Most people can look in the mirror and pick out a few things they’d like to change. For the signs of aging, there are so many innovations, you no longer have to live with the toll the years have taken on your skin. If you’ve decided it’s time to talk to someone about regaining your youthful appearance, speak to the experts at Orchidia Medical Group in Naples FL. They have a menu of options to help you turn back the clock, including the groundbreaking treatment Sculptra.
What Is Sculptra?
Sculptra is an injectable made of poly-L-lactic acid, a synthetic form of lactic acid. The body naturally produces lactic acid during exercise, when it’s sent to muscles that aren’t getting enough oxygen during strenuous activity. When used in Sculptra, it becomes a powerful bio-activator and stimulates your body to produce collagen.
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, making up skin and other connective tissue. It’s responsible for that supple, smooth skin of youth. Collagen works with elastin, the substance that makes skin bounce back from elasticity, and hyaluronic acid, which lubricates the skin and keeps it hydrated. As we age, the production of collagen decreases by about 1% per year after we turn 18.
With a Sculptra treatment, the injection is given where your face has hollowed and you’d like fullness restored. This is a perfect treatment for deep folds, lines, and wrinkles or anywhere you feel you’ve lost volume. Over time, the poly-L-lactic acid is replaced by your body’s new collagen, restoring a smoother, more youthful appearance. Unlike other injectables, the results happen slowly but can last over two years.
What to Expect
During a consultation with your aesthetic or medical professional, you’ll discuss your areas of concern and the results you’d like to achieve. They will examine the structure of your face, your areas of concern, and take a short overall medical history. There is no pre-testing for this treatment, and because it’s minimally invasive, there’s no preparation. They may ask you to discontinue ibuprofen or aspirin for the few days leading up to your appointment.
On the day of your treatments, they will apply a topical anesthetic to the injection sites to maximize your comfort. The treatment takes about 30 minutes, and many clients go back to their normal routine immediately after. You and your provider will decide the best course of action and where injections will produce the results you’re looking for.
Results
A course of treatment is typically three sessions over a few months, but each client’s needs are different. Unlike other injectables that provide immediate or close to immediate results, Sculptra produces more gradual results. Remember, it boosts the body’s natural production of collagen, so as collagen replaces the injection, results become more visible.
Patients can see results improving for the first four to six months, with maximum results happening around the nine-month mark. Because your body is producing its own collagen, results can last over two years. In one study, 80% of patients were still highly satisfied 25 months after their last injection. Your provider will advise you on the right time to have a touch-up or follow-up session to keep your results maximized.
If you like the idea of long-term results but also want quick results for an upcoming special event or social situation, your medical professional may pair this treatment with others to help you get the right balance of results.
Am I a Good Candidate?
The FDA originally approved Sculptra for people who had suffered volume loss in their face because of an illness. It was later approved to treat deep wrinkles, folds and volume loss for people in good health. If you’re troubled by hollowness and loss of volume brought on by weight loss, aging, or any other reason, this may be a good fit.
While sunken cheeks and temples are common treatment areas, you can talk to your provider about other areas of concern like:
- Deep lines and folds around the mouth
- Down-turned mouth
- Thinning lips
- Chin wrinkles
- Lines on the chest
- Wrinkles around the nose
Patients see tremendous results from this treatment in areas where volume has been lost because the collagen boost fills those spaces up. Talk to your provider about whether this is the right treatment for you and your specific concerns.
Other Injectables
There are several choices for injectables depending on the results you’re looking for. Talk to your provider about the results you’d like to see and they’ll come up with a course of treatment that may include one or more injectables, depending on your individual needs.
Dermal Fillers
Dermal Fillers can give patients immediate results by temporarily filling in deep folds and lines. Certain fillers can add volume and fullness to areas like the lines from your nose to the corners of your mouth. Patients can see an immediate lift and smoothing out of wrinkles as these volumizing fillers are injected into problem areas.
