now prohibited due to the high risk of capsular contracture.
How long do the effects of hyaluronic acid last? How often should I have them done?
The length of time that the effects of a hyaluronic acid injection last varies depending on the area treated. For example, an injection in the cheeks can last 12 to 18 months, while hyaluronic acid in the lips generally disappears after 3 to 6 months due to the amount of movement in this region of the face.
So injections are repeated every 3 to 12 months depending on area.
