Collagen Biostimulators (Radiesse®)
Radiesse collagen biostimulator at Nashville Skin Company in Nashville. Jawline contouring, facial folds, hands, and hyperdilute treatment of the neck and chest, injected by our physician.
What Radiesse is
Radiesse is a collagen biostimulator. It is composed of calcium hydroxylapatite microspheres suspended in a gel carrier, and it behaves differently from the hyaluronic acid fillers most people are familiar with.
On the day of treatment, the gel carrier provides immediate correction. What follows is the more significant part. The microspheres remain in the tissue and act as a scaffold, bringing your own fibroblasts into direct contact with a surface they respond to. Those fibroblasts begin producing new structural tissue: type III collagen first, which provides early support and is progressively replaced by type I collagen, alongside elastin and the proteoglycans responsible for hydration. As the gel carrier is absorbed, the tissue your body has built takes its place.
This happens through a non-inflammatory pathway. That distinction matters, because it separates a product that recruits a controlled regenerative response from one that provokes irritation and relies on the repair being favorable.
How it differs from hyaluronic acid filler
A hyaluronic acid filler occupies space and binds water. It corrects for as long as it remains in the tissue, it does not build anything, and it can be dissolved on request.
Radiesse builds. It leaves behind tissue you produced yourself, which is why the result outlasts the material. The trade is that it cannot be dissolved the way hyaluronic acid can. If a result ever needs adjusting, there are ways to approach that, and we will talk you through them in person rather than leave it as an unknown.
Who injects it
Every Radiesse treatment at Nashville Skin Company is injected by Dr. Silvernagel, the physician who owns the practice.
Nashville Skin Company has been treating clients in the Nashville area since 2013.
What Radiesse treats
Jawline contour
Radiesse is FDA-approved for improving moderate to severe loss of jawline contour. It is placed deep, along the bone, to restore the structural edge that softens with age. This is the correction most people are describing when they say they want a more defined profile.
Moderate to severe folds
FDA-approved for subdermal correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds, including the nasolabial folds and the lines that run from the corners of the mouth downward.
Hands
FDA-approved for correcting volume loss on the back of the hands, where tendons and vessels become prominent as the fat pad beneath the skin thins. Hands age visibly and are treated far less often than the face they sit beside.
Neck and chest, hyperdilute
Radiesse can also be diluted and distributed across a wider area, which changes what it does. Instead of restoring a contour, it spreads the collagen-stimulating effect broadly to improve the quality and firmness of the skin itself. This is how we treat the neck and the chest.
Radiesse is FDA-approved for the treatment of wrinkles in the décolleté in adults 22 and over. The chest shows age early, it is difficult to treat, and it is an area very few injectables are approved for.
Volume loss after significant weight change
Rapid weight loss removes facial fat along with everything else, which is why the face is often the first place people notice it. This applies to weight loss on GLP-1 therapy as much as to any other kind. Radiesse restores structure where that loss shows first.
Where we do not use it
Radiesse is not used in the lips. It is not the appropriate product for that tissue. For lip augmentation we use hyaluronic acid, which is covered on our dermal and lip fillers page.
The timeline
- Day of treatment: immediate correction from the gel carrier. You will see the result before you leave.
- The first weeks: the gel begins to resorb while fibroblast activity increases. A degree of early softening is expected at this stage and does not mean the treatment has failed.
- Three months onward: new collagen takes over the work the gel carrier was doing, and the result is now built from your own tissue.
Clinical studies have followed facial results out to three years and hand results to approximately one year. Individual results vary with the area treated, the volume placed, and your own tissue.
The appointment
Thirty minutes. The product is formulated with lidocaine and we numb the area beforehand. Most people describe pressure rather than pain.
Afterward
- Swelling and tenderness for a few days
- Bruising is possible, particularly on the hands and around the mouth
- No strenuous exercise for 24 hours
- Follow any massage instructions exactly as given. On some areas it materially affects the result
Who should wait
- Active infection or inflammation in the area to be treated
- A known allergy to any component of the product
- A bleeding disorder, or blood thinners we have not discussed beforehand
- A history of severe allergic reaction
Tell us your full medical history and everything you take at your consultation. With an injectable that is not reversible, that conversation is the treatment.
One practical note if we are treating your chest. Calcium hydroxylapatite is visible on imaging. A radiologist will recognize it for what it is, but mention that you have had it before a mammogram or any scan of the area.
Booking
Radiesse begins with a consultation, where we will look at the area, tell you what we would recommend, and go through the cost before anything is scheduled. Call or text (615) 997-3330.
Ask about our memberships. Members receive 10% to 20% off. Member pricing applies to single treatments and isn’t combined with promotional offers.
Often paired with
Turn back the clock with Radiesse. Book your appointment today!
