Collagen biostimulators
Sculptra, Radiesse and PLLA in London
Two injectable treatments that ask your own skin to build more collagen, instead of filling a line in. The change arrives slowly, and that is the point of it.
Collagen you grow yourself
A dermal filler adds volume the moment it goes in, and holds a shape for as long as it is there. A collagen biostimulator works the other way round. It is placed in the deeper layers of the skin, where the body treats it as something to respond to — and the collagen that response builds is your own.
Sculptra's active ingredient is poly-L-lactic acid, usually shortened to PLLA. Radiesse works on the same principle with a different material, calcium hydroxylapatite. Both are gradually absorbed. What is left behind is the collagen your skin has laid down around them, which is why the result tends to read as your own face rather than a treated version of it.
Neither is a quick fix and neither suits everyone. Every plan at our London Bridge clinic starts with a consultation, where we go through your medical history, look at your skin and talk through what is realistic — and there is no obligation to go ahead.
Two biostimulators, two jobs
Sculptra — poly-L-lactic acid
PLLA is placed across the areas where the face has lost support, rather than into one line. It works gradually: the collagen response builds over weeks, so the change tends to be the kind other people notice without being able to say what has changed. It is normally a course — most often around three sessions, four to six weeks apart — and results are commonly described as lasting up to about two years.
Ideal forVolume and support lost across the cheeks and temples, skin that has thinned overall rather than one deep line, and anyone who would rather the change arrived slowly.
Radiesse — calcium hydroxylapatite
Fine calcium hydroxylapatite particles suspended in a gel. The gel gives some lift on the day and is absorbed over the following months, while the particles go on prompting collagen underneath. It is used along the jawline and cheeks for definition, and in a diluted form for skin quality on the neck, décolletage and the backs of the hands. Results commonly last somewhere around twelve to eighteen months.
Ideal forA jawline or cheek line that has softened, crêpey skin on the neck, décolletage or hands, and anyone who would like to see some change on the day.
Which of the two suits you — or whether a biostimulator is the right treatment at all — is decided at your consultation, not before it.
What happens, and when
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On the day
The area is cleansed and marked, numbing cream is used where it helps, and the product goes in as a series of small injections. Around 30 to 45 minutes.
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The first few days
Some swelling, redness, tenderness or small bruises are normal and usually settle within a day or two. You will be shown how to massage the area at home.
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4 to 6 weeks
The next session in the course. Most people have around three, and each one builds on the collagen the last one started.
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3 to 6 months
By now the new collagen has built and the full change has arrived. This is the result the course was for.
How long it holds depends on which treatment you have and on your own skin: Radiesse is commonly described as lasting around twelve to eighteen months, Sculptra up to about two years. A top-up session keeps it there.
What to expect
- Treatment time
- 30 to 45 minutes
- Sessions usually needed
- 2 to 3
- Spacing between sessions
- 4 to 6 weeks
- When the result shows
- 3 to 6 months
- How long results last
- 12 months to 2 years
- Discomfort
- Minimal
Sculptra and Radiesse are priced individually and confirmed at your consultation.
Questions people ask first
How is this different from a filler?+
A filler is the volume. A biostimulator is the instruction: it prompts your skin to make its own collagen and is then absorbed, so what is holding the result at six months is tissue you grew, not product sitting under the skin.
How soon will I see a difference?+
Radiesse gives some lift on the day, because of the gel it comes in. Sculptra does not, and is not meant to — it builds over weeks, with most people seeing the full change somewhere between three and six months. If you want something visible this week, we will tell you so and talk about other options.
Does it hurt?+
Most people describe it as brief stinging rather than pain. Numbing cream is used where it helps, and the products themselves are usually mixed with a local anaesthetic. Swelling, redness or a small bruise afterwards is normal and settles in a day or two.
How much does it cost?+
Both are priced per session and depend on how much is being treated and how many sessions your plan needs, so the figure is confirmed at your consultation rather than published as a single price. The consultation itself carries no obligation to book.
Book your consultation
We'll look at your skin and talk through what's realistic. There's no obligation to book anything.
Book Now Or call +44 20 3318 3665