Restylane is a bit clumpy compared to Juvederm and harder to sculpt precisely. Restylane seems to have more bruising as well. Each seems to last about 6 months. The two companies are dueling with who lasts longer, each getting longer FDA permissions to say which lasts longer.
Both Juvederm and Restylane are FDA approved hyaluronic acid fillers. There are minor technical differences in the two products. Both are proven to provide lasting results. Having said that, I think an experienced physician can do just about anything with just about any product.
What is important to the consumer is what happens to a product when it is used by a less experienced physician. This is important because not everyone is going to be treated by the "world's greatest."
As a physician with a great deal of experience with these products, I prefer Restylane and Perlane. The "smoothness" of Juvederm is not a clinically meaningful expression. It is a marketing term of art. The marketing people are making lemonade out of lemons.
Having said that, when injecting tiny volumes, Juvederm is less likely to form a bump because it readily diffuses in the tissues. This is an advantage for doctors who are not prepared to mold and work with the filler once it is in the tissue.
Restylane is more cohesive and tends to stay where it is placed. It needs to be carefully molded once injected.
The advantage of this cohesion is that Restylane can be used to build up the face in away that is impossible with Juvederm. This is especially evident in the lower eyelid/tear trough hollow under the eyes. Juvederm injected in this area in enough volume to make a difference can readily drift into the top of the cheek creating unwanted fullness. This does not happen with Restylane.
On the other hand, one has to expect lumps with Restylane and actively work to smooth these if they occur. This can easily be done and it is my opinion that the results are worth the effort.
Some authors here suggest that Juvederm does not last, and I think the reality is that it does last but it tends to get flattened in the tissue and over time appears less effective.
Recognize that some offices push products because the doctors get financial incentives from the companies to do so and these incentives increase based on how much of the company's product the offices uses.
For example, Allergan incentivizes plastic surgeons by counting any of the Allergan products, this includes BOTOX, Juvederm, Prevage, as well as Allergan manufactured breast implants. For Allergan, the offices that use enough of their product not only get a significant discount on product, they get favorable placement on the Allergan doctor referral website.
Medicis, the company that makes Restylane, has a similar type program, but it only applied to its hyaluronic acid filler products. So be aware of this because it creates a potential bias in what the doctor may recommend.
Ultimately it comes down to trust. Do you trust the doctor to make a recommendation that is right for you and not the doctor's wallet?
Both Restylane and Juvederm are hyaluronic acid, a naturally occuring sugar that we all have naturally in our bodies. Hyaluronic acid has been proven to be a safe way to correct the changes that occur due to aging.
Both Restylane and Juvederm are great products!
Due to the differences in their structure and manufacturing process, Juvederm, in my experience tends to have a greater incidence of causing "Tindle Effect," which is a blue-appearing tint to the skin when used in the upper face under and around the eyes.
Otherwise, I have found them to be very similar and I cannot say that one is better than the other. Some people say that Restylane lasts longer while others say that Juvederm last longer. In the end, they are both great products, and most important, they are both safe!
Juvederm and Restylane are very safe and powerful facial fillers that are composed of a substance known as hyaluronic acid. This is a substance that is synthetically formulated and that has a very low allergenic profile.
The difference between the two products arises from the amount of cross linking of the hyaluronic acid. The more cross linking, the longer the product lasts. Juvederm has 10% more cross linking and thus may last longer than Restylane.
Restylane and Juvederm are safe injectables for use in the nasolabial folds, lips, and soft tissues of the face and hands.
In my practice, I use both Juvederm and Restylane. I find that Restylane goes in smoother and can be molded easier, therefore I use it in the eye area (upper and lower eyelids) and the lip line. I prefer Juvederm for the nasolabial folds (laugh lines).
Be careful with Juvederm injection in the tear trough areas. Had some of my patients and other physicians who had prolonged swelling following injections. Never had it with Restylane. Otherwise, Juvederm and Restylane seem about the same.
hello,
Juvederm does last longer and seems to cause a smoother effect than Restylane. Now Elevess has arrived and has replaced Juvederm and Restylane both . Elevess is reported to be more cross linked and therefore should last longer than either one. Also it is a 1cc syringe whereas Juvederm is 0.8 cc. The major difference may be the fact that Elevess has lidocaine mixed in it which should cause less pain on injecting the material. It runs about $550 per syringe which is the same price to patients as the Juvederm and Restylane is currently.
sincerely,
Dr. Hansen
Juvederm and Restlane are so-called “Non-Animal Stabilized Hyaluronic Acid” (NASHA) fillers. Hyaluronic acid is derived as a product from bacterial cultures which are specially bio-engineered. The product is then purified and treated so as to stabilize it, and also to make it more viscous and to create micro-spherical particles of varying sizes. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally-occurring complex carbohydrate molecule found in the human skin matrix in the space between cells. The molecule is hydrophilic, attracting water molecules to the area where it is found or placed. Since the human form of hyaluronic acid is identical to the form produced by the bio-engineered bacteria, there is no need for allergy testing, and virtually no risk of immune reactions to the NASHA products.
Juvederm and Restylane both have variants, which are essentially the same product with different particle sizes. Juvederm (Allergan, Inc.) has four particle sizes (Juvederm 18, Juvederm 24, Juvederm 24 HV, Juvederm 30), used to treat the progression from fine to deep lines. Restylane (Q-Med, Medicis) has four particle sizes (Restyane Touch, Restylane, Perlane, Restylane Sub-Q) with progressively larger particle sizes used to treat the progression from fine to deep lines and facial atrophy.
Since both Restylane and Juvederm are NASHA products with varying particle size, what’s the difference? Some injectors have a preference for one product over the other based on ease of injection, viscosity, the “feel” of the syringe, quantity of the product in each syringe, etc. There have been no studies to date to document that one product lasts longer or out-performs the competitor’s comparable product in a controlled, double-blind test format. Both products can provide excellent results when properly administered.
So, when it comes to the choice between Restylane or Juvederm as a filler, it’s a matter of individual preference or taste, not much different than the preference of Coke vs. Pepsi as a beverage. A NASHA is a NASHA, and a cola is a cola, whether or not you agree with my choice.
They are both very good products. I find that Restylane is more dependable than Juvederm. I have used both in the lower eyelid. Restylane behaves itself there. I have had two cases with Juvederm where the patients looked fine and "under corrected" when they left my office, only to have excessive swelling a few days later.
Likewise, the only time that it was necessary to decrease the size of lips was after a very small amount of Juvederm was injected in a high profile patient. Fortunately, after Widase injections the lips were corrected.
I have had many patients who did fine with Juvederm, but the risk of excess swelling in that occasional patient has me using Restylane more often. My experience is that when I use equal amounts of the products, Restylane lasts longer.
Juvederm and Restylane are both hyaluronic acid fillers. Juvederm is more recent than Restylane.
So far both Juvederm and Restylane seem to go head-to-head. However, since Juvederm is very new, it is hard to definitely draw a conclusion.
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