Biostimulator Injections | Charleston WV

Biostimulator Injections in Charleston WV & Regenerative Medicine

What are Biostimulator Injections?

“Bio” means “live, life, living.” “Stimulator” is defined by the dictionary as “Encourage something to be more active,” or, “grow.” Biostimulator injections in aesthetic medicine are injected into your face to encourage your own living cells to “be active, to grow.”

My patients want their faces to look younger. It makes basic sense that the best way to do that is to inject a substance into your own face to make your own tissue “be active, to grow.” It makes sense to inject something that makes your own tissue “act young again.”

Our faces contain fat in specific compartments. Some of our facial fat pads are deep. Some of our facial fat is superficial. It is a basic fact that our faces lose fat as they age. All other things being equal, a younger face contains more fat than the same older face. Fat cells are part of what gives a younger face a smoother look. As our fat compartments decrease with age, our skin becomes less buoyant. Another thing that happens is these compartments begin to sag. They pull down on a face. An example of this is a person who has had massive weight loss. Some of my patients come to see me because they have lost a lot of weight, which is very happy news! The bad news for some of them is that they feel like their faces look older.

Regenerating the fat in your face is an exciting forefront in regenerative aesthetic medicine. My biostimulator injection of choice is called “Renuva.” The injection is made of a honeycomb matrix that when injected stimulates growth. Then it replaces itself with your own fat. It literally goes into your face (or wherever it is placed), goes away, and replaces itself with your own fat. Renuva contains proteins, growth factors & collagen that signal your body to grow new fat. So the new fat is your own tissue. It is not a foreign substance. (Remember, the Renuva itself has gone away.)

Why I like Renuva over other biostimulator injections:

Other biostimulator injections stimulate collagen. This can be unpredictable. Renuva is more predictable. If you want to look younger & not fake, Renuva can help. If you want to still like yourself, this is a great way to do that. If your own fat is going back into the exact same places as where it used to be, this can help create a younger, fresher looking you. In other words, you can look a little bit more like you used to. That is what most of my patients want.

Collagen stimulating injections are a little less predictable in their results. They are also not dissolvable like hyaluronic acid. They can also (again, unpredictably) form nodules that are very hard to treat. Plus, faces move! It is important to keep this in mind. Fat moves. It has buoyancy. Collagen tissue is not as flexible as fat tissue. Added volume and flexibility are both good things in the face.

What about regular filler?

I use plenty of regular filler! Filler is different from Renuva. Some of the things they do overlap. As an aesthetic injector, in my dream world, I would use a combination of different treatments. I would combine filler with Renuva. I largely use filler for re-contouring a face. I use it to rebuild the “frame” of the face. My go-to face fillers are Juvederm Voluma Juvederm Volux, and other Juvederms. I love using them. Juvederm fillers are made up of hyaluronic acid. I use these in specific places with specific instruments for specific reasons. Ideally, I would probably use a combination of filler and Renuva in every face. I will talk more about this later.

Other bio stimulator treatments:
My other go to biostimulator treatment for a face is called Ellacor. Ellacor is a cutting edge aesthetic technology at the forefront of the aesthetics industry. Ellacor takes tiny “micro” cores out of your skin. For the most part, it spares the fat in your face. Studies show that Ellacor ramps up anti aging gene expression. Ellacor also upregulates collagen and elastin building gene expression. Ellacor is unique in this way. I have not seen anything in the industry that can “reset a face” like ellacor can. It is a more aggressive treatment. This requires some “social downtime.” It definitely biostimulates. Renuva requires little to no down time. If I had my wish with every patient, I would probably perform a combination of three treatments. First I would perform Ellacor to re-set the skin. Second I would inject regular filler to recontour the frame of the face. Third, I would inject Renuva to increase the facial fat.

Finally, another option is injections with your own growth factors. We spin these down from your own blood. We can use it in certain areas.

Why I use both Renuva and Juvederm fillers:

These Juvederm fillers act as workhorses in the face. They can not only restore lost volume, Juvederm fillers can re-create a scaffold on your face. As we age, sadly, we lose facial fat and bone too! This is part of the reason why a younger you had a little bit different face shape when you were younger. Juvederm can help to make up for some of the bone loss in the face. In my dream world, ideally, in every face, I would have the luxury of using a combination of filler to restore bone loss and face angles PLUS Renuva to replace lost fat and restore lost volume.

Upsides of Renuva:

Renuva is a way to create a very natural, younger looking you. Since it is your own tissue in your own face, it really creates a natural result. Again, it makes basic sense that if you want to look still like you & just younger, Renuva can help with that. Because what it is doing is replenishing some of the volume you have lost with age. It trends your face back a little bit.

Downsides of Renuva:

Renuva is more expensive than hyaluronic acid fillers. Of course, Renuva’s results last longer. Treating yourself to renuva is like placing equity in yourself for the future. This & most every treatment I perform is an investment in yourself.

Another downside is that Renuva’s results are not immediately obvious. Renuva takes time to reveal its results. It works like fertilizer on a lawn. When you throw fertilizer on a lawn, you do not expect immediate growth. Same with Renuva. A renuva treatment stimulate fat growth. This can take months. In the aesthetics industry, we call it “the renuva wave.” We tell patients to expect to ride the renuva wave. Don’t get discouraged. Because it will eventually produce results.

Regenerative medicine & biostimulator injections are an exciting forefront in the non-invasive & minimally invasive aesthetics industry. As I said, my go-to regenerative aesthetic medical treatments include my biostimulator injection of choice-Renuva! This is all part of other services we gladly offer such as Botox, Juvederm fillers, ellacor & Morpheus8. Please come in & have a facial consultation. Talk to me about what these treatments could offer you! Let’s talk about your face.

I love it when my patients place priority on their own self & self confidence & their well being. An attractive look is a healthy look!

From, Rebecca Thaxton, MD.Botox & Filler Injector,Thaxton Plastic Surgery, Charleston, WV.