Even if you Count Dracula and never needed anything with an SPF on it because you only went out at night, your skin would still age. This unfortunate circumstance is called intrinsic aging. The main driver of intrinsic aging is a drop in collagen production — every year after you turn 20 your body produces one percent less collagen. Add up the years and it’s easy to see why your skin becomes more lax and saggy the older you get because collagen is the skin’s basic support system. Elastin production drops, too. Elastin helps keep the skin supple and elastic. Without it the skin is more prone to wrinkling.
What’s a person who’s trying to NOT look like a California Raisin to do? Dr. Ip offers Sculptra, a long-lasting injectable that stimulates the body to produce new collagen to counteract some of the effects of intrinsic aging.
Sculptra is different than those other fillers
You know about dermal fillers like Juvederm and Restylane. They get their name because they “fill” in wrinkles. Actually they push them up. Plus, hyaluronic acid fillers bind with water molecules to push up the skin. These filler are injected beneath the wrinkle and push up the skin. Their results are immediate.
Sculptra takes a wholly different approach. After you receive your injections, you’ll see some temporary improvement as the wrinkle responds to the initial injection, but your real improvement will come over time. Why the delay? This is because Sculptra is made from poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), which works in the dermis layer of the skin to replace lost collagen. Sculptra is known as a bio activator or “volumizer.” Because it slowly rebuilds collagen, Sculptra gives you subtle results that continue to improve over time. This makes for a natural-looking appearance that gradually improves your skin. It’s not the instant change that you see with other fillers. With Sculptra, your results will come gradually, so no one notices a sudden change. We recommend three injection sessions over a few months for the best results. And get this — these results can last for over two years!
How does Sculptra work?
Typical dermal fillers are injected at a relatively shallow level, just below the wrinkle that needs to be filled. Our aesthetician injects Sculptra more deeply, into the deep dermal layer of the skin. In the deep dermis, microparticles of PLLA work to rebuild lost collagen and provide structural skin support. As the PLLA is absorbed a collagen framework is created. It is this framework that provides a foundation to firm the skin back up and reduce the fullness to areas with deep wrinkles and folds.
What issues are Sculptra best at addressing?
Unlike some areas of our skin, our faces don’t necessarily fall with time, but the actually lose volume and kind of deflate. This deflation causes descent. Volume restoration can “pick up” sagging skin.
Sculptra is effective for:
- Hollow areas of the temples, cheeks, chin, and under the eyes
- The lines framing your mouth (marionette lines)
- Deep folds between the nose and mouth (nasolabial folds), also called smile lines
- Chin wrinkles
Interested in the long-term effects of Sculptra? Call Dr. Ip at either our Newport Beach or Manhattan offices and ask us about Sculptra, the long-lasting king of the fillers.
