How Painful Are Radiesse Injections?

Pain with facial fillers depends on the skill of the injector.  Go to an experienced injector.  There are many ways to get you numb, and your surgeon should have the full array of options.

Any fillers injected may cause discomfort. When Radiesse was first used there was a delayed pain after a minute or so. For some time, most doctors have been mixing the Radiesse with a small amount of local anesthetic and it makes it a comfortable procedure for most patients. We offer a numbing medicine first, that is applied to the skin prior to the injections, and that helps minimize the needle prick sensation. Radiesse is not used in the lips  and avoided under thin skin areas such as the eyelids by many doctors.

In most cases Radiesse can be injected comfortably.  We can mix it with a little bit of lidocaine prior to injection, and that combined with topical numbing medication usually makes it a pretty comfortable procedure.  The key is to have someone inject it with experience and good judgement so that it is injected properly and chosen for the right areas of the face-  in some cases, a different product like Juvederm or Restylane may be a better option depending on the particular area of concern.

All fillers are associated with variable amounts of discomfort associated wtih injection.  There are several ways around this.  First you can use topical numbing medications or in some cases even a nerve block.  Secondly, the products are frequently being combined with numbing medicine in the injection making the process very tolerable.  The newest versions of Restylane and Juvederm do contain lidocaine in the them.  In the case of Radiesse, most doctors now are addiing their own lidocaine to it before injection.

We now mix lidocaine with Radiesse and several great fillers (Juvederm XC and Restylane L) have the lidocaine pre mixed. Because of that, and the use of good topical anesthetics (and sometimes nerve blocks), filler injections are amazingly painless.

Radiesse is firmer than most fillers, so it’s a frequent fix for deep grooves and to enhance bony contours. This product typically lasts anywhere between 12 and 24 months. Radiesse is now virtually painless because it is mixed with lidocaine which numbs the areas as it is injected. Many patients even report that Radiesse injections are less painful than Botox!

But buyer beware--injection techniques can vary. It’s the art and science of what doctors do, and it’s important to choose your doctor wisely. I suggest finding a physician with plenty of experience using this product.

There is NO valid reason why filler injections should be uncomfortable or painful. If your doctor took the few minutes and spent a few cents in local anesthesia cost to painlessly block the  sensation nerves to the face, you would NOT feel any pain .

I have a significant filler practice and built it by administering the fillers myself (no nurse or aesthetician injectors) and by making it a painless experience. No useless ice packs or half useless topical anesthetics. At the puny cost of a fee pennies, I perform a few painless facial nerve blocks and my patients feel no discomfort or pain. More importantly, with a hand-held mirror they see and participate in the filling placement process.

I am sure there must be a Plastic surgeon or Dermatologist in your area who can do this for you.

Radiesse as well as Juvederm and Restylane have recently received FDA approval to include lidocaine as part of the injectible material. You will still feel the initial "pinch" of the injection with the lidocaine but you will not feel the subsequent injections as the doctor continues to plump and mold the area of treatment.  A topical numbing creme can also be used to minimize the initial injection.

Radiesse is not indicated for your entire face and as my colleagues indicated there may be other fillers that work better in one area vs. another.  I typically use Radiesse for extremely deep nasolabial folds, hollowness in the cheek area, and to make the cheek appear more prominent.  As with any cosmetic procedure, it is not a "one size fits all".  Your injections should be tailored to your needs and your face.