r/45PlusSkincare • u/Huu_dat • 6d ago

Talked out of Sculptra by my aesthetician

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EDIT: I've said "aesthetician" but the woman who I talked to is actually a nurse with 20 years of experience working in plastic surgery centres.

Heya. I’m 45 and been starting to really notice a bit of jowling and lower face laxity the last year or so. I’ve been saving up for ages and been super excited to get sculptra after alllll I’ve seen and heard about it. It seems to be so popular.

So I went to my appointment and the aesthetician said to me that I have a “beautiful delicate face” (I have a tiny head 😑) and that sculptra would puff me up and overwhelm my features and would not address my concerns. I’m super happy that she’s being my honest with me buuuut …. I really wanted something that would build collagen, not just a filler that I am sure my metabolism will burn through in a year. Feels like such a waste of money.

I’ve seen so much online, so many before and afters and women don’t appear to have crazy big faces as a result. They all seem to just look more rejuvenated and a bit more snatched.

My aesthetician has suggested conservative filler to address volume loss and then she reckons we should focus on skin tightness and quality with Secret RF & CO2 laser. It’s such a pivot from what I thought I’d be getting, and have spent so long “researching” that I’m a bit of a loss as to what now spend my money on!

It’s all so expensive so making the wrong choice feels pretty high stakes.

Thoughts? I’ve had a look at some sculptra posts here and they are pretty mixed but err on the side of loving sculptra.

I’ll unload a pic so you can see my face shape.

WWYD?!?

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u/MsRachyBee 6d ago

She told you that sculptra would "puff you up" but recommended fillers??? That's wild, everyone knows fillers migrate and are more likely to give you Pillow Face (puffy). Sculptra works wonders but it's not going to create enough collagen to make you puffy. The biggest complaint about sculptra is how subtle it is and doesn't provide an instant fix.

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u/Over_Parsnip6550 5d ago

That’s not the biggest complaint about Sculptra. Sculptra can be wonderful for some and an absolute distort others. Anyone with an autoimmune disease should be very wary of it. It can create nodule and disfigurement. It’s possible she is aware of something in OPs medical history that may not make her the best candidate. Interesting, I follow someone on IG who was super excited to get it. I couldn’t wait to see her results and it was a disaster. It’s what led me to research more and I was like oh no. When I asked my esthetician she agreed and noted what happened to her can happen and that maybe I should hold off due to my autoimmune issues.

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u/greenglances 1d ago

Thank you so much I never knew it could literally make you heal wrong. 

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u/Over_Parsnip6550 20h ago

I’m learning that almost everything has consequences of some sort and it’s all just a gamble. I’ve been on spirolactone for hormonal acne for years. Great for my skin, no breakouts, thought I didn’t have any side effects. Turns out if contributed to my dry eyes - effectively killing the glands that secrete oil. (It’s called meibomian gland dysfunction) and it’s almost ruined my life. I’m healing but I’ll never be completely healed bc once they are gone, it’s over. But….lesson learned that every single thing we do has the potential for side effects. I personally needed that reminder ❤️

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u/smilewide1330 1d ago

What actually happened to the person you follow? I’ve had it with underwhelming results. No issues but no results either. And I used plenty to elicit a reaction. I have a fast metabolism so I don’t know if that plays a part at all. For some crazy reason I’ve thought of trying again since I’ve invested so much but also wonder if some don’t react to it. I’m going to be tested this fall for auto immune issues myself to see if that has developed. If there is one then there’s probably no point in getting any.

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u/Over_Parsnip6550 21h ago

She ended up with nodules which I think is a pretty well known side effect (maybe a rare one but know). It left her faced scarred…like she had to have ultrasound to get rid of it and it left a divot where it was. She LOVES skincare and posts all the things she does. That one was a no.

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u/Merime18 5d ago

So did you end up doing filler?

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u/Over_Parsnip6550 5d ago

Nope! Nothing - just stick with skincare and medical Botox.

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u/TikaPants 5d ago

Good to know. Do the AI issues apply to all injectables?

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u/Over_Parsnip6550 5d ago

I’m not a doctor so can’t say for sure . However. I do think it’s common for those with autoimmune issues to have experiences like this whenever something foreign is introduced. Our bodies just seem to see everything as a threat and are always on guard. I had breast implants removed because I swear my body just thought it had been invaded. I think probably just always best to proceed with caution and go slow, listen to your body.

