Restylane 🧖‍♀️💫

Overview of Restylane

Restylane, a transparent gel filler composed of hyaluronic acid, is injected beneath the skin to enhance volume and plumpness. It is FDA-approved for cosmetic uses and clinically proven to smooth moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds.

It binds to water molecules and expands under the skin over time to lift sagging skin, fill in lost volume, and sculpt facial contours. The smooth consistency of Restylane makes the injection process comfortable.

Results from Restylane injections are natural-looking with little to no downtime. Most patients see improvements immediately, with optimal results in 1-2 weeks as the product fully integrates.

Restylane provides temporary yet long-lasting wrinkle correction, typically 12-18 months for one treatment. It is biodegradable and gradually breaks down over time, so repeat injections can extend results.

Reasons for Choosing Restylane

Restylane filler injections rejuvenate the face in several cosmetic ways. The injections add subtle volume to smooth lines and fold around areas that lose fullness with age, like the mouth, cheeks, and under the eyes.

Filling these facial wrinkles with Restylane helps patients achieve a youthful appearance. In addition to wrinkle correction, Restylane restores facial contours by adding definition. For instance, plumping thin lips or accentuating shallow cheekbones.

Restylane’s custom nature allows small, precise amounts to gently lift and support sagging facial skin. These cosmetic enhancements result in a refreshed and rejuvenated appearance unique to each patient’s facial aesthetics.

How Restylane works

Hyaluronic acid, a natural skin component that latches onto water molecules, is the key ingredient in Restylane gel filler. When injected into facial tissue, Restylane microscopically integrates between your skin’s structural layers.

The hyaluronic acid then attracts and holds water molecules, creating subtle volumes under wrinkles and folds and filling them in. This immediately lifts sagging skin and smoothes facial lines and wrinkles.

Over the next few days, water molecules continue to permeate the gel, which causes Restylane to expand slightly. The product reaches its full volume potential beneath your skin’s surface about two weeks after injections.

Restylane injections’ smoothing effects and added facial volume gradually reverse as your body naturally breaks down the gel. Most patients start to notice fading results around the 12-month mark as Restylane dissolves.

Common Treatment Areas for Restylane

Restylane effectively targets moderate to deep wrinkles and lost volume around high-movement areas of the face. Common cosmetic treatment areas include:

Forehead Lines – Smooth horizontal lines across the forehead for an open, relaxed appearance.
Nasolabial Folds – Fill marionette lines from the nose’s corner to the mouth’s edges.
Smile Lines – Softens vertical lip lines around the mouth.
Cheeks – Restore volume to lift sagging cheek skin and accentuate contours.
Under Eyes – Reduces hollowness and shadowing by filling lost volume.
Lips – Adds subtle fullness and definition for a youthful shape.
Chin – Augments a recessed chin profile.

Safety and Side Effects of Restylane

Potential side effects from Restylane are generally mild and temporary. Common symptoms include temporary redness, swelling, tenderness, and bruising at the injection site. These typically resolve within seven days. Less commonly, patients may experience brief headaches or nausea after treatment.

On rare occasions, gel filler injections can cause more serious side effects like infection or blocked blood flow. Using sterile techniques during Restylane injections greatly reduces the risk of complications. Your injector should evaluate your medical history to rule out potential issues like bleeding disorders or allergies.

Let your provider know if the swelling lasts longer than one week or if you experience pimples, drainage, color changes, or irregularities at injection sites, which could indicate an infection or allergic reaction. Prompt antibiotic treatment clears most infections.

Preparing For Your Restylane Appointment

Arrive at your Restylane appointment with clean skin, free of makeup, cream, or lotions, which can increase the risk of infection. For several days prior, avoid blood-thinning medications like aspirin, which causes extra bruising or swelling.

For enhanced comfort during the procedure, your provider may use a numbing cream on the area before injecting. The treatment session takes about 30 minutes for a single area with minimal to no downtime.

Most patients resume normal activities immediately with only some temporary mild swelling, redness, or tenderness at injection sites.

During the Restylane Procedure

The smooth gel-like consistency of Restylane enables injections through ultra-fine needles for improved comfort. Your provider customizes the filler amounts needed to achieve optimal rejuvenation unique to your facial anatomy and cosmetic goals. Most injection points only require a single needle prick, thanks to the gel’s moldability once under the skin.

