Introducing Sculptra Body! The Solution For Bingo Wings, A Smoother Decolletage & Firmer Bum

Want to banish your ‘bingo’ wings, perfect your hip dips or smooth your crepey decolletage? Now you can with a tweakment once reserved for your face. Alice went to Liverpool to meet with the clinical director of Aesthetically You, Michelle McLean to find out why her patients are so keen on Sculptra treatments for the body… 

Remind me, what is Sculptra?

Sculptra is a poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA)-based injectable, which works by stimulating your body’s own natural collagen production.

“We know, with the ageing process, that collagen and elastin start declining from our mid 20s by 1% a year, and by menopause that rises to 5% a year, which means we’re seeing elasticity issues, textural changes, and the skin isn’t as thick,” explains McLean.

Sculptra aims to counteract this process, boosting collagen production to help improve your skin texture, plumpness and structure over time, while providing more natural-looking and long-lasting anti-ageing results than traditional dermal fillers. In fact, the results can last up to two years!

It’s not a new injectable – in fact, Alice first had it over 20 years ago, and you can read her full Sculptra review here – but it has had a resurgence in interest lately. And, what is more novel is that it’s been approved for body use now, too, which is great news for anyone looking to improve skin quality from head-to-toe.

Why is Sculptra becoming so popular again?

1. Our renewed focus on natural-looking results 

“Patients are very interested in low-maintenance treatments as opposed to high-maintenance ways to look good,” explains McLean. “What that means is they really want to feel comfortable in their own skin, so they want to wear less makeup, and they’re really looking at going on a long-term skin journey with you. Whereas many years ago, patients wanted a quick fix and instant results, which would sometimes lead to overfilled or a fake look. I’ve always been about advocating for ‘less is more’, but it’s all about the quality of the skin now too; it’s about hydration, glow, vitality.”

Sculptra can help you achieve that, not least because it means less skin maintenance to think about in our busy lives. “After treatment, patients are often more confident in their skin,” reveals McLean. “They can wake up, apply some moisturiser and a tinted SPF and away they go. I’ve seen firsthand how they feel much more socially accepted professionally and in their group of friends.”

2. The before-and-after results speak for themselves 

“In my clinical practice, Sculptra is really, really popular, and I think that’s because we’ve got some really powerful before-and-afters,” reveals McLean. “We’ve got a lot of patients who have had Sculptra for their face, and they’re seen really significant results for their goals and objectives.”

 

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3. The speed of the results 

The one drawback of many biostimulating treatments is that often you do have to wait around a bit to see the best results. But, “patients who choose Sculptra see results relatively quickly,” says McLean. “After four weeks, they’ll come in and say, ‘I’m so impressed, my skin is glowing, it’s really, really vibrant, and people are asking me, ‘What have you done?’ They love the fact that it’s a very natural treatment, and we’re just stimulating your own body to produce a result too.”

How does Sculptra work for the body?

With McLean listing off all those benefits, you can see why people might be asking, ‘if it can do that for my face, could it not improve the skin on my neck, arms and bum too?’ The answer is now yes!

“Patients who have had facial treatments before are starting to realise that their body doesn’t match their face,” reveals McLean. “The face isn’t showing those telltale signs of ageing, but the body is, so they’re dipping the toe in and exploring what we can do with Sculptra beyond the face. Sculptra is now licensed for use on various parts of the body, so we can treat the decolletage and the arms to really tackle crepey skin; we can treat the bum and back of the thighs, including to reduce the appearance of cellulite; and we can address adding volume to minimise hip dip appearance too.”

Why is Sculptra great for your arms?

According to McLean, the arms have been a particular area of demand for Sculptra Body because, traditionally, they can be a difficult area to treat.

“We’ve never had a real option for treating arms, unless it’s something quite radical like going under the knife, which a lot of patients don’t want to explore. They either don’t like the idea of it, or the cost, or scar,” explains McLean.

Sculptra offers a less invasive alternative, with injections at the front or the back of the arm, tailored to your specific needs. That can make a big impact on your bingo wings!

“We see a reduction in the skin circumference, the skin is lifted, tighter, more hydrated and smoother, without irregularities or that crepey texture,” says McLean. “We have seen beautiful results, and our patients love it. It really is probably one of my top body areas to treat at this moment in time; it’s the summer, so patients want to wear short-sleeved, sleeveless tops again. It really gives them such a boost.”

Case study: Sculptra Body for arms

Watch the video of Alice’s visit to McLean’s Aesthetically You clinic, and you’ll be able to see McLean’s follow-up consultation with a patient who had three vials of Scultra Body in each arm to combat skin laxity. Below is what she had to say about her brilliant results at just eight weeks (so there’s still improvement to come):

“I hated my arms before and I wouldn’t wear short-sleeved tops because of it. But now I can definitely see the change in them and I’m so so pleased. There’s less creepiness in my skin, and it looks healthier and younger as well which is what I wanted. You can see how much it has been changed and it’s made me feel more confident in myself as well, because I wasn’t previously confident at all.” Sculptra Body patient for arms

Can Sculptra Body help people who have used GLP1 weight loss medications? 

Yes! GLP1 medications can provide great fat loss results, but we probably all know by now that rapid weight loss can also cause skin laxity and poorer overall skin quality, too. That’s where Sculptra Body can step in… within reason.

“Providing the person’s weight is stable, Sculptra Body can be a really useful treatment for such patients,” says McLean. “However, you don’t want to treat someone whose weight is really fluctuating, and whose BMI is dramatically changing because we wouldn’t be able to achieve their goals.”

Our advice: wait until you have come towards the end of your weight loss journey and then book in for a consultation.

How often do you need to have Sculptra Body treatments? 

Consider it your body’s yearly maintenance! “I normally ask my patients to come in every 12 months to reassess the treated area,” explains McLean. “I’ll notice whether their weight is stable, ask if they have had any really stressful periods, which means they might not have been looking after themselves as well. Lifestyle choices are really important for deciding if a maintenance session is needed.”

Are there any considerations to bear in mind?

It’s important to note that Sculptra Body is likely to be a little more expensive than for the face, namely because “the body is a bigger surface area, so it will likely require multiple vials – ranging from two, four or six vials depending on the area you are going to treat,” explains McLean.

It also isn’t a ‘quick fix’ treatment. Instead, you should consider it a gradual journey (as with most biostimulating treatments) that subtly gets you closer to feeling your best. The good news is that your patience is rewarded by results that continue to get better and better: “Patients can start to notice benefits about four weeks after treatment. The benefits then tend to peak at around 12 weeks,” guides McLean.

What to find out more about the best tweakments for you and your concerns? Head to our tweakments page now.

This article was written with the support of Galderma