Hyaluronic Acid Injections

Injectable Hyaluronic Acid: an essential anti-aging active ingredient! What is Hyaluronic Acid?

Its origins, its benefits, its risks.

Origin of injectable Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is the most powerful moisturizing molecule available today. Naturally present in our body, it ensures the skin's firmness and hydration. Unfortunately, its production decreases by about 6% every 10 years, leading to skin sagging and those famous wrinkles!

It was in 1934 that hyaluronic acid was discovered in the vitreous humor of a cow's eye!

Since 1996, this molecule has been developed in the field of aesthetic filling. It has exceptional viscoelastic and hydrophilic properties, making it the natural successor to injectable collagen.

Due to its lack of tissue specificity, hyaluronic acid is biocompatible, so tolerance tests before injections are not necessary. It is fully biodegradable, results are immediate, and side effects are minimal and exceptional.

Qualities of injectable Hyaluronic Acid

• Hydration, revitalization (aesthetic mesotherapy)
• Wrinkle correction
• Volume restoration
• Correction of certain facial irregularities

The basic principle is to inject the product into the skin, more or less deeply. There are a large number of hyaluronic acids, all benefiting from CE marking. These products differ in their viscosity (which will determine their volumizing character).

Do not confuse Hyaluronic Acid with Botulinum toxin (Botox): Toxin treats the cause of aging and hyaluronic acid treats its consequences. Their effectiveness can therefore be complementary.

Risks and dangers during Hyaluronic Acid injections

There are relatively few, Hyaluronic Acid is a molecule that presents almost no risk of allergy since our body naturally contains it, which is what makes it so successful.

There may be a bacterial risk during the injection if the practitioner does not comply with the hygiene conditions imposed by the Council of the Order of Aesthetic Medicine. Therefore, be careful to choose your doctor or aesthetic surgeon carefully. As a reminder, only a doctor who has undergone specific training is allowed to inject hyaluronic acid. This procedure must be performed in a medical office. Be careful with all procedures performed outside of offices/clinics/hospitals.

A second risk would be an injection into a wrong area of the face, for example near a blood vessel. Again, only qualified doctors who know the morphology of the face, with its exact vascularization, are able to perform hyaluronic acid injections with a needle.

The only contraindications to hyaluronic acid injection are:

• A previous reaction to a hyaluronic acid injection
• If the area to be treated has already been injected with a non-absorbable product
• Patients under immunosuppressants, undergoing chemotherapy, with severe or heavily treated autoimmune pathologies,
• Pregnancy, breastfeeding

Article taken from our French Filler Blog, to discover all articles about aesthetic medicine: click here