Published 20 October 2026 · Reviewed by Dr Sin Yong
You are suitable for Profhilo when the skin itself has lost quality, meaning crepey texture, dullness, poor hydration and fine surface lines, while the underlying shape has not changed. It gives little to a face whose real problem is lost volume, descended tissue or a loose jawline. Dr Sin Yong examines the skin before injecting; the Profhilo page explains the product, this page answers whether you qualify.
Suitability for Profhilo depends on whether the problem is the skin or the shape beneath it. Crepey, dull, thin or dehydrated skin on the face, neck or hands is its territory; hollows, jowls, pigment and pores gain little. A cold sore, a flare or a recent laser or filler in the area means waiting, and Profhilo Structura is a separate product for early lateral hollowing.
Who is suitable for Profhilo, and what the assessment looks for
Profhilo is uncrosslinked hyaluronic acid in a hybrid complex of high and low molecular weight. It holds no shape; injected at defined points, it spreads through the tissue and acts on the skin itself. That is why suitability is a question about the skin rather than the face: a filler answers where volume is missing, Profhilo answers how the skin is behaving. The Profhilo page explains the product; this page answers whether your skin qualifies.
Illustrative image — not a patient.
It suits skin whose surface has changed while the shape beneath it has not. Crepey texture over the cheeks or neck, a dull surface that no longer reflects light, thin or poorly hydrated skin, and early fine lines that sit on the skin rather than in the underlying structure are the complaints it addresses. The neck and the backs of the hands, where there is little to volumise and a great deal of surface change, are often where the decision is clearest. Dr Sin Yong examines the skin under good light and under stretch, pinches it to judge thickness and recoil, and separates skin quality from volume loss and from descent before anything is injected. Where earlier filler is involved, he scans the area with ultrasound first.
Crepey, dull skin versus laxity: the distinction that decides it
The commonest reason people are disappointed by Profhilo is that they wanted a lift. Crepey skin and laxity look alike in a bathroom mirror and are different things. Crepiness is a surface change: the skin is thinner, drier and less elastic, and it crinkles when pressed, but it still sits where it should. Laxity is a structural change: the skin and the layer beneath have loosened and let tissue slide, so the jawline softens and a jowl forms whatever the surface looks like. Profhilo acts on the first and does nothing for the second.
What you notice
What it usually is
Does Profhilo suit it?
What is weighed instead
Fine crinkling over the cheek or neck when pressed
Flattening of the side of the face in front of the ear
Change in the superficial fat compartments
Not standard Profhilo
Profhilo Structura, assessed separately
Brown patches, redness, large pores
Pigment, vessels or texture of a different kind
No
Laser and resurfacing options
Many faces have both crepiness and laxity. Then the honest plan sequences them: lifting first, because a loosened jawline needs a mechanism that heats the deeper layers, and Profhilo afterwards for the skin over it. A face that is mainly laxity is not refused Profhilo on principle; it is told that Profhilo alone will not answer the complaint it came with.
“Profhilo answers how the skin is behaving, not where volume is missing. If the complaint is a jawline, I will say so before the syringe is opened.”
Dr Sin YongOn who is suitable for Profhilo
Who gets little from Profhilo, and who should wait
Profhilo gives little to anyone whose main concern is structural. A hollow cheek, a flat nasal bridge, a receded chin or a deep fold driven by deflation needs a product that holds shape, and no quantity of uncrosslinked hyaluronic acid will provide it. It gives little to a loose jawline or jowls, which need an energy-based lift, and nothing to pigment or pore size, which are chromophore and texture questions for laser and resurfacing. Because hyaluronic acid is broken down by the body's own hyaluronidase, it is also not a once-only intervention, and anyone expecting one is poorly served.
Illustrative image — not a patient.
Some people should wait rather than be refused. Treatment is deferred where there is a cold sore, an acne flare, infection or inflamed skin at the injection points, in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, where it has not been studied, and for a short period after a laser, peel, filler or thread in the same area, so that one treatment can be judged before another is added. Other conditions call for caution rather than a no: autoimmune disease, a history of severe allergic reactions, a tendency to keloid scarring, and a bleeding tendency or blood-thinning medicines, which make bruising more likely. A known allergy to hyaluronic acid or any component of the product rules it out. Where unknown or non-dissolvable filler has been placed before, what is already in the tissue is established with ultrasound first, because layering over it complicates any later correction.
Profhilo or Profhilo Structura: which product, and for whom
Profhilo and Profhilo Structura are separate products from the same manufacturer, IBSA, and they answer different complaints. Standard Profhilo carries 64 mg of hybrid hyaluronic acid in 2 mL and is placed in the skin at the Bio Aesthetic Points, directed at skin quality. Structura carries 90 mg in 2 mL and is placed deeper, into the superficial fat compartments of the lateral face in front of the ear and over the lateral cheek, where the manufacturer positions it for fat-compartment change rather than skin remodelling. It is still not a crosslinked filler and does not replace filler where defined volume is needed, and it is not a lifting treatment.