Using a sterile technique, your provider first cleans the target facial areas with an antiseptic wipe to prevent infection. They then precisely inject small amounts of Restylane filler in specific locations using a thin needle.

The provider carefully sculpts the gel beneath the skin’s surface to efficiently fill wrinkles and folds, as well as increase volume in target areas. The needles used are so fine that injections feel similar to a pinprick.

Aftercare for Restylane

Minimal downtime is expected after Restylane injections. Use cold compresses as needed to reduce swelling and tenderness at injection sites. Sleeping face-up and avoiding touching treated areas allows Restylane to fully integrate.

Temporary redness, swelling, bruising, or tenderness generally resolves within seven days. Makeup can usually be worn the next day to conceal any lingering redness. More vigorous activity like exercising can typically be resumed in 1-2 days. Follow your provider’s specific post-care instructions for optimal recovery.

Longevity of Restylane Results

Individual results vary, but most Restylane patients enjoy visible improvements for 12-18 months after injections until they gradually fade. Maintaining outcomes simply involves repeat injections before your previous results completely diminish.

Consistently receiving Restylane touch-ups every 9-12 months enables reliable wrinkle correction and facial volumizing year after year.

Your provider helps determine the ideal maintenance schedule based on the speed of filler dissipation unique to your body’s metabolism. Combining complementary facial rejuvenation treatments also extends overall outcomes.

Important Safety Information for Restylane

As with all procedures, the use of Restylane carries some risks. While extremely rare, a small percentage of patients may experience complications that should be promptly treated.

Contact your provider immediately if any of these conditions occur following treatment with Restylane:

Infection at the injection site: increased redness, swelling, warmth, drainage, pimples, or fever could indicate an infection that may require antibiotics.
Skin ulceration: visible denting or irregularity at the injection site could signal tissue damage requiring prompt treatment.
Vascular occlusion: skin blanching or mottled, darkened patches may indicate blocked blood flow.
Prior to treatment, discuss your complete medical history, including bleeding disorders, surgery plans, medications, pregnancy plans, and history of keloid scarring or facial cold sores to avoid rare complications. Proper injection technique protects the skin and minimizes risk.

Cost of Restylane

As a leading hyaluronic acid dermal filler, Restylane is a popular option for smoothing fine lines and plumping areas like lips and cheeks.

Being a temporary injectable filler made to be gradually absorbed by the body over time, maintenance appointments are needed every 9-18 months on average to maintain results from a Restylane treatment.

The overall expense depends on factors like which Restylane formula is used and how much is injected per session according to one’s unique facial rejuvenation goals.

Generally, shorter-lasting options applied in smaller doses have lower per-treatment costs. Multi-treatment packages at a provider’s office can also reduce the per-syringe price. Still, the cumulative cost over time should be considered when choosing fillers.

Providers for Restylane Injections Near me

Optimal safety and aesthetics from Restylane rely on an injector with specialized training in precise filler placement plus facial anatomy. Ask potential Restylane providers about the following:

Board certification indicating their qualifications
Years of specialized experience with injectables
Number of Restylane treatments performed
Before and after photos of actual patients
Filler technique used for natural-looking results
Aesthetic judgment for facial enhancements tailored to your anatomy

Reputable providers take time to discuss your cosmetic goals and medical history and customize a treatment plan to your needs rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.

Dr. Lauren Nawrocki at Green Relief Health Med Spa & Medical Weight Loss is a proven, reliable provider of Restylane in Baltimore.

With an artistic eye and precision technique perfected from years of experience with facial fillers, Dr. Nawrocki consistently achieves natural yet transformative Restylane outcomes customized to your individual needs and facial aesthetics.

Schedule a private consultation with Dr. Nawrocki to determine if Restylane can help you achieve your cosmetic goals.

Restylane offers exceptional safety as a purified hyaluronic acid gel and long-lasting wrinkle smoothing and volumizing to revitalize facial aesthetics.

Over a million Restylane procedures performed yearly confirm its reliable rejuvenation. When chosen for appropriate patients and injected by a qualified provider focused on subtle, natural enhancements, Restylane generates satisfying anti-aging results lasting about 12 months before repeat injections extend outcomes.

Schedule a consultation to determine if facial rejuvenation using Restylane fits your cosmetic needs and goals.