Sculptra: The Collagen Revolution

Ready to discover the beauty industry's best-kept secret for natural-looking rejuvenation? Dive into our conversation with Mary Brooks, nurse practitioner and master trainer at Couture Med Spa, as she reveals why Sculptra has become her absolute go-to treatment for clients seeking subtle, long-lasting results.

"Think about dissolvable sutures crushed up into a powder and then made into a liquid and injected into the tissue so it builds collagen," Mary explains, painting a vivid picture of how Sculptra works fundamentally differently than traditional fillers. Unlike immediate-result hyaluronic acid fillers, Sculptra triggers your body's natural collagen production for gradual, organic enhancement that typically lasts three-plus years.

What makes Sculptra truly revolutionary is its versatility. Beyond the classic facial applications (temples, cheeks, and jawline), Mary reveals how this powerhouse treatment is transforming necks, décolletage, knees, and even buttocks – yes, the increasingly popular "liquid butt lift" that gives you natural curves without surgery. For active individuals experiencing facial volume loss from fitness regimens or those using weight-loss medications, Sculptra provides the perfect solution to maintain facial contours while avoiding the overdone "pillow face" look that scares so many away from aesthetic treatments.

The episode dives deep into the treatment protocol (typically following the "one vial per decade of life" approach), expected results timeline, and the crucial "5-5-5" aftercare method that ensures optimal outcomes. We also explore the fascinating phenomenon known as the "Sculptra Glow" – that enviable luminosity that develops as collagen regeneration enhances not just volume but overall skin quality.

Whether you're contemplating your first aesthetic treatment or looking to switch from traditional fillers to something more natural and long-lasting, this episode provides the expert guidance you need. Listen now to understand why so many clients walk away from Sculptra treatments with confidence, contours, and that coveted "did they or didn't they?" mystery that keeps everyone guessing.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:16

Welcome back to another episode of Couture Conversations, where we break down the science, the trends and the real talk behind your favorite aesthetic treatments. I'm Lindsay, your host, and today's episode is all about a treatment that's gaining major buzz, and for good reason. We are talking about Sculptra, a collagen-boosting injectable that's changing the way we think about facial rejuvenation. And who better to break it all down with me than the incredible Mary Brooks, our nurse practitioner and corporate trainer here at Couture Med Spa? Mary's not just an expert injector she's trained a dozen of providers on how to use Sculptra safely, effectively and artistically for long-lasting, natural-looking results. So if you've ever wondered what Sculptra is, how it works and why it's become a client favorite, this episode is for you. Let's dive in. Welcome, mary. Hi. Thanks for joining me today. Thank you for having me. So we are going to be talking about Sculptra. I've always heard Sculptra is one of your all-time favorites. Yes, it's my number one go-to.

How Sculptra Works as a Collagen Booster

Speaker 1 1:19

So let's start with the basics. What exactly is Sculptra and how is it different than traditional dermal fillers?

Speaker 2 1:27

So Sculptra is like a filler but it is a collagen booster. So Sculptra is a polylactic acid. I was described it by Diane many years ago. I love the way she described it to me. So she said think about dissolvable sutures, how when they close the incision, the sutures kind of create collagen to close that incision. So think about those dissolvable sutures crushed up into a powder and then made into a liquid and injected into the tissue so it builds collagen. That way it's different than other fillers. It's not a hyaluronic acid, it's not instant, so it does build that collagen. So you inject it right up, basically on bone under the tissue and it just creates, it boosts that collagen and creates volume. So you can't overdo it. There's no like pillow face like you kind of will see with some fillers when they go to an injector who kind of overdoes it. There's no way you can overdo it. Since it's your own collagen, it's going to be longer lasting, very natural, great for volume loss. Basically good for all ages as well.

Speaker 1 2:35

What type of concerns is Sculptra best for? Who is the ideal candidate for Sculptra?

Speaker 2 2:40

Like I said, basically anyone can do it. Typically, you're going to maybe want to start in your thirties, Um, it's recommended up until 65. We do have clients who are 65 to 78 years old still doing Sculptra. I'm still getting that collagen. It's really good for anyone thin losing weight. I know a lot of people are on weight loss peptides right now. They're losing the fat in their face, Um, so it's great for them to kind of keep that up so they don't start to get that volume loss. Anyone with hollow temples they want bigger cheeks. Their jawline is a little bit lacking. So you can treat all three areas, every single treatment.

Speaker 1 3:19

So when you say all three areas, what areas are typically treated with Sculptra?

