Alice Re-Tries Sculptra! Here Are Her Initial Thoughts

Sculptra is booming in popularity right now and lots of you have been asking Alice what she thinks (and whether you should invest) in the collagen-boosting treatment that’s been dubbed ‘one product, many possibilities’. Alice actually first tried the biostimulating injectable over 20 years ago – which just goes to show how long she’s been an expert in the field. Now, she’s putting the tweakment to the test again to give you her 2025 Sculptra review. 

Read on to discover how Alice is finding Sculptra this time around, as she heads to Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann’s Smileworks clinic in Liverpool. We’ll answer all your FAQs about the results (and downtime) you can expect too…

What is Sculptra?

‘Sculptra is an injectable but it is not a filler. Instead, it works very naturally to boost collagen, restoring volume and smoothness over time by making your skin thicker, plumper, and more radiant,’ explains Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann.

It works because its active ingredient Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) kickstarts your body’s natural collagen and elastin production by stimulating your fibroblasts, gradually improving skin texture, plumpness, and structure over time. That means it can be used to treat a wide range of skin ageing concerns, specifically mid-face volume loss, jawline definition and skin laxity. It can also help smooth jowls and lift the lower face.

Why is Alice trying it now?

‘Loads of you asked why I wasn’t trying Sculptra last year when its popularity rocketed, but I wasn’t in a rush; I had buckets of the stuff 20 years ago and know it works a treat for slow-growing collagen-boosting in the face,’ reveals Alice. ‘But of course, I was curious to see what it could do for my mid-face now that it’s rather older. To do that, I visited the excellent Dr MJ in Liverpool to see what Sculptra for mid-face volume loss could do for me – and the results are all about natural-looking rejuvenation.’

What are the benefits of Sculptra?

Sculptra is great for men and women in their 30s through to 60s+ looking to target signs of skin ageing because it is so versatile.

‘When we age, three things happen – what I call the three Ds of ageing,’ explains Dr MJ. ‘They are descent (sagging), degradation (decreased skin quality) and deflation (lost volume) ‘Sculptra can comprehensively address all those ‘three Ds’, by improving the thickness of the skin (through boosting collagen and elastin); by restoring volume gently; and by improving laxity in the skin (by tighting jowls and the jawline contour). It is truly one product with so many different possibilities – and I’ve seen the results on my own face too.’

‘Sculptra is truly one product with so many different possibilities for improving skin appearance – and I’ve seen the results on my own face too.’ Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann

Alice’s Sculptra review: initial thoughts

‘Dr MJ focused on treating my mid-face, jawline, and what she calls ‘the threatening jowl’ – a lovely phrase for the bit near the chin that starts to sag when you lower your head,’ reveals Alice. ‘Sculptra can restore this area beautifully despite the lower face being one of the hardest parts of our face to treat. Dr MJ also loves to use it just behind the hairline above the ears to stop the forward and downward descent that we see with ageing.’

In the video below you can see Alice immediately after the treatment. Sculptra takes up to three months to show full results, so the smoothing and tightening around the jawline that showed straight away was the result of having 10ml of the fluid treatment (two x 5-ml vials) spread around the face beneath the skin.

‘My aim is a more contoured profile, by redefining the jaw, reducing sagging, and improving skin firmness by boosting collagen,” Alice continues. “We’ve taken 3D pictures so we can show changes over time and while I’m early in the process – I’ve just had my second sessions – I’ll keep you posted on my Sculptra journey via Instagram Stories and share any improvements I notice in skin texture, too.”

How does Sculptra help you pass the ‘pinch/stretch test’?

You might have seen fans of Sculptra putting the tweakment through the pinch and stretch test, where, in before-and-after photographs, they showcase how much they can (and later can’t) stretch their skin, as a sign of improved skin laxity.

‘I call Sculptra a dermal thickening agent because it makes the dermis thicker through collagen stimulation,’ explains Dr MJ. ‘So after your Sculptra treatment, when you pinch the skin, it feels a lot bouncier, firmer, and you physically cannot pull it quite as far. It’s less of a lift and more of a firming and tightening of the skin quality, which is what really restores youthfulness.’

Is Sculptra painful?

Relatively not! ‘I could barely feel it,’ confirms Alice. ‘I had local anaesthetic around the injection points where Dr MJ used the cannula – and there were only three of those on each side.’

How do your results compare to fillers?

‘With conventional HA fillers, we get instant volumisation and instant gratification, but Sculptra works differently,’ explains Dr MJ. ‘It is not an instant result but it is a much more long-lasting one through collagen stimulation. The volume boost it gives is also more subtle.’

That means Sculptra works for Dr MJ’s increasing number of patients who want to try treatments but who don’t want a dramatic change in their appearance. ‘They are scared of ‘that look’ because bad work is work you can see. They want a nice, natural, understated result that makes them look ‘good’, and that is something Sculptra can provide,’ Dr MJ reveals.

Can Sculptra be combined with other treatments?

Yes! ‘Sculptra can be combined with a whole host of different treatments [making it even more versatile], including HA fillers for targeted improvements in volume to parts of the face,’ says Dr MJ. ‘It can also be combined with skin boosters to give a plumpness and a glow to the skin, and with energy devices like lasers to further increase collagen production.’

How quickly can you see results?

You do have to be a little patient. Sculptra works subtly so ‘while the science says the collagen boost starts within a week or so, as a patient, you won’t notice anything until about a month down the line,’ explains Dr MJ. Some people will also need more sessions (spaced out over the months) than others, and it depends a lot on your skin quality and age.

The first benefits you’ll see are an improvement in radiance and skin quality. Then slowly over weeks and months, your skin smoothness and volume will improve. Your overall result can last up to two years, making it a good choice for anyone looking for especially natural-looking, long-lasting results.

What is the aftercare like?

It’s all very simple but important! The main thing to remember is the 5-5-5 rule: massage for five minutes, five times a day, for five days to make sure the product is evenly spread throughout the skin, for optimal results.

There is also relatively little downtime. You might be a little puffy afterwards (Alice wasn’t) and you can bruise around the injection points, but you can still go about your normal day pretty easily and these side effects should not be long-lasting.

How safe is Sculptra?

‘Sculptra has actually just celebrated its 25th year on the market and it has a very long track record for safety, with hundreds of scientific studies behind it,’ reveals Dr MJ. ‘The product has also been updated to avoid previously reported nodule formulation – which was an issue about 10 years ago. Now it stands at a risk of 0.004%, and that low number is normally down to poor injection technique (proper placement is key) or sub-optimum aftercare.’

That means if you want to try Sculptra, you are not going to be one of the first guinea pigs by any stretch.

The final word

‘Sculptra is a nice treatment for treatment-naive patients because it addresses so many ageing concerns, while being comfortable and low risk,’ concludes Dr MJ. ‘It gives you the most bang for your buck out of any vial of treatment that I know in aesthetics. So, for me, as an injector it ticks all the boxes.’

‘For me, as an injector, Sculptra ticks all the boxes.’ Dr MJ Rowland-Warmann

Want to know if Sculptra is right for you? Visit our dedicated Sculptra review page to discover how it works, what results to expect, and to find a trusted practitioner near you.

We will post a follow-up review and video once Alice has her full results in a couple of months’ time. 

This post is written with the support of Galderma