Sculptra…The Liquid Facelift
A young face has fullness and roundness in the cheeks, under the eyes, in the lips, and around the mouth. This fullness causes light to reflect with very little shadow and the human eye is naturally drawn to reflected light. As each year passes, we all experience the signs of aging in our face and neck. Your face doesn’t so much “fall” with time but it actually deflates and this volume loss leaves you looking less three-dimensional than you did when you were younger. 
You lose skin elasticity as well as the bony structural support on your eyebrows, upper cheeks, and jaws (mandibles). Collagen is a key structural component that keeps your skin looking youthful and smooth and this too decreases as you age.
Volume is what makes you look younger and that is why Dr. Maxine Tabas is excited to offer you the volumizer known as Sculptra® Aesthetic. Known as the “Liquid Facelift”, Sculptra® Aesthetic is an exciting change in how facial rejuvenation can be achieved without surgery. A facelift will remove excess skin, and to some degree, this will lessen the shadow effect but a facelift will not restore volume. Sculptra® Aesthetic is not intended to replace a facelift, but its capacity to lift tissue has been proven to be extremely effective. Strategic placement can not only restore or create balanced contours, the effect of filling one compartment above another area means the compartment adjacent to the treated one gets its own lift. This volume replacement fills the skin so that it is lifted: not surgically with a scalpel and sutures but instead lifted by the formation of your body’s own collagen that was created in surrounding the microscopic particles that make up Sculptra®. When your skin’s structure is reinforced with Sculptra® Aesthetic within the deep dermis, it helps to replace lost collagen and this reinforced collagen structure provides a foundation that gradually restores the look of fullness to your face that has been depleted over time.
Sculptra® Aesthetic is a biocompatible, biodegradable dermal filler used for the treatment of facial lines and wrinkles. Sculptra® Aesthetic is also used for the treatment of the loss of fat beneath your skin known as lipoatrophy. Lipoatrophy leads to facial thinning, sunken cheeks, prominent skin folds, indentations, hollow eyes, and a gaunt appearance. Sculptra® Aesthetic contains micro particles of poly-L-lactic acid, a substance safely used for more than 20 years in surgical products and suitable for a wide variety of reconstructive and cosmetic uses. Sculptra® has been used for many years internationally under the brand name New-Fill and it was approved in Europe in 1999 for the correction of skin depressions such as nasolabial folds. Sculptra® was expanded to include the treatment of lipoatrophy and in the United States, Sculptra® was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004 for the treatment of HIV-related lipoatrophy. In 2009, the FDA approved Sculptra® Aesthetic for treating facial wrinkles.
Sculptra® Aesthetic works by stimulating a local immune response that leads to a gradual absorption of the poly-L-lactic acid microparticles by white blood cells. The immune response to Sculptra® Aesthetic also leads to the production of fibrosis and collagen and this is the reason for the gradual increase in skin thickness. Sculptra® Aesthetic is considered to be a tissue volumizer which helps to fill concave facial areas and improves facial contours. Unlike other injectable ‘filler’ treatments, Sculptra® Aesthetic is subtle and works gradually over a period of a few weeks so it gives you a more natural appearance without appearing that you have had anything done.
Sculptra® Aesthetic does not give immediate results because there is a time factor involved since the true volume effect is created by your own collagen, not the product itself. Sculptra® Aesthetic works to replace lost collagen administered in a series of treatments separated by 4-6 weeks. Although each patient’s treatment varies depending on the degree of facial atrophy, contouring, or wrinkle correction needed, some may need only one session of Sculptra® Aesthetic injections while another will achieve full correction after 3-5 sessions. Most patients receive more than one injection session to accomplish optimum re-volumization. Sculptra® Aesthetic is unique because the results are long lasting. Research proves up to 2 years effect but many studies were short-duration so it is possible that the correction can even last longer.
If you choose to have a Sculptra® Aesthetic treatment, during your procedure Dr. Tabas will insert Sculptra® particles under your skin where they stimulate your body’s own formation of new collagen in desired areas such as your cheeks, chin, jowls, nose, and around your eyes. A topical numbing cream ensures your comfort during this non-invasive procedure and with its long-lasting, gorgeous results, many of our patients now choose the “Liquid Facelift” as a safe, relaxing alternative without surgery, extreme expense, lengthy recovery, or post-procedure pain. Using her expert precision and skillful artistry, call today and let Dr. Tabas help you achieve a “lifted” appearance resulting in a natural, smoother, and younger looking you.
Did I miss how much each proceedure costs?
Yes, the procedure cost varies on several factors. It’s best to contact the office for a consultation at 407-647-7300. Thank you!