Restylane Injections

Is Restylane Safe for Lip Augmentation?
By CandyLipz.com

Move over cow and human cadaver collagens, here comes Restylane for lip augmentation. Anyone? Restylane has been used for years in Europe, Canada, and Asia but it has just recently become a big fad sweeping across the United States for the past few years. The Food and Drug Administration approved Restylane for lip augmentation on October 11, 2011. Today is February 17, 2014, what do the reports say about Restylane? Is it safe? Did patients have great and lasting results for the money they spent?

Restylane injections are expensive! The look lasts between three to six months, depending on how quickly the body expels the gel. Restylane cost is about $500 to $600 a syringe. Most patients usually use two to three syringes- spending over $1,500.

So what is Restylane? Restylane is an injectable clear odorless gel composed of hyaluronic acid made synthetically by a bacteria known as Streptococcus equi.  You may be reminded of a bacteria that causes strep throat, pink eye, or flesh eating bacteria, right? This is different. There are hundreds of strains of Streptococcus bacteria out there. Some of which cause deadly diseases in humans and animals, while others are important in the natural manufacturing of fermented products such as yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, and even Restylane.

Patients love the fact that hyaluronic acid is a substance that occurs naturally in the body- but does it mean it is totally safe when it is injected in the face or lips? Hyaluronic acid is- after all, a sugar molecule that lubricates the joints, and gives cushion, flexibility and hydration to the skin and lips. Since, hyaluronic acid is inert, Restylane injections can be considered safe, but complications may develop, experts noted.

10 Things You Must Know About Restylane

1. The immediate side effects may include swelling, bruising, redness, pain, tenderness, itchy, and skin exfoliation for up to 7 days. About 15% of Restylane patients experienced adverse events that lasted more than 15 days such as bad bruising, swelling, bluish discoloration, and pain.
2. In some cases, Restylane injections      can cause flu-like symptoms. This can include chills, fatigue headaches      and muscle aches or muscle weakness.
3. Avoid taking aspirin or Vitamin E for a week before your procedure so you may reduce the bruising.
4. Patients have reported that this procedure “hurts like hell” because Restylane doesn’t have the anesthetic in it. Be prepared! Some said, “they don’t know if they’d go through this again.”
5. Restylane should not be used by people who had previous allergies to Streptococcus bacteria.
6. 4% of patients who received Restylane for lip augmentation experienced outbreaks of Herpes simplex virus.
7. 40% of patients who received Restylane for lip augmentation had adverse outcomes that affected their daily activity.
8. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or under 18 years, you should not use Restylane.
9. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is common in darker skinned individuals. Many physicians have cautioned against using Restylane for dark-skinned individuals.
10. Jessica Simpson admits the Restylane lip enhancement was a bad idea.

Adverse Cases For Restylane

Restylane is one of the most widely used fillers and it has a low rate of adverse reactions. However, if you decide to give Restylane a try, you should know about cases found in the medical literature.

CASE 1: Restylane caused the lower eyelids of a 58-year-old white woman to be puffy and darkened for 5 years after she had Restylane treatment. Experts stated that they have seen cases where hyaluronic acid fillers caused negative cosmetic outcomes which induced chronic problems to patients for years after the treatments.

CASE 2: A case of delayed hypersensitivity reaction was reported from a 56-year-old white woman. On her first treatment, she had Restylane injected on her face and lips. Three months later, she came back for another treatment. The patient was happy with the results. Two months later, she came back for another treatment. Approximately one week later, she experienced intermittent lumps and the symptoms further developed into nodule formations, pain, erythema, edema, and more swelling at the injection areas. The whole ordeal got progressively worse and worse over the course of a month. A punch biopsy was obtained from the patient. Experts said, this was a case resemblance to collagen allergic responses to cow skin. This reaction occurs in 0.06% of cases.

 CASE 3: Three female patients with an average age of 56 years had persistent tumor-like lip nodules from using Restylane injections. Experts said their bodies responded to Restylane as foreign substances even though hyaluronic acid is thought to be non-foreign to the human body. Hyaluronic acid is usually absorbed by the body within 4–6 months. However, a few cases of foreign body reaction have been shown to take 4-24 months to develop.  This reaction occurs in 0.06% of cases. Note: Hyaluronic acid granuloma induced nodules may be mistaken for basal cell carcinomas- a form of skin cancer.

In summary, Restylane is quite safe if you have the money to splurge. Otherwise, there are natural methods you can try. The newest trend in the world of lip enhancement is suction technology. It is 100% natural. You can learn all about this new technology at www.CandyLipz.com if Restylane is not your cup of tea.

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