love it! - Charleston, SC

It's been exactly 1 month since my Radiesse injection in the NLF and I'm still very pleased. The small bruise that I had went away very quickly (a matter of days) and it doesn't seem as if ANYONE I know has noticed that I had it done. If they've noticed, not a soul has said anything about it to me. For me that was the idea: I didn't want anyone to notice that I had anything done, but I feel that I now look my best.

I still have very subtle NLF, which makes me not look "done." I have added another pic of me from today - 1 month post procedure.

I went in for a consultation on Radiesse certain that I was only going in for a consultation and that I would leave to think about it. After my consultation and seeing before/afters and a real-live "after" in the office I decided to do it right there on the spot. I'm so glad I did! It looks fabulous!

I'm 33 years old and have pretty deep NLF, especially on the left side. I foresee my lines getting longer and deeper as I age and am looking at this as corrective and preventative. The doctor told me to expect about 6 months, but the manufacturer promises "up to 12 months." He said if it only lasts 3 or 4 (which it shouldn't because he definitely used enough) I could come back for a touch up.

This month Radiesse has a special going on of buy 1 syringe get the 2nd for free, so the procedure wasn't cost prohibitive ($450). The dr. started by injecting into my upper cheek area and then followed up by injecting directly into the NLF.

I had Dysport done at the same time (on my 11's and outer forehead, but that's not what this review is about). I mention this because you'll know that Botox/Dysport isn't a bad injection, but they are worse than the filler. I was shocked! My dr. mixed the Radiesse with lidocaine. The lidocaine made it difficult for me to close my right eye all the way when I blinked for about an hour, but then that cleared up. It also made it difficult for me to smile or move my face properly - again all cleared up in an hour after the lidocaine wore off.

Prior to the injection, they had me apply ice packs to my cheeks for about 30 minutes. After the procedure they gave me fresh ice packs to apply until they got melty (for about an hour). I was instructed to do ice packs again in the evening while watching TV, which I did for another 30 minutes.

Immediately after the procedure I had "bumps" on the apples of my cheeks. Those disappeared within a couple of hours. The bumps were swelling right where the filer was and I was worried that would be a lasting side effect and I have been relieved to find out that it went away quickly.

I'm very happy with my results and am posting before/afters. The after is from today - 1 day after the procedure. I am wearing makeup as I have a small bruise developing at the very bottom of my left NLF (it appears as if it's my right side in the pics because of the reverse camera). You can't tell as makeup has covered it up. I've also decided to wear the same outfit as my before pics just to make it be as easy as possible to compare. Unfortunately the lighting is different so it's not an exact comparison, but I hope this helps anyone who is looking into Radiesse for their NLF! :)