Radiesse Versus Your Smile Lines
Collagen in our skin decreases continually and increasingly every year after we turn 20. Whatever triggers this decrease in production isn’t understood, but it sure leaves us all with sagging, loose skin as we age. To combat the collagen shortage, Dr. Herte offers Radiesse, a synthetic filler that triggers the body to produce new collagen.
If you’re here on Dr. Herte’s blog, you’ve surely heard of Botox and maybe Juvederm and Restylane. But Radiesse could be new to you. Radiesse is a long-lasting option for our Las Vegas patients with a smile and marionette lines, and other problems resulting from volume loss.
How does Radiesse work?
“Natural fillers” such as Juvederm and Restylane 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 different. It is comprised of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) microspheres suspended in an aqueous gel carrier. It is called a “synthetic filler.”
Radiesse works in two ways. First, the aqueous gel behaves like any filler; it instantly fills and plumps the area when injected beneath a crease or wrinkle. But that’s the least of Radiesse’s effectiveness. 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. Dr. Herte finds that Radiesse is best used for support of creased skin along folds from the nose to the mouth and around the chin and the corners of the mouth. Here are the areas Dr. Herte 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 can be valuable for a ventriloquist act at the MGM Grand, 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.
When you were reading that list, were you saying “Yep. Yep. Yep.” If so, call Dr. Herte at 702-732-9600 and ask about Radiesse.