From The community of the real self Many people look back on their experiences and say, “I wish I knew…” some information before undergoing Sculptra treatment. Here are 12 tips from members of the RealSelf community that you might find helpful.
1) What is Sculptra used for?
My cheeks were sunken from the weight loss and I was very unhappy. Now I have a much fuller face and I love it. –lisa_uk
I put it around my eyes, temples, above my eyebrows, around my mouth and around the outer edges of my face…oh, and on my neck too! Totally smooth and natural looking. He has given me a raised look. –Caroline123
I am a 53 year old male and was diagnosed with HIV many years ago after a blood transfusion in 1983. I have continued to remain very healthy. With the many years of medication my face had sunken a lot in the cheek area, which is common with HIV infection. My goal was not to look younger but to look healthy and I couldn’t be happier with the results! –Florida9571
2) Provider selection
Sculptra is only as good as the skill level and experience of the person injecting you. If your injector only uses Sculptra occasionally, run! This is not something to play with. –Kith
Your injector should have an artistic approach to the face and inject deeply. This can be a disaster in the wrong hands. –Tuesday Molly
3) The Consultation
The injector allowed me to talk on the phone with one of his patients who had Sculptra. He allowed me to feel what Sculptra would feel like under his eyes. –shotgun
Research, research, research! If you don’t do something today, you can always do it tomorrow. However, if you do it in a hurry, you can’t always undo it. –HKKitty
4) Get Sculptra treatment
I had anesthetic cream applied to my face before the injections. I really didn’t feel any pain. It was more about the eerie feeling of having needles stuck in your face and the sound they make. More nerves than pain. Also, the actual injections contain a numbing agent so your face goes numb (like at the dentist – same feeling). –HKKitty
5) Pain, Swelling & Bruising
It hurts. I’ve had Botox, Ultra Light Therapy, Microdermabrasion and three root canals with crowns, and this one hurt the most! But next time, I’ll stick to a Lortab before treatment if my doctor does. Will see. If not, I’ll still take it. –Susan 7206
The shots to numb my face were the most painful, though tolerable. At first my right eye was swollen and I couldn’t open it. This turned out to be from all the fluid (both the numbing solution and the Sculptra) and lasted less than a minute. –shotgun
Bruises are like Russian roulette. One of my eyes was black and blue for a month the first time, but the other times I was fine. –Randall651
6) How to reduce recovery time
I have injected Sculptra five times now over five years. I’ve learned a thing or two about minimizing inks:
- Eliminate blood thinners: aspirin, red wine/alcohol, vitamin E, fish oil and ginkgo. If you’re not sure, Google your supplements for blood-thinning action.
- Use Sinecch (Oral Arnica) before the procedure and during recovery.
- Make Sculptra injections stand out from other procedures. THE? the first three times I had Sculptra injections I did them at the same time as Thermage, which heated up my dermis and made the bruising horrendous.
- Ice before the procedure to constrict blood vessels and reduce the risk of needle stick and subsequent bleeding.
- Alternative massage with vitamin K cream and Arnica cream. Ice between massages. I massage vigorously regardless of bruising and have responded well to each treatment.
- While still bruised, I use Jane Iredale Liquid Powder dabbed on the dark spots to camouflage.
7) Downtime
I had no downtime with my procedure. I scheduled all three treatments on Thursday afternoons and then worked from home on Friday. By Monday morning, the swelling was gone with very little bruising. –Florida9571
I had no bruising or swelling at the injection sites. I reapplied my makeup and went back to the office right after my visit. Nobody noticed anything. –shotgun
NEVER do any procedure before a big event. This is just common sense. –HKKitty
8) Side Effects & Risks
I hate the side effects of Sculptra. I had injections under both eyes, first in November 2007 and again in January 2008. After the first injection, I developed a pea-sized lump under my left eye. My dermatologist said it will go away. I had the second injection and now I have large lumps under my left eye and a medium lump under my right eye. By the way, I was extremely diligent in massaging the injection sites. I followed the aftercare instructions and still had horrible side effects!? –Sandchik
This is an implant. it is not like other fillers. The truth is that granulomas form and are often visible. While the benefits only last for two years, granulomas are forever unless you remove them. This is not easy to do without causing more damage. –cooie
Yes, Sculptra has risks and benefits just like ANY cosmetic procedure/implant you can get. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people in medicine and not necessarily because of a bad product or bad doctors. The important thing to remember is that a great provider will stand by you and continue to help you if you are one of the unlucky ones who has an unexpected outcome. –paulcinatl
9) How to avoid lumps
My Sculptra was mixed 48 hours before and diluted with 7cc of normal saline. This is very important to reduce the risk of collisions. –Tuesday Molly
The key, according to my research: experienced injector, massage, product dilution and facial placement. Sculptra should not be used on shallow muscle areas. The eyes are an area without any. –Susan 7206
10) How to get rid of lumps
My injector was very good. It really emphasized the massage. He said it is VERY VERY VERY important. I noticed a small lump on my left temple, but when I got home, I sat in front of the mirror and gave the areas a good massage, paying close attention to the lump. I massaged it until I felt it felt smooth. –margarita78
I have large lumps under my left eye and a medium lump under my right eye. After several V-ray laser treatments failed, I finally decided to ask a facial plastic surgeon to do a subcision procedure. I had two subcision procedures four weeks apart and there was a significant change in the size of the lump. –Sandchik
11) When will I see the results?
My injector said it would take at least six weeks to start noticing a difference. I actually had four treatments in total over a period of about 5-6 months. After the first treatment you wouldn’t know I had done anything but the initial swelling, which I was warned about. A year after completing my treatment I couldn’t be happier. I get compliments all the time on how young I look. –Jules32
It takes time to rebuild your face with Sculptra. However, slow and steady is much easier to control. Better to do several treatments to see how things go. –HKKitty
12) Was it worth it?
I have been having these injections on my face and around my eyes since 2001 and the results are nothing short of amazing. It’s not instant, or permanent, or cheap for that matter, but if your injector REALLY knows what they’re doing with it, you’ll fall in love. –Kith
My results lasted almost two years and it was time to go back. A good facelift is quite a bit better and lasts a lot longer and ends up being cheaper if you have enough hair to cover the scars…which I don’t. –Randall651
I have been doing Sculptra for the past five-six years. Results are subtle, so more than one treatment is required to see any results. My initial investment was $2,000 and maintenance is about $600 a year. Definitely worth the maintenance. –bionic woman