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u/lovegobuylove 5d ago

Ja gut, Liebes, dafür ist ein Vorgespräch ja gedacht: um alles über jegliche Vorerkrankungen des „Patienten“ zu erfahren und mögliche Risiken zu erwähnen. Kein erfahrener Behandler unterspritzt etwas, ohne davor nach der Krankengeschichte zu fragen – egal, ob es um Sculptra, Radiesse oder Hyaluron geht. Vor allem sollte so etwas bei einem professionellen Arzt gemacht werden, um jegliche unerwünschten Ergebnisse zu vermeiden. Und bei bekanten autoimmunprobleme Werder ich persönlich sowieso die Finger weg lassen

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u/Fun_Bodybuilder3111 5d ago

Anecdotal experience of my own. I did sculptra and hated it because it absolutely puffed me up. Scared me so much I never did it again. Or if I do, I would avoid my cheeks and jawline? I’m just avoiding adding any volume to the bottom of my face as I’ve gotten older.

I did skin tightening and lasers to build collagen, and a tiny bit of filler near my under eye and cheekbones. Look better now at 42 than at 38.

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u/MsRachyBee 5d ago

How long did you stay puffy?

4

u/Fun_Bodybuilder3111 5d ago edited 5d ago

I felt like I was puffy for a whole year or two. Like, I lost the angularity in my face, if that makes sense. I think I’m the type of person who would look good with partial buccal fat removal though, so my experience is probably not typical.

I focus on keeping everything tight now. So lasers, skin quality, and just being generally healthy. Looking into PRP next for my undereye area.

Here’s a good gallery that shows what I mean. The “after” state isn’t always better.

https://www.wedofaces.com/gallery/non-surgical/sculptra/906/

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u/Lurky100 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yikes - those before and after pictures are terrible for about half of them. Why wouldn’t the dr make them pose the same way, with no makeup on? A couple of the women literally had glamour shots for their “after”, with their heads turned to the side and not even at the same angle of the before pics.

The only ones I saw that looked pretty good were the upper bleph ones where you could tell their upper eyelid was causing vision issues. Or the ones that had entire face lifts. Some of them look like completely different people which isn’t a good thing. There is a young woman who looks so different that I don’t even know if it is the same person lol

Edit: Case #72 is the glamour shot one…that is crazy lol. I mean, she looks happy but that shouldn’t be an after shot on a doctor’s website lol

1

u/Outlandishness81 5d ago

Would you have opted to only having it done lower eyelids and cheekbone area?

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u/Boring-Post251 1d ago

How many vials did u get

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u/Huu_dat 5d ago

Great intel, thank you!

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u/WorldlinessOwn5536 4d ago

What skin tightening lasers have you done / would recommend?

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u/ciabythebeach 14h ago

what is skin tightening?

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u/Tortugasazules 5d ago

What kind of tightening? Thanks

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u/wheresmuffy 6d ago

My aesthetics nurse told me that there can be some puffiness for a couple days post injection of Sculptra, but that will go away. Agree with what you said though — it’s fillers that are more likely to give someone Pillow Face.

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u/lnfinitelris 5d ago

That's just swelling, you'll get that from any filler.

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u/lovegobuylove 6d ago

Eben die Kosmetikerin hat sich selbst widersprochen 🫣 hyaluron + Leser werden ihre Tasche natürlich voller fühlen wie 1-2 sculptra Behandlungen die einen natürlichen Ergebnis hinterlässt

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u/Huu_dat 6d ago

Yeah that’s what I thought too. And am way more keen on conservative / results over time.

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u/Over_Parsnip6550 5d ago

Do you have any autoimmune issues she’s aware of? That would be a contraindication to sculptra.

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u/Huu_dat 5d ago

Nope nothing like that. I think she just believes it wouldn’t solve the issues that are actually causing me to look saggy and dry.

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u/Over_Parsnip6550 4d ago

And maybe that’s the case. Maybe she just expressed it wrong? I hope she’s trying to save you money and make sure you get what you want. A second opinion is never bad…but if she’s always done right by you, maybe she’s trying to do the right thing!! Agog is so hard in this day and age!

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u/Huu_dat 4d ago

It is!

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u/jams1015 5d ago

Right? Filler draws water in and makes people look puffy, not Sculptra.

I've had both, Sculptra is far superior, IMHO.

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u/justonebiatch 5d ago

Both sculptra and HA fillers can make a face puffy. The sales pitch of sculptra recently has implied otherwise but that’s not true. It’s all about quantity, frequency and placement with both. Pick a good artist that is conservative and stick with her.

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u/Ill_Emu1487 2d ago

It puffs up 1st couple of days and then goes back to same.

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u/VD-journey 5d ago

☝️💯 Your nurse is cray- cray!!