Is Sculptra a Filler or a Collagen Builder?

Sculptra initially came out for HIV patients who had lost a lot of volume. That was the original indication. Then basically we started using it for people who needed volume but lacked fat. They just didn't have the fat. Now it's being used as a biostimulator. It's different. It's being used in a more subtle fashion, not really in bulk, but to stimulate collagen over the months and years to come.

You have to do it over sessions. You have to be careful. You have to be incredibly skilled with the injection, because one of the downsides is you stimulate too much collagen production and now you get granulomas and a scar tissue reaction. But used properly, it actually is nice. It's stimulating the skin from underneath. So you do lasers and chemical peels and microneedling from on top, and Retin-A and retinols from on top, and then the Sculptra can be from beneath. It is not something that's detrimental to a facelift if used properly. But if you try to bulk it up, think about people who get Sculptra for a BBL, a bigger butt.

If you're putting that much material in there, that's a whole different story. Now you're creating all this glue-ish stuff. So when should you start? Fall and winter is a great time to do this stuff. Honestly, the person who wants to have the best skin is going to do it year-round, because they're not going to cook their skin in the sun. However, let's be realistic. Even myself, I try to hide out from the sun; when I go to Miami, when I'm at the beach, I'm looking for the shade, I'm looking for the tree. But despite that, summertime, there are beaches and pools and things like that, and depending on your lifestyle, activity, kids, et cetera, you can't avoid it.

So in the fall and winter, this is the time to come in, see our team and build the skin back up. Don't go destroying it in the summer. When you come to The Naderi Center, all of our injections are done by physicians. If you're coming in for surgical maneuvers, fat injections, microfat, nanofat, it will be me. We look forward to seeing you either in our Chevy Chase office or Reston. But remember, most of the skincare treatments are in our Reston, Virginia office location. We are just minutes from Washington, DC. We look forward to seeing you.