Skin boosters:
37 questions about quality, not volume

What is a skin booster?

An injectable placed into the dermis to act on hydration, elasticity and texture, the quality of the skin rather than its shape. Unlike a dermal filler it adds no volume and does not change facial contour.

How is a skin booster different from a filler?

A filler occupies space in specific locations to restore or create volume. A booster spreads through tissue and acts on the skin itself. Someone wanting better skin quality is not helped by added volume.

What is the difference between a skin booster and a moisturiser?

Depth. A moisturiser reduces water loss at the surface, through a barrier roughly 10 to 20 µm thick. A booster is injected through that barrier into the dermis. Neither substitutes for the other.

What are the main types of skin booster?

Hyaluronic acid boosters, which hydrate; polynucleotides, directed at repair; and Profhilo, a thermally stabilised hybrid hyaluronic acid that spreads and remodels. Collagen biostimulators are a separate class. None adds volume or lifts.

Is Profhilo a skin booster or a filler?

Not a filler. It is uncross-linked hybrid hyaluronic acid that spreads through tissue rather than holding shape, so it is grouped with skin boosters, though it behaves differently from conventional ones.

Which is better, Profhilo or Rejuran?

Neither, universally. Profhilo suits dehydrated, dull, mildly lax skin; Rejuran (polynucleotides) suits damaged, textured, sensitive or post-acne skin. The choice follows what your skin lacks, which assessment establishes.

What is the difference between PN and PDRN?

PN (polynucleotide) is longer DNA chains that form a viscous gel; PDRN is shorter fragments of the same family. Products built on each are not the same, so ask which you are being offered.

Can I have a polynucleotide booster if I have a fish allergy?

Generally not. People with a fish or salmon allergy are advised to avoid polynucleotide products, because the material is fish-derived. Raise any allergy with the doctor, who can discuss other classes of treatment.

Will I have bumps after a skin booster injection?

Small raised points at the injection sites are expected and settle on their own, more noticeably with polynucleotides than with hyaluronic acid. Redness and occasional bruising are also possible.

“A skin booster improves the skin it is placed in; it does not lift tissue that has descended.”

Dr Sin YongOn skin boosters and lifting

Is a water light injection the same as a skin booster?

水光针 is a popular term for hydrating micro-injections, usually of hyaluronic acid. It is one type of skin booster, but the term is used loosely, so ask which product and category is being used.

What are the Bio Aesthetic Points used for Profhilo?

A defined set of injection points per side where Profhilo is deposited rather than spread across the face. They were chosen for vascular safety, sitting away from major facial vessels, and for spread, because the uncrosslinked product diffuses through the subcutaneous layer from each point.

Does Profhilo work on the neck and hands?

Yes, these are among the areas where bio-remodelling is most logically indicated, because there is little volume to restore and a great deal of surface change. It does not lift: a loose neck with platysmal banding or submental fullness is a laxity and fat problem, not a skin-quality one.

What is the difference between Profhilo and Profhilo Structura?

Separate products from the same manufacturer, IBSA. Standard Profhilo is placed in the skin and directed at skin quality. Structura carries more hyaluronic acid and is placed by cannula into the superficial fat compartments of the lateral face, directed at fat-compartment change. Neither is a conventional crosslinked filler.

Will Profhilo fix a flat midface or receded chin?

No. Those are structural volume problems and need something that holds structure, such as a crosslinked filler, or a different approach. Profhilo adds no projection, so placed into that situation it will not produce the change you came for. It suits skin that has lost quality rather than volume.

What is the difference between Rejuran Healer, S and I?

Healer is the facial skin formulation. S is higher in viscosity and placed into and around scarred skin. I is lower in viscosity for the thin periorbital skin. HB combines polynucleotide with hyaluronic acid. All are directed at how skin behaves, not at how much of it there is.

Does Rejuran add volume or lift the face?

No. Rejuran signals the skin to repair; it does not fill, lift or remove pigment. It is directed at texture, fine lines, elasticity and post-acne skin quality. A hollow or deficient contour is a structural problem needing material engineered to stay where it is placed, which no polynucleotide does.

Is Plinest the same as Rejuran?

No. Both are polynucleotide boosters, but they are separate products from different manufacturers: Rejuran from PharmaResearch in Korea and Plinest from Mastelli in Italy. Comparisons rest on each product's own information and evidence, not on the shared label. Rejuran is the polynucleotide used at this practice.

Is a microdroplet hyaluronic acid booster like Skinvive a filler?

No. Products of that kind are hyaluronic acid skin boosters: softer, lightly stabilised hyaluronic acid delivered as many small intradermal micro-injections to hydrate and support the dermis. The class does not restore lost volume, correct a hollow, lift a jowl or treat pigment.

Is Sculptra a skin booster or a filler?

