RHA® FILLERS
Treat Dynamic Wrinkles With A Unique Filler In Newton And The Boston Area
The word “dynamic” refers to motion, which is why dynamic wrinkles are lines associated with muscle activity on the face. Injectable treatments to smooth these wrinkles have traditionally involved relaxing the muscles, but there is a new option with RHA® fillers. The Boston area’s Dr. Happe Medical Aesthetics is among the select practices able to offer the RHA® collection, the first-ever FDA-approved hyaluronic acid-based fillers designed for treating dynamic wrinkles. The manufacturer Revance chose to work only with practices that have a “reputation for providing exceptional patient treatment outcomes.”
Interested in learning more about RHA fillers? Boston-area women and men who want to address facial lines and wrinkles can request a free initial consultation at Dr. Happe Medical Aesthetics. Call 617.597.2600.
What Is The Rha® Collection?
RHA® stands for “resilient hyaluronic acid,” which describes the quality that sets this filler apart.
Hyaluronic acid is a moisture-loving sugar molecule that bonds with water and provides significant hydration in the skin. As skin ages, levels of hyaluronic acid drop. This leads to dryer, less-resilient skin that shows more wrinkles. Time also reduces levels of elastin and volume-providing collagen. The combined loss of these important molecules causes skin to appear aged and contours to change from soft, round, and youthful to angular, gaunt, and sunken.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterThe 47 year-old woman received a small amount of volume of RHA® 3 to regain volume and hydration in her lips at Dr. Happe Medical Aesthetics in Boston , Newton. This was performed by Dr. Happe and the photo was taken immediately after the treatment.
Dermal fillers are ideal for restoring volume, which can create a smoother surface and restore gentler contours. This makes them ideal for addressing certain signs of aging, but in areas where muscle activity is frequent due to constant facial expressions and other motion, fillers are not the ideal choice. Routine contractions can cause fillers in the area to metabolize more rapidly, and the consistency of the injectable gel can make the filler obvious in the skin in places where the face moves significantly.
The RHA® collection addresses those drawbacks with a formulation of hyaluronic acid made to better withstand muscle activity and move naturally so it is less noticeable where injected. The manufacturing process is designed to be gentler, so the natural hyaluronic acid molecule structure is better preserved. This means that the hyaluronic acid in the RHA® collection more closely resembles the skin’s own hyaluronic acid.
Which Conditions Can Rha® Fillers Treat?
There are three fillers available in the collection: RHA® 2, RHA® 3, and RHA® 4. While they are all hyaluronic acid gels, the manufacturing process is slightly different for each. The hyaluronic acid molecules are always “cross linked, creating a gel, but the amount of cross-linking determines how robust the material is.
RHA® 2 is the “lightest” of the fillers, ideal for adding volume to the delicate lips and for smoothing small wrinkles that extend from the mouth’s border, known as perioral lines.
RHA® 3 is a medium weight filler, able to reduce the appearance of mild to moderate nasolabial folds that look like parentheses framing the mouth. It can also be used for lines at the corners of the mouth—a particularly active part of the face.
RHA® 4 is the “heavyweight” filler of the three, reducing more severe nasolabial folds and similar lines on the lowermost part of the face.
How Can You Prepare For An Rha® Injection Session?
There is no special preparation routine to follow before getting RHA® fillers. Patients may want to ask about strategies for minimizing bleeding and bruising, which are common side effects of all injectables, but no particular advance strategies are required.
What Is The Newton Rha® Injection Experience?
Any area where the RHA® fillers will be injected will be thoroughly cleaned. The treatment itself does not take long, lasting only minutes. The specific timing will depend on which areas are being treated.
Dr. Holly Happe is a board-certified anesthesiologist and has a particular interest in pain minimization, so her team and she work diligently to make every patient’s process as comfortable as it can be. She makes use of cannulas—which are blunt-tipped injection tools considered by many to be more comfortable than needles—when possible. Cannulas are designed to not puncture vessels they encounter, so there is less bleeding and bruising.
Are There Any Side Effects From Rha® Fillers To Watch For?
While Dr. Happe and her team aim to minimize discomfort and side effects from injections, patients will likely see some degree of post-treatment bruising and swelling.
Areas injected with RHA® fillers—especially the lips—may appear swollen or even lumpy right after the session. This is an expected result, and the filler can take up to two weeks to “settle” into place and appear more natural.
The results from RHA® injections have been clinically shown to last for more than a year—up to 15 months, under ideal conditions. The body will gradually break down the filler material, which will cause lines to become more apparent, lips to lose volume again, and other changes. When this happens, the RHA® filler can be re-applied in order to provide long-term results.
Which Treatments Are Available Beyond The Rha® Collection?
The Juvederm® family is another dermal filler option for patients, with all of the options in the collection—including lip-enhancing Vollure®—using a hyaluronic acid base. The water-loving molecule is also at the heart of the Restylane® family, made up of several fillers also used for facial contouring and reducing lines, and Revanesse® Versa™, which has been shown to cause less initial swelling.
Other fillers, like Bellafill® and Sculptra®, take a different approach. Although they add volume where injected, they also stimulate natural collagen-producing cells in the skin to provide a longer-term benefit of volume and structure. Bellafill® is made up of a soft gel filled with microspheres that trigger the collagen production. Sculptra® works in a similar way, working as a “bio-modulator” to prompt the creation of collagen molecules. Another filler, Radiesse®, not only improves long-term collagen levels in the face, but it can also be used to restore a more youthful look to hands that have lost volume over time and have become skeletal in appearance.
For lines and wrinkles that appear as a direct result of frequent expressions and facial movements, Dr. Happe Medical Aesthetics offers muscle-relaxing neuromodulators like BOTOX® Cosmetic, Jeuveau™, Dysport®, and Xeomin®. These injectable cosmetic treatments all work the same way: By preventing specific muscle contractions, they also prevent the skin from pulling into increasingly well-worn furrows and folds. This is especially effective on frown lines on the forehead, as well as similar wrinkles elsewhere, but it does not add volume or enhance facial contours in the way that fillers and collagen-stimulating injectables do.
Many of these non-surgical treatments can work together to address different signs of aging that occur in different parts of the face. By targeting lines around the mouth, mid-face contours, forehead lines, and more, patients can enjoy a holistically rejuvenated look that appears natural.
Take to the team at Dr. Happe Medical Aesthetics team to discover which option may be best for you.
If you're interested in learning more about RHA® fillers, contact the Boston area's Dr. Happe Medical Aesthetics. Request a visit online, or call (617) 597-2600.
Environ Skin Care Products
Environ is a professional skin care line recognized around the world for its science-based formulas and results, focusing on the power of Vitamin A and other beneficial ingredients.
Dr. Holly Happe's patients can buy Environ Skin Care online or over the phone, with products shipped directly to their homes.