Speaker 2 3:23

So we usually stick to temples, cheeks and jawline. Um, anywhere you can get deep on bone you're going to want to massage. There's a risk of nodules with this product just because it is. It's those particles that we're placing into the tissue. Um, so we do a lot of massaging for five days. Uh, you just don't want those particles to clump up. So, um, temple, cheeks, jawline, like a little liquid facelift.

Speaker 1 3:45

What are some. Are there any other areas that you can do a sculpture? So there are.

Speaker 2 3:50

we are now doing sculpture in the neck for that. Those fine lines, crepey skin, build some collagen in the neck. We also do the chest for same reasons. The decollete some of us sleep on our sides. We get those vertical lines so it'll treat those. We're doing it in the knees, so anybody who has the saggy knees or volume loss in the knees. Another great one is the buttocks. So anyone who's kind of scared to go under for surgery you don't like the idea of anesthesia or even just surgery in general you can do Sculptra in the buttocks to give you a nice little butt lift.

Speaker 1 4:25

So is that, if you see it because I've seen people post online that they've had like a liquid butt lift or something like that Is that typically kind of? I mean, there might be other things that can be done, but is Sculptra something that is?

Speaker 2 4:36

yeah, exactly, yeah. So the liquid butt lift. It also fills in those hip dips that a lot of us have to give you that nice little like peachy bottom. So it's great for that. And yes, it is like the liquid butt lift. You do need a lot of vials unless you're just treating hip dips. But if you're someone who doesn't want surgery you don't like the idea that you want more of a natural look then Sculptra is going to be the go-to.

Speaker 1 4:58

So what would be a realistic? Obviously I know every client is different depending on what they need, but to give someone an idea for like face, how, what does that treatment plan typically look like for them? So for, face.

Speaker 2 5:11

It's going to be one vial per decade of age, done four to six weeks apart. So if someone's 50 years old plan on doing five vials not all at once so you'll come in, you'll do your first vial, you'll wait four to six weeks, you'll do your second and so on, and then about eight weeks after your last vial is when you're really going to see the results. Neck and chest is a little different. Most people need about two treatments per year for that, and then the buttocks is going to be anywhere from two to three, usually six to eight vials per cheek.

Treatment Plans and Results Timeline

Speaker 1 5:41

Per cheek yeah.

Speaker 2 5:44

All right. How many pokes is that. Well, we use cannula, so you know it's not too bad and we numb the area. A lot of clients say it's pretty comfortable, they're sore after, but I haven't had anyone really complaining or wanting to stop the procedure.

Speaker 1 5:58

Yeah, I've actually had a couple of clients that have had sculpture done for the glutes and they've never had anything negative to say. They're like no, it really wasn't that bad?

Speaker 2 6:07

Yeah, they're usually like laying on their stomach checking their phone, like chatting it up with us, so they seem very comfortable. Yeah, that's good. Do you numb for sculpture? We do topical numbing for the face. We do injectable numbing for neck, chest and buttocks. Yeah, so wherever the cannula is going in, that spot is going to be numb, so they won't really feel anything but the pressure, kind of like pushing and pulling of the cannula. But they don't typically feel pain.

Speaker 1 6:32

So I think a lot of people love the idea of long-term results. How long does sculpture really last, and when do clients typically see full effect?

Speaker 2 6:42

So sculpture is longer lasting just because it's your own collagen. So however long it takes you to break down collagen typically they say two plus years that's because their study stopped at around two years and the clients were still happy with their collagen. From what I see, I would say three plus years because we do have clients coming back that maybe we haven't seen in three years and they still look pretty good, like you can definitely tell they still have volume from their first Sculptra. But the recommendation is still even though you're still looking good at three years, you'll still want to do your one vial every year to keep up with it.

Speaker 1 7:13

Okay, so there's a lot of buzz around the Sculptra Glow.

Speaker 2 7:19

Can you explain what that means? So, since we're creating collagen, although we're not directly just treating the skin, that collagen boost is still going to help the skin. So it's creating collagen underneath. You're still going to see that really nice. It's kind of treating those little fine lines. So clients love that their cheeks just look glowy. Especially since there's more volume there, the light's going to hit it differently. They're going to get those nice highlights and contours.

Speaker 1 7:43

What would you when you're looking at a client and you're assessing a client, cause I feel like a lot of people maybe come in not knowing what sculpture is or not coming in and being like Sculptra. But what would you say when you're assessing a client? What would you be looking for that you would pick Sculptra over?

Speaker 2 8:03

fillers. So a lot of times if clients are very thin, they work out a lot. They're runners, they're athletes, they're bodybuilders, whatever. Any client who's super active has a lot of volume lost in the face, maybe not just temples or just cheeks or a little bit in the jawline. They kind of need an all over treatment. You can do the facial balancing with filler or you can go the sculpture route.

