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Restylane
Since its manufacturer Q-Med released Restylane in 1996 with a subsequent FDA approval in 2003, there have been about 4 million patients who
undertook dermal filling procedures using the product and its formulation variants in the market. It is without doubt one of the most popular dermal fillers around the world, the UK and US included.
As of this year, there are new product formulation of Restylane with the addition of 0.3% local anesthesia Lidocaine which makes it more comfortable for patients to be injected with it.
Origins and Formulation
Restylane is categorized as a non-animal stabilized hyaluronic acid gel or NASHA and is made from fermented bacteria in the streptococci strain. As a non-animal hyaluronic acid-based dermal filler, various formulation can be made and there are now a number of Restylane products used to treat various severity levels of skin folds and creases. They include the following notable products.
- Restylane is suitable for treating mild to moderate wrinkles and folds as we as lip augmentation. Its injections are often made deep enough to penetrate the middle dermal layers due to its relatively large gel particle sizes.
- Perlane has larger gel particles and is better recommended to treat moderate to severe wrinkles and skin folds as well as to enhance facial features like contouring the chin and jaw lines as well as lip enhancement. With large gel particle sizes, it is best injected into the deeper dermal layers of the skin.
- Touch has the smallest Restylane gel particulate and is best used for treating fine superficial skin lines using a small syringe needle to penetrate just the upper dermis of the skin.
- Sub-Q has the largest gel particles and is most suitably used to replace fat tissues lost as the skin ages to better define a younger-looking facial contour. The procedure requires a large needle for deeper penetration below the skin layers. This product is often promoted as a fat transfer alternative that requires more skill. As such, there are fewer cosmetic practitioners trained to use it.
- Lipp is another Restylane derivative product specially formulated for lip augmentation for a fuller set of lips. It is chemically structured to withstand the gamut of mouth movements like talking, laughing, smiling and kissing. As such Lipp lasts longer as a dermal filler used for this purpose.
Complications
Restylane injections can cause mild allergic reactions like transient erythema or skin reddening as well as discoloration, swelling, itching and tenderness in the treated skin areas. Medication is often not needed to address any of them as resolution can be spontaneous within a matter of 1-2 days and within a week for lip enhancement procedures. As always, allergy test should be conducted prior to dermal fill injections and patients with hypersensitivity to hyaluronic fillers should not use Restylane.
Recommendation
It is important that prospective patients for dermal filling consult with their physicians or dermatologists first to determine their allergic sensitivity to hyaluronic acids as well as the exact Restylane product most appropriate for their needs. With various products for different cosmetic enhancement needs, prices also varies from £250 to £400 per treatment.
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