Restylane
What is Restylane?
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance in your skin. Its job is to help provide fullness and elasticity. Over time, skin loses hyaluronic acid. And as it diminishes, skin loses volume, increasing the chances for wrinkles and folds to appear. Restylane® is composed of hyaluronic acid. It has smaller gel particles, which means it can be injected for both deep and superficial folds and wrinkles and can be used for lip augmentation. Restylane provides rejuvenating cosmetic beauty treatments for a natural, younger-looking you. Restylane® is the world's best-selling dermal filler. It is well tolerated, nonsurgical and long lasting (usually around six months).
How does Restylane work?
The idea is simple -- Restylane® is a cosmetic dermal filler that adds volume within the skin. It consists of hyaluronic acid. In the human body, natural hyaluronic acid provides volume and fullness to skin. After treatment with Restylane®, the hydrophilic, or "water loving," nature of the hyaluronic acid molecules allows them to bind many times their own weight in water as they slowly break down. This process helps maintain volume for about six months.
The injection process
Several tiny injections of Restylane® are administered directly into the skin beneath the facial wrinkle or fold. For lip augmentation, the injections are directly into the upper and lower lip. Local anesthesia with a dental block is performed prior to these injections when the area being treated is near the mouth, as it makes the injections more comfortable.
For wrinkles in other areas, you may choose to numb the area with a cold pack prior to injecting. Discomfort is usually minimal and brief.
You can expect to be in and out of the office without downtime. You may see a marked improvement in wrinkles and folds immediately. Most patients experience some degree of swelling, redness, pain, bruising, and tenderness. Final results are typically seen in one week. Improvement may continue for as long as six months, and could last up to nine months.
Risks & Complications
Restylane® is the world's most studied cosmetic dermal filler with more than a decade of use. Restylane® has a well-defined safety profile and is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds.
Restylane® has been used in over 1.4 million treatments in the US and is available in more than 70 countries, with dozens of studies published in medical literature.
Restylane® contains no animal proteins. This may limit the risk of animal-based disease transmission or allergic reactions. It contains trace amounts of gram positive bacterial proteins and is contraindicated for patients with a history of allergies to such material. No allergy testing is required before use.
After your treatment with Restylane®, you may have some swelling, redness, pain, bruising, and tenderness. This will normally last less than seven days.
