Is it possible that collagen producing treatments just don’t work for some people?
A patient Staff asked 7 years ago I have had many types of fillers (Sculptra, Artafill, Radiesse and Juvederm). I have also had many procedures including Fotofirm, Profractional, Skin Tight, Micro peels, Threading, Ultherapy and fat transfers over the last 10 years. I have not noticed improvement from any of these. I’ve heard that the benefit of these fillers/procedures is that they work to stimulate collagen. Is it possible that this just doesn’t work for me? Could there be something wrong with my collagen production?
Dr. Elham Jafari Staff answered 7 years ago Is it possible that stimulating fillers do not work for some people?
Hi and thank you for your question! Stimulating fillers such as Sculptra and Bellafill work by stimulating body to make collagen around them and hence, their long-lasting results. While individual results always might vary, and there is always the possibility that a patient might not respond to an FDA-approved treatment as others, it is very rare that a patient doesn’t see any results at all. Whenever I am face with patients who think they did not see results from their filler treatments, I always go back to their baseline pictures (taken before doing any fillers) and perform an objective comparison with current pictures. As we see ourselves in mirrors several times a day, it is easy to overlook the changes and going back to the pictures is often the only sure way to determine improvements. Also, you need to remember that aging is an ongoing process and it constantly works at reducing volume in our face, so even if a treatment works, it is still working against a receding volume (think of it as bathtub with an open drain. You can open the faucet to add more water but the water keeps escaping from the drain anyway. What we do with fillers is slowing down and stopping the drop in volume in the long run. I highly recommend that you do another follow up with your provider and go over the pictures to see if you can spot the points of improvement and decide on further filler treatments. Don’t give up and don’t feel discouraged as I am sure the fillers you have received have already added some volume and without them, your face could have looked markedly different today. I hope it helps and good luck!
IMPORTANT: These answers are for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.
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