Not strictly. Sculptra is poly-L-lactic acid, a collagen biostimulator: a scaffold placed in the deeper dermis or subdermal plane that prompts your own collagen gradually. It suits diffuse structural loss, not surface dullness, and does not suit lips, tear troughs or fine lines.

Can Sculptra be dissolved if I do not like it?

No. Hyaluronidase breaks down hyaluronic acid only and has no action on poly-L-lactic acid. Misplaced or excessive product is managed with time, targeted treatment of nodules and sometimes procedural options, which is why dilution, plane and dose are planned conservatively and reviewed.

Can skin boosters be used under the eyes?

Polynucleotides and other boosters can act on thin, crepey under-eye skin. They do not correct a tear trough hollow, which is a volume deficit, and they do not reduce herniated fat. Which of these is present is established at assessment before any product is chosen.

Do skin boosters help acne scars or enlarged pores?

Only with one part of the problem. Better hydration and dermal support can make the surface look smoother, but a pore is a structure that no injection shrinks, and tethered scars need subcision and resurfacing matched to the scar type. Boosters sit beside those treatments rather than replacing them.

Who should not have a skin booster?

Anyone with active infection, a cold sore, an acne flare or eczema at the sites, and anyone pregnant or breastfeeding. Component allergy rules out that class: hyaluronic acid for HA boosters, fish for polynucleotides. Autoimmune disease, keloid tendency and blood thinners call for caution rather than refusal.

Why do skin boosters cause bruising and can it be reduced?

Fine needles pass through small dermal vessels, so occasional bruising is expected and settles. Blood thinners, aspirin, fish oil and some supplements make it more likely and should be declared beforehand. Avoiding heat, alcohol and strenuous exercise on the day, and a cool compress, limit swelling.

How often should skin boosters be repeated?

There is no single schedule. Most plans have an initial phase spaced to suit the product, since hyaluronic acid, Profhilo, polynucleotides and PDLLA each work differently, then a maintenance phase timed by how your skin holds the change. The plan is reviewed after each phase rather than fixed in advance.

Can I have a skin booster and laser on the same day?

They are often planned together, but in sequence rather than stacked. A booster addresses the dermal environment, laser addresses pigment and surface texture, and a recent laser or peel changes the timing of a booster. The order and spacing are set at assessment so each does its own job.

Can Profhilo and Rejuran be combined?

They can, sequenced rather than given in one sitting, because hydration and laxity and repair and texture are different axes. Combination should be a ranked decision from assessment, not a default: often one axis clearly dominates and deserves to be addressed first.

What is a needle-free skin booster?

The Deep Synergy Booster replaces the coupling gel in a focused ultrasound session with an ampoule, and the handpiece carries its contents inward, so nothing is injected and there is no needle track to bruise. It cannot place product at a chosen depth, so it is not a substitute for an injectable.

What should I avoid after a skin booster injection?

For the first day or so, leave the area alone: no massage, facials, heavy exercise, saunas or alcohol, and make-up only when told it is reasonable. Gentle cleansing, a plain moisturiser and sun protection are fine. Instructions differ slightly between products and are given on the day.

Is NCTF 135HA, the Chanel injection, a skin booster?

Yes. NCTF 135HA is hyaluronic acid combined with vitamins, amino acids, minerals, coenzymes and nucleic acids, and sits with the hydrating hyaluronic acid boosters. The nickname has no connection with the fashion house. It does not fill hollows, lift or treat pigment, and is not interchangeable with polynucleotides or PDLLA.

Are the bumps after Profhilo normal?

Yes. Profhilo is placed as small deposits at the Bio Aesthetic Points, so a raised bleb at each point straight afterwards is the expected appearance, and the blebs flatten as the hyaluronic acid spreads. Increasing pain, spreading redness or persistent swelling is not normal.

What is the downtime after Rejuran?

A pattern of small papules with redness at each micro-injection point, settling as the polynucleotide is taken up, and possibly a bruise, more so around the eyes. Pain that increases, redness that spreads or swelling that persists needs a call.

Am I 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.

Who is Rejuran suitable for?

Skin whose complaint is how it repairs and behaves, meaning texture, fine lines, elasticity and post-acne skin quality, rather than how much volume it holds. Fish allergy is asked about first, because the polynucleotide is purified from salmon DNA.

How do I know which skin booster suits me?

It depends on what the skin is short of: hyaluronic acid for hydration, Profhilo for early crepiness, polynucleotides for repair and texture, PDLLA for gradual firmness. The class is decided at examination, not by brand.

What should I avoid after Profhilo?

Make-up, heat, alcohol and exercise on the first day, and massaging the injection points, which are left to spread on their own. Report pain that increases or skin that changes colour.

How should I look after my skin after Rejuran?

Leave the papules alone, cleanse gently, avoid make-up, heat, alcohol and vigorous exercise on the first day, and use sunscreen daily. Report pain that increases, spreading redness or swelling that does not subside.