Restylane, Restylane Silk, Restylane Lyft, Restylane Refyne, and Restylane Defyne are all soft tissue fillers made up of hyaluronic acid gel. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring substance in the skin, and its native function is to absorb up to 10,000 times its weight in water molecules! This water molecule network gives the skin a plump appearance and helps cushion deeper structures. As we age, UV sunlight and environmental stressors degrade native HA and its surrounding water cushion shrinks. As a result, the skin deflates and loses its supple quality. By injecting Restylane HA gel into the skin, we can replace what has been lost, restoring a youthful appearance.
All of the Restylane products vary in how they are produced. Restylane Silk is made up of fine HA units and is the smoothest of the Restylane family. Because of these properties, it is typically used to plump deflated lips and fill finer lines, such as those around the mouth. Restylane is made up of larger HA particles and is often used in deeper lines in the lower face or in eye hollows. Restylane Lyft is the stiffest product in the Restylane family and is used to “lift” up sagging cheeks and jowls. Restylane Refyne and Restylane Defyne are the newest products available that use XpresHAn Technology creating very flexible gels that give extremely natural looking results. The longevity of Restylane in the skin depends on how much product is injected and which product is used. Restylane Silk tends to last 6-9 months, Restylane 9-12 months, Restylane Refyne and Defyne about 12 months, and Restylane Lyft up to 24 months. These products are slowly degraded over time by the same mechanisms that degrade naturally occurring HA in the skin.
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