So the suitability question splits. Crepey, dull or thin skin, including the neck and hands, is a standard Profhilo question. Early flattening of the sides of the face, where the lateral fat compartments have lost support but a conventional filler would be too much, is a Structura question, assessed separately and set out in the Profhilo Structura guide. Marked skin excess in later-stage faces is neither; that is a surgical question, referred to a plastic surgery specialist. If you have been quoted for Profhilo without being told which product, that is worth clarifying before you proceed.
Dr Sin Yong places standard Profhilo with a modified BAP: the defined points stay as the safety framework, chosen for vascular safety and predictable spread, and he adds placement according to the shape of the individual face, including into scarred skin, which the standard protocol does not address. Which product a face gets, or whether both are planned, follows from the examination rather than from the name on the enquiry. How Profhilo sits beside Rejuran and Juvelook is set out in the Profhilo vs Rejuran comparison.
What decides the plan, if you are suitable
Fees are not advertised, and a figure before examination would not describe your skin. What shapes the plan is the area, whether the face alone or the neck and hands as well, which product the examination points to, how the initial and maintenance phases are staged, and whether Profhilo is combined with laser, RF microneedling or energy-based lifting. The how we quote page explains what the written plan contains.
If you are suitable, the points are marked, numbing cream is usually applied, and the product is placed with a fine needle at each point, from which it spreads. Small raised points, redness and occasional bruising follow and settle on their own; the skin booster aftercare page covers what is normal and when to call. If you are not suitable, the plan says so, and the skin booster page sets out the other classes that may fit the finding better.
Your next step
1. MessageWhatsApp +65 8023 7170 with what is bothering you. A reply comes from the clinic, not a bot.
2. AssessmentDr Sin Yong examines you himself on Orchard Road, with ultrasound where earlier filler is involved.
3. A plan in writingWhat he would do, what he would not, the fee factors, and the option of no treatment.
Every treatment is performed by Dr Sin Yong personally. Singapore Medical Council registered · invited to share his clinical expertise internationally for CLASSYS, DEKA, Fotona, Hironic and Ilooda.
Mention any recent laser, peel, filler or thread in the area, and any cold sore history. How consultations work.
You are suitable for the crepiness, not for the sag. Profhilo acts on the skin's surface quality and adds no lift, so a softening jawline or early jowl is assessed for an energy-based mechanism such as VF Lift – Vertical Facelift or focused ultrasound first. Many faces are planned in that order: lifting for the structure, then Profhilo for the skin over it, rather than Profhilo alone.
Anyone whose main concern is structural: a hollow cheek, flat bridge, receded chin or deep fold from deflation, which need a product that holds shape. Anyone wanting a lift, pigment cleared or pores shrunk is also poorly served, because it does none of those. People who expect a once-only treatment are disappointed too, since hyaluronic acid is broken down by the body over time.
It depends on the finding, not the name. Standard Profhilo is placed in the skin at the Bio Aesthetic Points for crepey, dull or thin skin, including the neck and hands. Structura carries more hyaluronic acid and is placed in the superficial fat of the lateral face for early flattening in front of the ear and over the lateral cheek. Dr Sin Yong examines whether the skin or the fat layer is the problem before choosing.
Profhilo is deferred in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, where it has not been studied. Autoimmune disease, a history of severe allergic reactions and a keloid tendency call for caution and an individual assessment rather than an automatic refusal. Blood thinners or a bleeding tendency make bruising more likely and are reviewed before the plan is agreed. A known allergy to hyaluronic acid rules it out.
Yes, and these are often the clearest cases, because there is little to volumise and a great deal of surface change. Crepey neck skin and the thin skin on the backs of the hands are skin-quality complaints that Profhilo is directed at. The neck is examined separately from the face, because vertical bands are muscular and marked loose skin is a different question, and the hands are checked for earlier filler first.
References
Hyaluronan Hybrid Cooperative Complexes as a Novel Frontier for Cellular Bioprocesses Re-Activation. PLoS ONE 11(10), 2016. source
Efficacy and Tolerability of Stable Hybrid Cooperative Complexes of High- and Low-Molecular Weight Hyaluronic Acid in Asian patients. Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 50(1), 2026. source
Skin Quality – A Holistic 360° View: Consensus Results. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 14, 2021. source
About this page: written and medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong, MBBS (NUS), MRCS (Edinburgh) · Last reviewed 20 October 2026 · Illustrative images only, not patients · Editorial policy
