Sculptra for Subtle Facial Enhancement - Miami, FL

Complaints: I’m small and have sharp features and thin skin, all conditions for a perfect storm of aging on my face, so I’ve kept up a fairly regular schedule of Botox and fillers since my early 30s. At the start of my 40s and the end of a particularly challenging period in my life, I’d look in the mirror and see a gaunt, tired face staring back at me. My cheeks were sunken and my temples were hollow, and there was an odd indentation on the top of one cheek. My melasma accented all the shadows. When I started to look into options for a friend who’d had an illness that had affected his face, the lovely aesthetician/Cool Sculpting technician/patient liaison at my doctor’s office recommended Sculptra for the both of us.
Considerations: It’s a small investment (for me, anyway). It involves multiple deeper injections, and while I’d experienced mild, temporary discomfort with fillers, I thought Sculptra might hurt much more. I also knew it might involve multiple visits at regular intervals to get desired results, which would add up to multiple small investments. I liked that it was bio-compatible and subtle, and that it had a good track record. In the long run, it works out to about the same as a filler which lasts six months. Knowing that I’d need something other than fillers if I wanted to change what I disliked, I decided to go for it.
Procedure: I wanted to be as numb as possible, particularly since I didn’t know what to expect, so I hung out with numbing cream on my face for 45 minutes. Once the doctor was ready, the numbing cream came off and she began to work. My doctor is very gentle, and after the first couple of injections the lidocaine she’d added to the Sculptra kicked in. There were multiple injections in the temple, cheek and jaw areas, and my doctor would massage each area as she worked. It wasn’t any more painful than a filler. Sometimes I heard a crackling sound and/or felt a little pressure as the Sculptra was injected. Once my doctor was finished, I was massaged for five minutes and instructed to do the same five times a day for five days. My face seemed fuller in the areas she’d worked on, and there were a couple of tiny bruise marks. I massaged a couple more times and went to bed.
Days after: The fullness and the bruise marks went away. Sometimes it hurt to massage the treated areas, but it’s really key to the treatment’s success. The soreness went away too, and after about a week it didn’t look like I’d had anything done.
Follow-up: I thought I’d noticed a slight difference in fullness in the six weeks between the first visit and the follow-up. My baseline and follow-up pictures showed that there was more than just a slight difference; the Sculptra had started to encourage collagen production. I’ve had one more treatment since, and that’s when I started to notice an improvement in fullness.
Verdict: I’d do it again, as long as my doctor did it (more on that below). My face is pleasantly fuller, which is what I was after. I don’t look overstuffed, unnatural or “done.” My husband has complimented me a number of times, but he has no idea that I’ve had anything done. I look like a healthier version of myself, and my face doesn’t reflect the stresses of my life as before. Sculptra doesn’t provide instant gratification, but it’s great for subtle, natural-looking facial enhancement.