Could Sculptra Be a Good Fit for Me? Let’s Look at How the Procedure Works

There are lifting procedures that can help the skin, but there are also treatments that can be completed in a shorter time and deliver a more natural-looking effect. Sculptra is a representative example. Let’s take a look at how Sculptra creates more youthful-looking skin and brings about skin changes.

If you are often told that you look especially tired

Even if you have slept enough and feel fine, a dark complexion and a lack of vitality can make you look older than you really are. Even if you change your cosmetics or take extra care with your makeup, it is not easy to restore the skin’s underlying vitality. One of the main reasons the face can start to look tired like this is changes inside the skin caused by aging. While it is impossible to completely prevent skin aging, these days it is still possible to maintain a healthy appearance into older age depending on how you care for it.

The cause is changes in collagen within the skin

As we age, our skin undergoes various changes. Among them, the biggest change is the reduction of elastic fibers such as collagen and elastin, which are responsible for skin firmness and volume. This decrease in elastic cells causes several changes in the skin. As skin elasticity declines, volume in the cheeks, cheekbones, and under-eye area can diminish or sag. When volume decreases like this, shadows form more easily on the face, making the overall impression look darker and less lively. Second, as the skin becomes thinner and sags, fine lines may deepen and the skin texture can appear rougher.

These changes inside the skin are difficult to fundamentally improve with collagen taken orally or cosmetics applied to the skin alone. This is because collagen molecules are large, making it hard for them to be absorbed deep into the skin and directly activate cells. A method that encourages the activation process that creates new collagen within the skin is needed, and procedures such as Sculptra are often considered for this purpose.

Sculptra that also increases skin volume

Sculptra is one of the procedures that can add volume to hollowed areas of the face and help improve skin elasticity. The main ingredient in Sculptra is PLLA, a biocompatible substance. When Sculptra is injected into a specific layer of the skin, the PLLA ingredient gradually stimulates the surrounding skin cells over time, helping them regenerate collagen on their own. This is not simply a method of creating immediate volume by injecting an external substance. The injected PLLA particles induce collagen production within the skin, and as this activates your own skin cells, you can expect a gradual and natural change in volume.

Sculptra is usually injected over several sessions. Right after the procedure, some volume may be felt because of the injected solution, but this solution is absorbed within a few days. After that, the process in which the injected PLLA particles induce collagen production progresses slowly over time. Therefore, rather than immediate changes, you can expect volume to gradually build and skin elasticity to improve over the course of several months after the procedure. In particular, it may be considered for areas where age-related volume loss is noticeable, such as nasolabial folds, hollow cheeks, and the temples.

In these cases, Sculptra may be considered

Among procedures that improve skin volume, fillers are also widely known in addition to Sculptra. Both procedures aim to improve volume, but they differ in principle and how they work. Fillers mainly work by injecting a gel-like substance such as hyaluronic acid to immediately fill in volume. They can relatively quickly create the desired shape and volume. Sculptra, on the other hand, as explained above, does not itself become volume; instead, it helps volume build naturally by inducing collagen production. Therefore, its changes are slower than fillers, but it may be considered when a natural-looking fullness, created by your own collagen regenerating and filling in, is preferred over an artificial look.

Sculptra should be planned according to the individual’s skin condition, degree of aging, and areas with volume loss, and after the procedure, care such as massaging the treatment area for a certain period may be needed. There are various procedures that can help restore the skin’s underlying vitality and elasticity, so it is important to carefully look into the method that suits your own condition.