Sculptra in
Dubai

Cheeks and midface

The cheeks are where Sculptra was first approved and where the evidence is strongest. From the mid-30s the fat pads over the cheekbone shrink and slide down, the skin above them thins, and the face reads as tired even when you are not. One vial spread across both cheeks in a fan pattern restores the support the skin has lost. In the randomised cheek-wrinkle trial, patients had up to 4 monthly treatments and 71.6% still showed at least a one-grade improvement at 12 months, against 26.1% of untreated controls. The result is firmer, thicker skin over the cheekbone, not a bulge.

Temples

Hollow temples make the eyebrows look heavier and the cheekbones sharper in the wrong way. The temple is a thin area over muscle and vessels, so we inject deep on the bone with a cannula and a small volume per side. A Brazilian consensus on temple treatment found that PLLA was the preferred product for lifting in 45.5% of the specialists surveyed. Temples usually share a vial with the cheeks.

Jawline, jowls and lower face

Sculptra does not lift a jowl on the day. Over 3 to 6 months it thickens the skin along the jawline and in front of the ears, so the lower face looks tighter and the jowl less defined. It also softens crepey skin on the cheeks and lower face that filler cannot treat. Marionette lines and chin wrinkles are approved indications; we treat them by supporting the tissue beside the line, not by filling the line itself. A deep nasolabial fold that needs an immediate result is better served by hyaluronic acid filler.

Areas we do not treat with Sculptra

The manufacturer's labelling excludes the lips and the eye area, including tear troughs, because the tissue is thin and mobile and nodules would be visible. For these areas we use hyaluronic acid, which can be dissolved. The forehead is not treated with Sculptra either. Sculptra for the buttocks, thighs, knees, arms and decolletage is a separate service with its own vial packs and assessment; read the Sculptra body page.

What the result looks like month by month

• Day 0 to 3: the face is fuller from the water in the suspension and from swelling. This is not the result.
• Week 1 to 4: the water is gone, the face looks as it did before. Massage continues for the first 5 days.
• Month 1 to 3: the first firmness appears; a second vial is placed at 4 weeks or later.
• Month 3 to 6 after the last vial: the full result. This is when we take comparison photographs.
• Year 1 to 2: the collagen persists; the manufacturer states up to 2 years, and the American Academy of Dermatology quotes 1 to 3 years for PLLA fillers. Many patients book one maintenance vial a year.

Our guide on Sculptra results and how long they last walks through the timeline with more detail.

Sculptra and hyaluronic acid filler

Hyaluronic acid filler is a gel that takes up space: what you see on the day is the result, and it lasts 6 to 18 months depending on the product and the area. It can be dissolved with hyaluronidase within hours if needed. Sculptra adds no volume of its own; it makes your own tissue thicker over months, and the result cannot be reversed. Filler is the right tool for a specific line, lips, tear troughs or a chin that needs projection. Sculptra is the right tool for a whole face that has lost firmness. Many of our patients have both: Sculptra for the cheeks and temples, then a small amount of hyaluronic acid filler 3 months later for lips or a single fold.

Sculptra and Radiesse

Radiesse is calcium hydroxylapatite microspheres in a carboxymethylcellulose gel. The gel gives an immediate lift, the microspheres stimulate collagen over about 3 months, and the result lasts 12 to 18 months. It is precise and firm, which suits the jawline, chin and the back of the hands. Sculptra is more dilute, spreads through a larger area per vial, gives no result on the day and lasts up to 2 years. In our clinic Radiesse and Sculptra were delivered in similar numbers over the last year. The full comparison is in Sculptra or Radiesse.

Sculptra and skin boosters

Restylane Skinboosters are soft hyaluronic acid placed just under the surface to hydrate the skin and improve texture for up to about 9 months. They do not lift or thicken. A patient with dry, dull skin and no sagging needs a skin booster; a patient with sagging needs Sculptra. The two can be combined, at least 4 weeks apart, because they are placed at different depths.

Sculptra and energy-based tightening

Morpheus8 delivers radiofrequency through needles to contract and remodel the skin; Forma heats the skin without needles; PRP uses your own platelets. These improve skin quality and mild laxity. Sculptra rebuilds volume that has been lost. For skin that is both loose and deflated we place Sculptra first and start Morpheus8 4 weeks later, so the heat is not applied to a freshly injected area.

Product facts

• Sculptra is made by Galderma. Its active ingredient is poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA-SCA), a biodegradable polymer that has been used in dissolvable sutures for decades.
• Each vial is a sterile freeze-dried powder that is reconstituted with sterile water and lidocaine before injection. Reconstitution volume and standing time follow the current manufacturer instructions; incorrect reconstitution is the leading avoidable cause of nodules.
• The particles are fully absorbed; the collagen your fibroblasts build remains.
• Approved facial indications: shallow to deep nasolabial folds, cheek wrinkles, marionette lines, chin wrinkles and other facial wrinkles. The manufacturer reports that 95% of patients in its study had improved skin glow 2 years after treatment.
• Our Sculptra is original product bought from the official UAE distributor, stored and prepared to the manufacturer's instructions. We show the paperwork on request.

Before your appointment

Tell us about every medicine and supplement, including aspirin, ibuprofen, warfarin, vitamin E, fish oil, garlic, ginger and St John's wort, because they raise bruising; do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own. Tell us about previous fillers or collagen stimulators, even if you do not know the product name, and bring records if you have them. Tell us about keloid or thick scars, cold sores, allergies, autoimmune conditions and any dental work planned in the next 2 weeks. Avoid alcohol for 24 hours before. Come without makeup; we photograph your face before treatment.

After your appointment: the 5-5-5 rule

Massage the treated areas for 5 minutes, 5 times a day, for 5 days. This spreads the particles evenly and is the single most important thing you do to prevent lumps. We show you the technique before you leave and give it in writing.

For 24 hours avoid alcohol, hard exercise, saunas and hot yoga. Sleep on your back the first night. No facials, massage other than the 5-5-5 routine, or dental treatment for 2 weeks. Makeup can go on after 24 hours. Sun exposure does not affect the product, but use SPF 30 or higher on bruised skin so it does not darken.

Side effects

Expected: swelling for 1 to 3 days, tenderness for 2 to 3 days, bruising that clears in 7 to 14 days, and itching or redness at the entry points. Listed by the manufacturer and the FDA: small bumps under the skin that you feel but do not see, larger lumps with or without inflammation, and infection. Rare and serious for any injectable: injection into a blood vessel causing skin necrosis, visual loss or stroke, and severe allergic reaction.

Contact us the same day if you have pain that gets worse instead of better, skin that turns white, grey, blue or blotchy, any change in vision, or fever. Go to an emergency department for a vision change or stroke-like symptoms and call us on the way. A lump that appears weeks or months later and does not shrink with massage needs a review; treatment options include further massage, a steroid injection or, rarely, removal. Our side effects and lumps guide covers each of these in detail.

Who should not have Sculptra

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding, and anyone under 18. - A history of keloid or hypertrophic scars. - Allergy to any ingredient, including lidocaine. - Active infection, acne, cold sore or inflammation in the area; we wait until it has cleared. - An autoimmune condition that is active or treated with immunosuppressants, which needs your treating doctor's agreement first. - A permanent implant or non-absorbable filler in the same area. - The lips, the eye area and the forehead are never injected with Sculptra.

Our care standards

Evolution Aesthetics Clinic holds DHA Polyclinic License 6000514. Dr Yulia Krasnaya and Dr Vera Nikulina are DHA-licensed doctors who inject Sculptra within their approved scope; their individual licence numbers are on their profiles. You see the doctor face to face before any injection.