Young skin is smooth and elastic and contains a large amount of hyaluronic acid that helps the skin look healthy. As we grow older, the ability of the skin to produce hyaluronic acid decreases resulting in the skin becoming drier, thinner and less able to restore itself. As we age, the amount of collagen and hyaluronic acid decreases and the elastic elastin fibers become looser and tend to gather in formations, creating wrinkles and folds. However, age is not the only cause of wrinkles; smoking, sun bathing and pollution damage the structure of your skin, irrespective of age.

Restylane is a gel that is injected into the skin in order to add volume to lips and lift up wrinkles and folds. Restylane consists of hyaluronic acid, which is a natural substance already present in your body. Once in the skin, Restylane works by creating volume. Some dermal fillers are animal-derived, however the hyaluronic acid in Restylane is non-animal and treatment does not require an allergy test.

During treatment, the crystal-clear Restylane gel is injected into the skin in tiny amounts with a very fine needle. The gel produces volume under the wrinkle, which is lifted up and smoothed out. When enhancing lips or facial contours, Restylane adds volume and shape to the treated area.

Treatment with Restylane is a very quick and easy process. As no pre-test is needed, the treatment can be carried out immediately. A Restylane treatment generally takes 30 minutes. The time differs somewhat, depending on the correction you wish to have performed.

Restylane fills in wrinkles, folds and creases in the face and lips and also augments lips. In addition to volume-filling, Restylane increases collagen production and may prevent the breakdown of existing collagen. With regular injections the effects are more pronounced and longer-lasting.

Restylane can be used for smoothing out folds and wrinkles, lip enhancements and shaping facial contours. The most common areas are the glabellar lines (between the eyebrows), the nasolabial folds (from the root of the nose to the angle of the mouth) and the lips, although other sites can also be treated. Very superficial or very deep wrinkles may be difficult to correct. Please consult your physician for an assessment.

Most people find Restylane injections relatively painless. They may prick a little. If you prefer, a topical anesthetic can be applied to the area being treated prior to your procedure. When enhancing the lips, a local anesthetic injection is often given.

With Restylane results are immediately visible. Upon treatment you can expect slight redness, swelling, tenderness or an itching sensation in the treated area. This is a normal result of the injection. The discomfort is temporary and generally disappears in a few days. After a lip treatment, the lips may become swollen and look somewhat uneven. This can persist for a few days (up to a week). If the discomfort continues, please contact your physician.

During the first 48 hours after your treatment, do not massage or rub the treated area. If you have had a lip enhancement, avoid puckering your lips for the first two days after the treatment. Until the initial swelling and redness have resolved, do not expose the treated area to intense heat (e.g. in a solarium or by sunbathing) or extreme cold.

No However, Restylane dissolves naturally with time. If you feel uncertain about the desired result, you can choose to have the treatment done in steps on different occasions for a gradual result.

No. However, Restylane is often used in conjunction with surgery to fill out wrinkles that cannot be removed by surgery.

The rate of reactions to Restylane is very low. However, after the treatment some common injection-related reactions may occur, such as swelling, redness, pain, itching, discoloration and tenderness at the injection site. These typically resolve spontaneously within a few days after injection into the skin and within a week after the injection into the lips. Other types of reactions are very rare, but about 1 in 2000 treated patients have experienced localized reactions thought to be of a hypersensitive nature. These have usually consisted of swelling at the injection site, sometimes affecting the surrounding tissues. Redness, tenderness and rarely acne-like formations have also been reported. These reactions have either started a few days after the injection or after a delay of two to four weeks, and have generally been described as mild to moderate and self-limiting with an average duration of two weeks. This text does not contain all the information known about these products. For more information please consult your practitioner.

If you have recently had some other kind of facial treatment, you are recommended to wait until the treated area is totally healed and the skin has normalized (usually four to six weeks) before you undergo a Restylane treatment.

The length of time the effect of a Restylane treatment lasts is very individual and depends on many factors, such as the structure of your skin, lifestyle, age, the degree of perfection demanded and the injection technique of the practitioner. Experience indicates that touch-up and follow-up Restylane treatments will add to the duration. Most people choose to have a new treatment within a year after the treatment of wrinkles and folds and within 6 months after a lip enhancement.

You should not expose the treated area to intense heat (e.g. in a solarium or by sunbathing) or extreme cold for the first few days after the treatment in order to avoid the risk of inflammation as the area has been disturbed. However, once Restylane has integrated into the body, it will adjust to your normal body temperature.

The correction will gradually disappear until your skin looks like it did before Restylane treatment. Follow-up injections will help you maintain your correction.

Restylane consists of 20 mg/ml of stabilized hyaluronic acid and physiological sodium chloride solution with a pH of 7. All Restylane products are clear, transparent and viscous gels. The only difference between the products is the size of the gel particles. In contrast to other similar products, the hyaluronic acid in Restylane is not produced from animals. This means that there is no risk of disease being transmitted or allergic reactions being elicited if you are sensitive to common foods, such as beef, chicken and eggs.

Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance that is found throughout your body. It gives volume to the skin, lubricates the joints and gives the eyes their shape. The hylaluronic acid in Restylane is stabilized for long duration and is not of animal or human origin.

After many years of research, Dr Bengt Ågerup and the company Q-Med in Uppsala, Sweden, succeeded in developing a way of using a Non-Animal, Stabilized, Hyaluronic Acid to replace the loss of volume in the skin. The first application, Restylane, was launched in 1996. Before this, only collagen made from cowhide and hyaluronic acid made from rooster combs had been available.

No anti-inflammatory drugs (Ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil, Aleve, Vioxx, etc.), aspirin, high doses of Vitamin E, or Ginko Biloba one week prior to treatment. This will reduce the possible side effects of bruising and/or swelling in the treated area(s).

Consumption of alcoholic beverages prior to treatment can increase the chances of bruising and/or swelling.

You cannot be pregnant or breastfeeding to receive treatment.

If you have a history of oral herpes, you must pre-treat with an anti-viral three days before your scheduled visit.

Swelling, redness, and tenderness will occur after your treatment and usually resolves within 72 hours.
Cold compresses (a cloth dipped in cold water, wrung out, and applied to the injected area) may be used immediately after treatment to reduce swelling.

Avoid touching the treated area within 6 hours of treatment so you do not accidentally injure your skin. After that, the area can be gently washed with soap and water.

Until there is no redness or swelling, avoid exposure of the treated area to intense heat (sun lamp or sun bathing) or extreme cold weather.

If you have suffered previously from facial cold sores, there is a risk that the needle punctures could contribute to another occurrence. Ask your treatment provider about medications that may minimize a recurrence.

Avoid taking aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, St. John's wort, and high doses of Vitamin E supplements for one week after treatment. These agents may increase the risk of bruising and bleeding at the injection site.

Avoid aesthetic lasers, microdermabrasion, or IPL over areas with Restylane for a minimum of one week after treatment.

Follow up treatments should be scheduled usually every six months. Consistent repeated treatments will produce best resolution of wrinkles.