Radiesse Review
Radiesse is an anti-aging treatment that promises to diminish your wrinkles, lines, and facial folds by acting as a cosmetic filler. Here’s our Radiesse review.
What is Radiesse?
Radiesse, previously marketed as Radiance, is an anti-aging skin treatment that promises to reduce the signs of aging by working as a cosmetic filler.
The procedure is approved by the FDA in the United States for specific types of anti-aging therapy (but hasn’t been approved across the entire body).
It’s also used to treat conditions like facial wasting (aka facial lipoatrophy) in patients with HIV.
Radiesse is particularly popular when used in the treatment of deep lines and wrinkles around the nose and mouth. The formula is injected beneath the skin, where it then plumps up the skin, softening wrinkles, lines, and facial folds.
How Does Radiesse Work?
Radiesse has a dual pronged method of action. The first method of action takes place over the first three months before the second of method of action kicks in later.
The gel-like solution is injected beneath your skin. Typically, the gel will be injected into target areas like the wrinkles around your nose and mouth.
That gel contains small microspheres, or particles, made up of calcium hydroxyapatite, which is a naturally-occurring substance in your body.
For the first three months following treatment, Radiesse acts as a cosmetic filler, which means it physically plumps up your skin and pushes your skin to fill in wrinkles, which can reduce their appearance over the course of three months.
Then, after a three month period, the microspheres within Radiesse begin to stimulate collagen growth. Collagen is a protein that your skin uses to create smooth, youthful-looking skin and new skin cells.
Over time, your body absorbs the gel solution in which Radiesse is suspended. Collagen continues to grow at the injection site, eventually replacing the gel with new skin cells created by the patient’s body.
Uses for Radiesse
As mentioned above, Radiesse is used as a standard anti-aging procedure on healthy patients as well as a treatment against the effects of HIV.
Some of the specific anti-aging uses and target areas for Radiesse include:
— Nasolabial Folds
— Marionette Lines
— Smile Lines
— Frown Lines
— Cheek Enhancement
— Bridge Or Nasal Augmentation
— Jaw Line Contouring
Meanwhile, Radiesse is also used as a medical procedure for treating some of the following conditions:
— Vocal Cord Correction
— Nasal Obstruction
— Facial Lipoatrophy
Radiesse Pricing
Radiesse prices vary widely because the procedure is used to treat different areas of the face. These areas can have different sizes, which makes it difficult to provide an accurate cost estimate without receiving a consultation from a doctor.
Nevertheless, the average cost of Radiesse is approximately $650 to $800 per syringe, which makes it more expensive than other popular cosmetic fillers like Sculptra and Restylane.
RealSelf.com reports a slightly higher average price, with users claiming they paid an average of $950 for the treatment.
What to Expect During Radiesse Treatment
Radiesse is a relatively straightforward procedure that can be performed in an outpatient setting.
Prior to the procedure, a medical provider will typically apply a local anesthetic. Then, the doctor will select one or more injection points for each location that you wish to be treated.
Local anesthesia and an antiseptic are applied to each area, and then Radiesse is injected beneath your skin. The gel is specifically injected into the dermis and subcutis layers of the skin.
One of the cool things about Radiesse is that you’ll see noticeable results instantly. However, the most obvious results will start to be evident after approximately one week. Results also last up to 2 years.
The entire treatment shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes from beginning to end, depending on your specific treatment area.
Is Radiesse Safe?
Radiesse is thought to be a perfectly safe procedure because it does not trigger an allergic reaction – which is a concern with most other types of injectable fillers.
The reason Radiesse doesn’t trigger an allergic reaction is because the gel-like substance is made from something that’s already naturally-occurring within your body. This doesn’t totally eliminate the risk of allergy, but it significantly minimizes it.
With that in mind, the only real danger from Radiesse treatments is when you worked with unlicensed or unqualified anti-aging clinics. When administered incorrectly or poorly, Radiesse can lead to numbness, tingling, swelling, and bruising at the injection area.
Who Makes Radiesse?
Radiesse was created by global pharmaceutical giant Merz Pharmaceuticals. The skin treatment was released in 2004 and has been on the market for over 10 years. The company recently celebrated the shipment of over 5 million syringes around the world.
Merz is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany and was founded in 1908. The company’s US subsidiary is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In addition to Radiesse, the company manufactures a wide variety of dermatology, neurology, and metabolic treatment products, including drugs that are used to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
