12 Facts About Profhilo You Need To Know

Profhilo at which age is best?

With many skin treatments, I often find the best age to apply Profhilo® is between 35-60 years old. Now that doesn’t mean that anyone younger or older cannot have this treatment. I have seen many clients who are in their seventies having excellent results with this product. However, as we do get older sometimes results may not be as good or noticeable.

What Profhilo does? How does Profhilo work?

Profhilo® is the same as a dermal filler, however, it is not cross-linked therefore which means it disperses into the skin and does not cause volume changes or stay in one area.  Profhilo® in a nutshell is a very pure non-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) and one treatment contains 64mg of HA. Our bodies contain just 15mg of HA! As we age the HA in our skin naturally lessens. What Profhilo® does is deliver a high dose of HA to the facial area. This stimulates the skin cells, improves skin laxity, firmness of the skin, hydration and bioremodels the skin! Creams containing HA do not penetrate the skin and therefore will not have these benefits. Profhilo® can be used in the face, neck, decollatge, hands, arms, knees and abdomen area.

Can Profhilo be used under the eyes?

No, unfortunately not. Due to its hydrophilic (water drawing) capabilities if placed too close to the eye or under the eye the patient may experience oedema (swelling) in that area. However, Profhilo®  spreads under the skin approximately 4cm from each area of product placement. The traditional injection technique does encompass the under eye area. Therefore, a small mount of pure HA will reach the under the eye. This will help to stimulate collagen and elastin in the under eye area. Although I have not experienced significant under eye results. If this is your area of concern, I would advise a separate treatment for the under eye area.

Are Profhilo results instant?

You may experience a glow for the next few weeks post treatment. However, some do not. To really see the benefits of this treatment it is recommended that you wait until at least four weeks after the second treatment. This is not like a Botox® or dermal filler treatment where you can see results either instantly or after two weeks. This is more like using a fantastic evidence based face cream. You may not be able to see dramatic results as you look at your face every day. But, the evidence states you will age better and it’s an investment into the future. Some clients have described how they no longer feel like they have to apply make-up before leaving their house as they feel more confident about newly glowing and hydrated skin. They also describe how hydrated their skin is. This is a great treatment to combine with Botox® and dermal filler. Botox® and filler do not necessarily look after the skin and this really does look after the skin.  

Where is Profhilo injected?

A traditional Profhilo® treatment consists of ten injection points called the Bio Aesthetics Point (BAP) technique. These injection points are strategically placed so the 4cm spread of Profhilo® enables the product to reach from the top cheeks down to the jaw area. The points on the face range from the top cheek, the middle cheek, corner of the jaw, middle of the outside cheek and on the chin. Dependent on the areas of concern, these points can be modified to target particular areas of the face.

Does Profhilo hurt when being injected?

Lots of patients describe the sensation as a ‘bee sting’ and advise that it wasn’t that bad! I can say from personal experience that it is absolutely fine and it wasn’t as bad as people describe.

Profhilo: why 4 weeks apart?

The product itself only stays in the skin for four weeks at a time. Therefore, the best evidence based method of obtaining maximum bio remodeling of the skin is to have the first two treatments four weeks apart to enable the product to be in the skin for eight weeks. This then stimulates collagen and elastin until the next treatment is due. After the first two treatments, you can have a third treatment if needed. For maintenance after this, it is advised to have the product every three to six months. This is a great option if you have Botox three times a year to add into your treatment regime.

Will Profhilo lift my face?

The product itself may help sagging jowls area, cause skin tightening and improve hydration. However, on its own the ability to lift the face is limited. An excellent combination would be lifting the face using dermal filler and improving the skin with Profhilo®.

When has Profhilo gone wrong?

The safety profile of the product is very good. However, with all injectables bruising and bleeding can occur. So make sure you are not taking blood thinners or had alcohol the night before. If you are taking blood thinners make sure you speak to your medical professional at the consultation. Other side effects can include temporary swelling in the eye area, and bumps in the injection points which go after 24 hours.

Profhilo vs Anti Wrinkle Injections

You can’t really compare the two products as they are so different. Anti wrinkle injections relax muscles and works on active and static lines, helping to stop frown lines, forehead lines, crows feet, lip lines, under eye lines and much more. However, anti wrinkle injections don’t necessarily look after the skin. There is evidence that anti wrinkle injections do slightly stimulate collagen and elastin. Profhilo helps to stimulate collagen and elastin to give the skin a more youthful, hydrated and tightened look. These treatments are great in combination.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope this has helped to determine if the treatment is for you.

Best wishes

Alex Goodenough RN INP PgCert (CosMed)