Some dermal fillers, like Radiesse, contain ingredients that stimulate collagen production, which helps to extend the results of treatment. Talk to your provider about how a dermal filler can help you with:
- Down-turned corners of your mouth
- Smile lines
- Sagging skin on either side of your chin
- Chin wrinkles
- Marionette lines
- Thinning lips
- Lines around lips
Your treatment provider can combine fillers with other treatments to round out a course of treatment. Because they are all minimally invasive, they require no prep time, are done in the office, and most clients return to their normal routines immediately.
BOTOX and Dysport
We all know our faces show signs of aging because our production of collagen decreases, making our skin less elastic and supple. Spending time in the sun or smoking will further deplete our collagen production. Many wrinkles, however, are also a result of repeated movement on our faces. Over the decades, we make the same facial expressions with the same muscles and our skin goes along for the ride.
BOTOX and Dysport help target the negative signs of aging by treating the underlying issue—movement. Both are composed of a substance called botulinum toxin type A, which works by blocking the neurotransmitter from fully reaching the targeted muscles.
When a muscle’s movement is temporarily reduced or eliminated, the muscle has time to relax. When that happens, the skin on top of the muscle smoothes. After injection, results begin in about a week and get progressively better, lasting three to four months. The more often clients come back for touch-up sessions, the smoother their skin will become.
Other Treatments
Injectables aren’t the only treatment to help stave off signs of aging. Discuss with your provider the kinds of results you’d like to see and, based on your concerns, they may have several options for you to choose from.
Microneedling
Fine lines and wrinkles aren’t the only signs of aging we’d like to take control of. Uneven skin tone and texture, dullness and acne scarring can all add years to your face. If you’d like to address any of these issues along with fine lines and wrinkles, microneedling could be a good solution. Microneedling involves using a handheld device loaded with hair-thin needles that create micro-channels all over the face.
Your body sees these tiny pinpricks as an injury it needs to heal, which it does by boosting production of collagen. That collagen will work to fill in fine lines and concave acne scarring. Comprehensive treatment centers may have high-end serums they can offer to go along with this treatment. Because micro-channels are opened during the process, your skin will easily absorb nutrients, bleaching creams, or whatever product your provider recommends for your specific concern.
Talk to your provider about microneedling and its benefits for any of these concerns:
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Acne
- Melasma—dark spots
- Large pores
- Dull skin
- Dry skin
- Uneven tone
- Uneven texture
PRP
Platelet-rich plasma is a great option for those not yet ready for injections or who just want a natural way to turn back the hands of time. This treatment uses plasma from your blood to promote cell regeneration. On the day of your treatment, your blood will be drawn and placed in a centrifuge, where the red blood cells will be separated from plasma.
Your platelet-rich plasma will be injected on your skin through a microneedling process. This treatment softens fine lines and wrinkles by improving collagen production. It can help repair tissue damage by promoting local tissue growth as your body regenerates cells.
Peels
There are many peels available to help uncover radiant and younger-looking skin. These peels are developed to remove the top few layers of dull, damaged and dead skin, revealing a brighter, more youthful complexion. The top layers are exfoliated off, so it boosts collagen and elastin production, making the new layers of skin stronger and firmer than before.
Peels can address a variety of concerns, like:
- Rosacea
- Acne
- Hyperpigmentation
- Acne scarring
- Uneven skin tone
- Fine lines and wrinkles
Your provider may suggest a few peels over the course of your plan to address multiple concerns. They can combine peels with specialized skincare products to maximize and prolong results.
Call for a Consultation
You can take control of your aging process. When you like what you see in the mirror, your self-esteem and confidence go up, allowing you to get more enjoyment out of life, feel happier, and enjoy social situations that used to cause you to worry.
It’s true we’ve all earned each wrinkle on our faces, but that doesn’t mean we have to wear them. With so many innovations in the anti-aging space, you need a qualified and caring team on your side to recommend the best course of treatment for you.
Call the professionals at Orchidia Medical Group in Naples FL to discuss the best way for you to turn back the clock. Their caring and experienced team of medical professionals will develop an individualized plan specifically for you and your concerns. A new you is just a call away.