The "Sculptra Glow" and Client Selection

Speaker 2 8:25

If you know of a client who's like I don't like filler, I don't like the way it looks. I see all the housewives. You know we get that all the time. Sculpture is my go-to to keep them from being scared of the overdone look as well. Um, they're going to look very natural. They're never going to look overdone. Um, and, like I said, all these people working out all these is I'm big, you know which I'm all about. I'm not knocking it down, but a lot of times we do lose the fat in our face and that's kind of where we're starting to notice and seeing a lot of these people losing weight, but a lot in their face as well, um, so that's going to just be my go-to, like it's going to fix all that.

Speaker 1 8:59

Yeah, I think I noticed a lot, um, just from working with you guys as providers and looking at pictures and seeing different things I used to never even really like, not that I didn't think of sculpture, but it was always like, oh, you could put filler that like their temples. Oh, you could put some filler there, you could do this. And now I'll look at like someone's, yeah, like their contours. You'll see, like the hollowness and like the cheeks or the temple area, and right away I'm like, oh, sculpture like sculpture is going to be the go-to for that.

Speaker 2 9:27

Yes, Especially if they're like a little older, their skin is thinner. Um, sometimes we'll put that cheek filler in and all you see is the filler Granted, it's going to go down over a couple of days, um, but those people are the ones that I'm kind of like. Oh, I don't know, if fillers are first go to, I'm going to kind of build that college and build that cheek up a little bit, get them some volume and then, after their sculpture, if they still need a little tweaking, then I'll kind of go the filler route. But it just depends on the client. If they're okay with the plan, if they're going to come back and see me. If they're not, like I need instant verification, I need to look in the mirror today and be happy then I'll go sculpture. But if they're instant gratification people which you'll know because they'll tell you then I'll kind of do the filler first and then talk about sculpture for the future, do you?

Speaker 1 10:09

think sculpture is something that's still, I think, a lot of people think of, like older clients who need sculpture. Do you think it's still great for, or do you think the benefit is for, younger clients as well?

Speaker 2 10:21

So for younger clients, just because these young, beautiful 30 something year olds are coming in and they're wanting filler and they don't really need it, sometimes Like they have, you know, great volume, they look amazing. This can also be a preventative treatment. So you're going to build a little bit of tissue. But these younger clients, they don't need that much. So they might get away with maybe doing one or two vials, kind of like the maintenance, since they're not really there yet with the volume loss. So they can do a maintenance treatment just to keep up with their collagen.

Speaker 1 10:53

Yeah, I think one thing that really stuck out to me when I was learning about sculpture and you can tell me if this doesn't make sense, but one thing that stuck out with me kind of made it a an easier visual for me to see, um, how you were talking about like the sutures and everything. It was explained to me as more of like. Um, like the sculpture is like your grass seeds and you're like planting grass seeds underneath there and then it grows, it builds over time. Um, that I think that gave me a really good visual for what sculpture is actually doing under there. Um, that I was like, oh, that kind of kind of makes sense. Like just plant those little grass seeds and then it just builds over time and grows and you have to maintain it right and they have to keep up with.

Speaker 2 11:32

So I like that. You're like creating a foundation, exactly yeah, yeah, and then you can of build on that. So it's like your grass and then your house is like the filler.

Speaker 1 11:40

I like that, but that was it, but I'm using that now. So, as a trainer, what is the most important thing? That you teach providers about working with Sculptra.

Safety, Massaging, and Aftercare Importance

Speaker 2 11:50

Anatomy is a huge one. So although there's not a whole lot of studies showing that there's occlusions with Sculptra it is basically a liquid with kind of like particles in it you still really need to know that anatomy, just because, if God forbid, somebody did occlude. There's no reversal. So you just really need to know your anatomy, know where you're at with your needle. No signs of an occlusion. That's really our main thing. That's why we kind of teach filler first and then once, after about a year, when they've gotten really good with the anatomy, placement, everything, then we'll go to Sculptra because it's technically a little bit more dangerous in a way, I guess you could say, just because there is no reversal agent. So they just need to kind of really know what they're doing in those areas.

Speaker 1 12:36

What is the? What's the 555 method? Let's go over.

Speaker 2 12:41

So 555 has to do with our massaging. So since it's particles and sometimes they can clump together, you want to really get that massage in good for the first five days. Integrating the product with the tissue, kind of spreading it all throughout Super important. I know a lot of clients don't do it. I have seen a client come from another med spa with a humongous nodule in his temple that he told me had been there for like six years, yeah, and it wasn't just where you can feel it, like you could literally see it.

