Skinvive, a new filler for smoother skin

Meet skinvivethe new FDA approved dermal filler in the city. Low molecular weight hyaluronic acid gel has a thinner texture than traditional fillers and has been cleared by the FDA to smooth the skin of the cheeks in people 21 years and older. Dual Board Certified Plastic Surgeon ben taleiMD, describes it as a “moisturizing” filler, noting that it’s used “to hydrate the layers beneath the skin” and helps with such things as wrinkles, texture irregularities, and overall shine.

Although the treatment is new in the US, this class of diffuse filler has been approved in Europe since 2015, where it was popularized with the Profilho product. “The FDA is very meticulous in their process,” Board Certified Plastic Surgeon chang cat, MD, tells POPSUGAR. (He adds that most popular cosmetic procedures are approved first in Europe before making their way in the United States). “It’s been a missing tool that we needed, and now have access to, that Europe has had for years.”

Here, we dive into everything you need to know about the new filler, including how it works and what it can do for your skin.

How is Skinvive different from traditional filler?

The main difference between the two is that traditional filler is used to add volume, while Skinvive is meant to add hydration, says Dr. Chang. “Skinvive has a low G prime, so it hydrates skin to improve texture but doesn’t plump.”

Regarding the formulation, the main differences between the fillers come down to their molecular weight and viscosity. higher molecular weight hyaluronic acid the molecules attract more water and create a denser volume to mimic bone; conversely, hyaluronic acid molecules with a lower molecular weight have the same hydrophilic effect, only more subtly. Depending on where a filler falls on this spectrum, it impacts the shapes and areas in which they are used to create volume, light reflection, and contours on the face.

Low molecular weight fillers like Skinvive and Profilho are much thinner and more diffuse than their counterparts. While they can improve texture, they are not used to create volume.

Who can benefit from Skinvive?

Dr. Chang notes that this type of filler is an excellent option for patients who have wrinkles, thin skin, fine lines, or texture irregularities. Its FDA approval is for the cheek area, but it can also be helpful for wrinkling areas around the lip, neck, arms, thighs, or hands. Dr. Talei says this filler is injected into the hypodermis, an area of ​​the skin where you have hypodermic fat and a moisturizing layer called the SMAS, a thin layer of strong connective tissue in the face that loosens and droops as we age.

“Skinvive is good for people who start to darken their skin with age [due to] a loss of fat or dehydration under the skin,” says Dr. Talei. “When this happens, your skin reflects light poorly and no longer looks as bright or radiant.”

To remedy this, estheticians may recommend nano-fat injections (meaning fat that has been purified down to the cellular level), platelet rich plasma injections (PRP) or platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) under the skin, or even fat grafting. “Alternatively, you can [now] it adds thin strands of this filler under the skin, and it draws in water, enhances shine, and keeps skin plumper.”

A better option for “Ozempic Face”?

Loss of facial fat occurs naturally as part of the aging process. But there’s another interesting trend in Hollywood that results in rapid weight loss these days. The popularity of the use of GLP-1 agonists such as Ozempic and semaglutide for weight loss has been notorious for the resulting thinness of the face, which has blatantly has been coined the “face of Ozempic”.

As Dr. Talei points out, rapid weight loss also causes dehydration under the skin, which reduces SMAS and results in the same phenomenon described above. So, can Skinvive be used to treat Ozempic’s face?

“It’s probably one of the best options if someone has ‘Ozempic face,’ or to address other changes they’re experiencing due to rapid weight loss,” says Dr. Talei. He points out that it’s not a good idea to get fillers or fat grafts when you don’t know if your weight will stay stable or not. “But [a low molecular weight filler like Skinvive] It would help with thinness and light reflection.”

How to use Skinvive

Allergan, Skinvive’s parent company, claims the filler will last six months, which means you can plan to hit the office twice a year. “Every six months, you can check to see if you need a touch-up, but chances are you’ll end up getting something closer to once a year,” says Dr. Talei. he adds that can be dissolvedbut which as a class is actually less likely to cause irregularities or complications than traditional filling.

“I’m not worried about safety issues, but understanding how many treatments, how long, etc. will be a learning process,” says Dr. Chang, noting that its novelty makes it difficult to make general predictions about practice outcomes. However, experts like Dr. Chang and Dr. Talei are very excited about this newcomer to their aesthetic arsenals.