Raising Your Game

By: Katharine Griffiths
Created on 14th June 2010

At a certain age it is no longer a question of just tackling a line here or a wrinkle there... Radiesse could be the answer when gravity takes its toll

There are a wide range of products on the market that can tackle lines and wrinkles but what do you do when it is more than a case of smoothing away the odd frown line? As we age we lose volume from our cheeks and jowls start to form where once there was a firm jaw line.

A product such as Radiesse, a dermal filler with a strong structural element, is a valuable tool for practitioners looking to restore lost volume and provide lift.

Radiesse is made from synthetic calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) microspheres suspended in a water based gel carrier and has a two-fold effect. Upon injection, the gel carrier acts as an instant filler, resulting in an immediate correction. Due to its unique product characteristics, about 25 per cent to 30 per cent less material is needed to obtain the same optimal correction compared to a treatment with hyaluronic acid.

The gel carrier dissolves over a few months, but this is where the second stage of results come to the fore. Fibroblasts from new natural collagen are produced, resulting in increased volume and smoother skin. By stimulating collagenesis - the production of new collagen - Radiesse ensures longer-lasting results compared to other dermal fillers.

Dr Beatriz Molina of Medikas explains why she likes to offer Radiesse to her clients. "When you're tackling the ageing process at an earlier stage then it might be enough to put filler in individual lines, but later on in life then you've got to be thinking about reshaping the face and putting volume back where you've lost it. And that's where Radiesse comes into its own as it can go further than tackling individual lines."

The non-surgical facelift
You may have heard something called the ‘triangle of beauty' discussed on TV shows or mentioned in beauty magazines. In youth the base of the triangle is at the cheeks and the point is at the chin and as long as this triangle remains well intact the face will have a youthful appearance, but as we age our faces tend to sag and become square.

Radiesse is the ideal filler to help you to restore the soft youthful fullness in the face. Dr Molina describes the process of the non-surgical facelift: "Firstly, we do the cheek enhancement with injections into the apple of the cheek, and then we follow a line from the temple down to the jaw line. The Radiesse injections work like a thread lift, although what is great is that you get an immediate lift but then you also get a further tightening in a few months time when the fibroblasts are produced.

"If necessary, you can then also inject into the marionette (mouth to jaw) or naso-labial (nose to mouth) lines, but the lifting effect of the non-surgical facelift means that these are often smoothed away without the need for more product."

CASE STUDY

Treatment: Radiesse
Name: Jenny Kipling
Age: 66
Occupation: Research assistant

What prompted you to have the treatment?

I tended to look gaunt and tired, which I'm not. It wasn't necessarily about looking younger - I just wanted the outside to match how I felt on the inside. I considered a surgical facelift but I was really
reluctant to undergo a general anaesthetic or suffer the amount of downtime it entailed so I did some research on nonsurgical alternatives.

Who carried out the procedure and what was their opinion at the consultation?

I saw Dr Beatriz Molina of Medikas. She was very highly recommended to me and when I met her I thought she was very down to earth. She didn't just list loads of different treatments. She very carefully listened to what I wanted and suggested that Radiesse was the best product to restore the lost volume.

After my consultation I did go away and do some research on Radiesse and I was very impressed at their safety record.

How was the experience?

I arrived at the clinic and they applied local anaesthetic cream and then I waited for about half an hour until it took effect. Dr Molina explained again exactly what was going to take place and then she mixed the Radiesse with local anaesthetic so I felt nothing but the slight prick as it pierced my skin. The whole experience was very comfortable.

What were the immediate results?

I could see an immediate effect; I couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed but there was an overall lifting that transformed my face. There was more fullness in the cheek area and more definition of the jaw line; basically I didn't look so hang dog!

The treatment took place two weeks ago so I'm looking forward to the next stage and seeing what the effect the collagen stimulation  will have. There was some deep bruising in a couple of places but that has all cleared up now and I was happy to be out and about straight after the treatment.

Are you happy with the treatment?

I'm very happy with the treatment. I'm going back to see Dr Molina to have an age spot removed from my neck and I would have every confidence in having more treatments with her in the future.