With people living longer and medical treatments improving, anti-aging medicine is slowly becoming a lucrative business. If numbers are anything to go by, the global Botox market is valued at USS3.8 billion in 2017 and it is expected to hit US$9.8 billion by the end of 2025.
Medical equipment companies are aware of the growing market of anti-aging medicine, urging them to develop new technology and treatments to potentially achieve newer, better results that benefit patients.
For many years, injectable dermal fillers are a common tool in the armamentarium of an aesthetic doctor for managing aging patients. Over the years, as evidenced by the wide range of dermal fillers available in the market, it has revolutionized the field of medical aesthetics.
In general, existing dermal fillers available in the market are segregated into hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers and collagen-stimulating ones. Some people tend to shun injectables because it can be risky and the outcome largely depends on the doctor’s skills and experience in administering the treatment.
In the past few months, Profhilo, an innovative anti-aging treatment, has taken Europe by storm, drastically changing the way doctors treat skin aging in middle-aged people. It is manufactured by IBSA Farmaceutici Italia.
Why is HA important for your skin?
HA is a polysaccharide naturally present in the human body who primary function is to maintain tissue hydration. HA’s moisture-binding characteristic is crucial in allowing the skin hold onto water and retain a large amount of moisture, but it loses this ability as we age. This explains why older people generally have thinner, more crepey skin as compared to their younger counterparts.
As the name suggests, HA dermal fillers are comprised of hyaluronic acid to fill up wrinkles and deep skin folds and replace volume loss on the face.
How is Profhilo different from other HA dermal fillers?
Profhilo is a game-changer in the world of medical aesthetics.
It is the only known HA dermal filler in the world that constitutes a buffered physiological solution of high molecular weight (H-HA) and low molecular weight (L-HA) HA. The H-HA and L-HA molecules interact with each other to provide unique rheological property that allows the doctor to administer the treatment easily without increasing the viscosity of the filler.
Profhilo aims to achieve the following beneficial outcome:
- Reverse and slow down the physiological process of skin aging by increasing skin hydration, strengthening the elastic fibers, and improving the collagen production in the dermis.
- Repair the dermal tissue and stimulate the repair in cases of scars resulting from superficial trauma such as acne and chicken pox scars.
Unlike other regular HA dermal fillers which are used to fill lines and treat wrinkles, Profhilo acts as a hydrator that is used as a skin remodeling treatment. It is designed for individuals with aging skin that lacks volume and elasticity.
How is Profhilo administered?
Profhilo is strategically placed at five key points on the face, starting from around the eyes to chin. It is also an excellent treatment for softening neck wrinkles and lines. Similar to administering the treatment on the face, the doctor marks and injects five points on either side of the neck.
What is unique about Profhilo?
Unlike other skin remodeling treatments such as skinboosters that require several injection points on the face, Profhilo only requires five entry points on the face. Profhilo is such a fluid product that it disperses quickly beneath the skin to the rest of the face or neck after the treatment, without leaving any need for massage or risk of leaving lumps or nodules.
Once in place, the H-HA and L-HA attract water to the surrounding areas and begin the regenerative process that results in plumper, firmer skin after a few weeks.
There are several other characteristics that make Profhilo unique from any other dermal filler injectables that are on the market today. Firstly, there is no BDDE content. It is thermally cross-linked generating stabilized hybrid co-operative complexes of H-HA and L-HA.
The L-HA component in Profhilo is released slowly over time from the HA hybrid complexes and therefore does not trigger inflammatory cytokines, making it very safe and biocompatible with human.
In addition, the unique stable co-operative hybrid complex increases the production of type I and type III collagen in fibroblast and type IV and VII collagen in keratinocytes. This unique composition in Profhilo increases the improved skin quality and skin hydration both in the dermis and epidermis.
Who is a suitable candidate for Profhilo?
Profhilo is best suited for people who display early signs of aging such as fine lines and mildly saggy skin, but with good volume on the face. It is an excellent choice for people who want increased overall hydration to the skin without adding volume to specific areas of the face.
This treatment delivers excellent result for people looking to improve skin texture. However, if you are over 60 with heavy, saggy skin, Profhilo works well by adopting a combination approach using threads, collagen fillers, or Ultherapy.