Speaker 2 13:10

So I always tell clients about that story to kind of scare them Like do your massaging, it's not that difficult.

Speaker 1 13:23

You came in, you spent the money, continue on for the next five days, make yourself and us happy. I have a lot of clients who will come get their facial a couple of days after a sculpt dress. So, as long as they're not like you know, most of them aren't too tender or anything, but it's good because it helps with their massaging and a lot of them of them are like oh yeah, I needed to do my massage today, so this helps. So as estheticians, we'll kind of give them a little extra, extra boost on their massages.

Speaker 2 13:41

Yes, and that's like a great part of their treatment plan. Like I recommend that to clients too like now, go get your facial in the next two days, they'll get you really good, and our girls always do a really good massage before they send them home, just because that's like the instant, like right when it goes in. That's like the instant, like right when it goes in. That's when you really want to make sure it's kind of spread through the tissue. So we always give a really good one. You guys always give an amazing one.

Speaker 1 14:00

So are there any myths out there that you want to bust about Sculptra?

Speaker 2 14:06

Um, sculptra, just clients who maybe are a little uninformed, not very educated on it, um, they still have that fear of the overdone pillow face and I just want everyone to know that's never, ever going to happen to you with Sculptra.

Speaker 1 14:21

That's a good one to bust. Yeah, you're not wrong. A lot of people, especially, I think, when you tell them to all the different areas that it goes, they think, oh, no, in their mind they're thinking like filler in all these different areas at the same time and they're like, oh, that's going to be a lot. Yes, but it's not. Yeah, it helps build.

Speaker 2 14:39

Yeah, or they'll see us pull up the eight syringes because it comes with eight mLs is what we get out of it. And they kind of are like, oh my God, all that's going in my face, like, just trust me, it's going to look great.

Speaker 1 14:50

So I know we talked on. Can you go into a little bit more? What does Sculptra do for the chest and the neck?

Speaker 2 14:56

Since it's building collagen, it helps with those fine lines. It's giving those collagen boosts. That's kind of where we have volume loss, especially tech neck. We're always looking down chest Maybe we're sleeping on our side.

Speaker 1 15:11

It's just going to kind of fill that in just by building collagen in those areas. Have you had any favorite results or client success stories that you've had with Sculptra?

Final Advice and Episode Closing

Speaker 2 15:18

I have? Um. Obviously I can't use her name, but she came into us. She was 62 years old, um, never had done anything. Her cheeks were completely flat, um, temples super hollow, like she had no shape to her face. If she tried to put a contour on, you'd be like, what are we doing here? Um. So she came in, she did six treatments and after she had cheeks, she had contour, she had a jawline. She was so happy she literally looked 15 years younger, like and I'm not even just saying that and she was my best case. I showed her before and after to everybody. Um, yeah, I mean, she was the pain in the butt client, but she, she was very happy. So I was happy for her.

Speaker 1 16:00

And results. That was worth it, yes, of course. So if you had any last advice to giving someone who is kind of maybe on the fence of thinking about sculpture or trying to decide between sculpture or filler, what's some like good advice that you would give to someone?

Speaker 2 16:15

So I would say, if you're okay with the plan, if you are going to do your massaging, if you're going to still come back every four to six weeks and do all the recommended number of vials, you're going to be so happy, Like you're going to look natural. Your friends are going to ask you like, what have you done? And it's not like you're going to wake up the next day and they're going to be like whoa, she did something. It's going to be, you know, a couple months down the road where you just look more awake, you're glowing, you just look younger, like you got really good rest, more contour. If you're somebody who's just like I want to come in one time and see you and just leave and look different, like I have something going on in the next two weeks Okay, then I'm not going to recommend sculpture to you. Um, so if you're looking for instant filler, if you're okay with the plan, sculpture is great. It's long lasting.

Speaker 1 17:06

You're going to love it. Nice Well, mary. Thank you very much for sharing all of your sculpture wisdom with us. Um, it's always so inspiring to hear you talk about collagen, confidence and all things that come with couture to any of our listeners. If you've been curious about sculpture or you're looking for a treatment that supports long-term natural rejuvenation, this might be your new go-to. You can book a consultation with one of our experienced injectors and visit us at couturemedspacom to learn more. Don't forget to like and share this episode with anyone you think who might be a good candidate about sculpture or has been thinking about. You know different treatments to get done. Um, you can follow us on instagram at contormedsballcom. We also have um tiktok youtube all the things so yeah, come and see us and um.

Speaker 1 17:47

Thank you, mary, for sharing all of your expert advice with us. Thank you.