Are you feeling unhappy with the way your appearance has changed with age? Looking for a long-lasting solution that’s also non-invasive? At Advanced Life Clinic, our Sculptra treatments can help you. Here is everything you should know about this treatment before booking your appointment.
How Long Does Sculptra Last?
You’ll love how long you get to enjoy your results when you receive this treatment. Most people find that their results last for somewhere around two years after receiving injections.
No injectable filler can provide permanent results, but Sculptra’s formula makes it one of the longest-lasting ones available on the market.
How Can You Make Treatment Last?
Clean Your Skin
Even if you haven’t received injections of a dermal filler, you should be maintaining a quality skincare routine. Wash your face twice a day with a quality cleanser and make sure to moisturize. This helps to protect the natural barrier of your skin. Overall healthy skin will help the results of your treatments be more effective and last longer.
Wear Sun Protection
The sun’s UV rays can penetrate your skin, harming it and triggering signs of aging. After your treatment, make sure that you limit your exposure to direct sunlight. When you do go outside, remember to apply sunscreen every few hours. Make sure the sunscreen you use is at least 30SPF. Remember to also wear other protective gear like hats and sunglasses. This will prevent the sun’s UV rays from affecting your treatment results.
Drink Less Alcohol
Alcohol can make you dehydrated. When your skin gets dehydrated, its natural barrier becomes compromised. It also slows down your body’s collagen production which is counterproductive to this treatment. Drinking excessively can also cause frequent urination which will get rid of important micronutrients in your skin and further slow down your skin’s collagen production.
It’s okay to enjoy a drink once in a while, but try to lower the amount you are consuming if you’ve received a cosmetic treatment like this one. When you do drink, remember to have a glass of water with each one so you can rehydrate.
What You Should Know About Your Skin
Your skin contains chemicals that help it with things like maintaining its shape, fullness, and elasticity. These chemicals tend to have higher levels when you’re young. Over time, however, your aging body stops being as effective at producing these chemicals on its own. This causes changes to the overall structure and appearance of your skin. There are two specific chemicals in your skin that we’ll discuss here.
Collagen
This is a protein whose name you’ve probably seen before. Collagen is present in your skin as well as various other parts of your body, including your cartilage, bones, and connective tissues. It helps to maintain your skin’s structure and flexibility.
That’s what makes it easy for your skin to smooth out when you’re not moving the muscles on your face. However, over time, as your body makes less and less of its own collagen, the structure of your skin is impacted. You may begin to notice issues like wrinkling and sagging that age your appearance.
What Is Sculptra and What Does It Do?
This is a dermal filler designed originally to help treat people with HIV whose illnesses caused a thinning of the face. Today, it’s approved by the FDA to treat a range of cosmetic concerns in people over the age of 21. This injectable contains an ingredient called poly-l-lactic acid.
When it’s injected, the poly-l-lactic acid helps to stimulate your body’s natural production of collagen. This helps to put more volume back into your face while also helping your skin regain the elasticity that it’s lost. Your face will appear fuller and free of wrinkles.
What Can You Treat?
Cheeks
It’s pretty common to see a major change to the cheeks as you get older. Losing volume in your face overall means that more voluminous areas, like your cheeks, will be significantly affected. While this is normal, many people find that they don’t like how gaunt their cheeks start to look with age.
If you’re looking for a solution, this injectable can help you. It will easily put more volume into your cheeks, helping them appear round and youthful. This product can also help you if you’re looking to add some more definition to your cheeks.
Smile Lines
Wrinkles often show up around parts of the face that are fairly mobile. Because your mouth moves around so much while you speak, make expressions, and eat, it makes sense that you might see lines like smile lines or nasolabial folds earlier than other signs of aging.
Are your smile lines making you feel self-conscious about your appearance? Getting injections of this treatment will help fill in the space around your mouth while also making it more elastic. This will get rid of your smile lines for a much younger appearance.
Jawline
Have you been seeing some sagging around your jawline? Are jowls starting to form? Many people find these particular aging indicators distressing, and they can have a huge impact on your self-esteem.
You don’t need to live with these signs of aging if they make you feel unhappy with your appearance. This injectable can easily treat the area. This is going to keep the skin around your jawline firm, eliminating jowls and making your overall jawline look much more defined. You can also use it around your chin area.
Sculptra FAQs
How Do I Get Ready for Treatment?
Preparing to receive injections of this filler is easy and stress-free. Before booking your appointment, we’ll consult with you to go over your medical history along with your goals and concerns. This is going to help us determine together that this injectable is right for you.
Once your appointment is booked, we’ll provide you with specific instructions on preparing your skin. For 24 to 48 hours before your appointment, you’ll just need to avoid a few things. Certain substances like alcohol and some over-the-counter medications like act as blood thinners, so you’ll need to stay away from them.
What Is Getting Treatment Like?
On the day of your appointment, trust that we’ll do everything we can to help keep the process comfortable and fast for you. Don’t be afraid to bring up any questions or concerns that you may have at any point. We’ll be happy to address them for you.
To begin, we’ll clean your skin to prevent unwanted bacteria from entering the injection areas. We can also put a topical numbing agent on your skin if you’re worried about pain. Know that this entire treatment process should be painless. You’ll only feel a little pinch once the needle is inserted. You’ll receive multiple injections, applying a small amount of the product at a time. This ensures accurate results. Most appointments take less than an hour. You can leave once your is complete.
What Is Recovery Like?
Because this treatment is non-invasive, you can count on the recovery process being fast and easy. As soon as your appointment is done, you can get back to your regular life. We’ll provide you with instructions on what you’ll need to remember over the next week or so as your skin heals around the treatment areas.
It will be slightly more sensitive than it usually is. This means that you’ll need to stay away from direct sunlight as well as anything that could trigger excessive sweating. Remember to also avoid any extreme changes in temperature.
Who Is a Good Candidate?
Almost anyone can receive this treatment. However, there are a few people who should avoid it. People who are pregnant or breastfeeding, who have skin conditions around the areas where they want to receive treatment, or who have been sensitive to similar injectables in the past should avoid this for the time being.
A good candidate is someone who is looking for a non-invasive treatment to help reverse major signs of aging. It can also be good for people looking for a preventative measure before these signs of aging show up at all. If you’re looking to rejuvenate your look, you could be a perfect candidate.
Call Us and Learn More
If Sculptra sounds like it might be exactly what you need to look and feel your best again, then it’s time to get in touch with us. We’re ready to help. Book an appointment today at Advanced Life Clinic in Huntsville, AL.
