Sculptra - What to Expect
Sculptra is an injectable that stimulates your body to slowly build its own collagen where injected, improving skin quality and thickness, wrinkles/folds, and volume loss.
Preparation:
- Arrive with clean, makeup-free skin. Minimal skincare and SPF is ok.
- You do not have to stop retinoids/active ingredient skincare before Sculptra.
- Bruising is common with this procedure, and your face may look slightly full or swollen for a few days. Bruising may rarely last 1-2 weeks, so it is not recommended to schedule it within 1-2 weeks of an important event. Mitigate bruising by avoiding blood thinning agents and, as an optional but recommended step, taking oral Arnica tablets prior:
- Avoid NSAIDs like ibuprofen/advil/motrin, naproxen/aleve x2 days prior, avoid aspirin x7 days prior. Avoid St John’s Wort, omega-3/ fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo biloba, ginseng x7 days prior. Check with your healthcare provider before stopping any prescriptions.
- + Oral Arnica tablets starting 2-3 days pre procedure (take as directed on packaging). This can be purchased over the counter online or at most drug & health food stores.
Day of the Procedure:
- Skin will be cleansed and before photos taken for your medical record.
- Topical anesthetic will be applied to the areas being treated.
- The treatment itself takes about 30 minutes but expect to be here for your entire ~60-75 min appointment.
- There is anesthetic in the solution being injected as well. This makes it very tolerable, but some level of discomfort may be experienced. Expect parts of your face to feel numb for up to a few hours.
Post-Procedure:
- Sculptra is dissolved in sterile water, which is then distributed around the face during the procedure. Due to the water volume, your face will be slightly swollen for 2-3 days as the body absorbs the water.
- If the temples are treated, you may notice soreness when chewing for the first 1-2 days.
- It is important to massage the treated areas for 5 minutes, 5 times/day for 5 days. This is to ensure the Sculptra remains evenly distributed.
- You may resume normal skin care regimen immediately.
Results and Expectations:
- Most people need between 4-6 vials of Sculptra initially for best results. Each procedure typically uses 2 vials, so 2-3 sessions is typical. However, defer to your provider for your individualized plan.
- Sculptra triggers a collagen response in and under the skin. This takes roughly 4-6 months but most patients start to see positive changes sooner. The body breaks down collagen at about 1-2% per year (or more for women in perimenopause). Once you achieve the desired result, you will continue to age and break down collagen as part of the normal aging process. Thus it is typical to maintain your Sculptra results by doing a 2-vial maintenance session every 1-2 years.
- Pairing these procedures with a high quality skincare regimen tailored to your needs will always yield enhanced results and help you better maintain your results - your provider can help with this!
