Sculptra, Juvelook Volume and Radiesse Injections

These products answer a slow kind of change. With age, the face loses collagen and fat at the same time, so cheeks flatten, temples hollow and the skin over them thins. A hyaluronic acid filler replaces some of that volume with gel the day it is injected. A collagen stimulator instead places particles that the body reacts to, and the new collagen fills in gradually over the following weeks. The trade-off is patience: what you see on the treatment day is not the final shape.

For visitors to Seoul, the session plan matters as much as the product. Sculptra and Juvelook Volume are planned as a course of two to three sessions spaced four to six weeks apart, which means either more than one trip or a longer stay. Radiesse is planned as one session, with the result reviewed after three to six months, so it fits a single visit more easily.

All three products use the same idea. Microscopic particles are suspended in a carrier, and after injection the carrier is absorbed within days. The particles stay behind long enough to trigger a mild, controlled tissue response in which fibroblasts, the collagen-making cells of the skin, lay down new collagen fibers around them. That is why the clinic's aftercare guidance describes collagen building up slowly over four to six weeks after each session, and why the early swelling from the carrier's water content settles within two to three days.

The particles differ. Sculptra is poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), a biodegradable polymer also used in absorbable stitches. Juvelook Volume is poly-D,L-lactic acid (PDLLA), a related polymer from the same polylactic acid family. In a randomized, evaluator-blinded trial across several centers, injectable PDLLA was not inferior to hyaluronic acid filler for nasolabial folds (Ting, 2024). Radiesse is made of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) microspheres in a gel; the gel gives some volume on the day, and the microspheres then support collagen formation. Radiesse is a Merz Aesthetics product.

Radiesse can also be thinned with saline for skin quality instead of volume. An international consensus panel published guidance on diluted and hyperdiluted CaHA for skin tightening, while noting that this is an off-label use and that the ideal protocol still needs clinical confirmation (Goldie, 2018). The evidence across this group is uneven: a 2024 systematic review of PLLA in the face rated the overall quality of evidence as low, with several studies at high risk of bias (Signori, 2024).

Each product is priced by the unit it comes in. Sculptra is listed per 1 cc and as a full 10 cc vial; Juvelook Volume per 1 cc and as an 8 cc set; Radiesse per syringe. Every figure on the cards excludes VAT (10% VAT is added at payment), so the amount you pay at the desk is the card price plus that tax.

Because Sculptra and Juvelook Volume are planned as two to three sessions, the cost of a course is the per-session amount multiplied by the number of sessions you complete. The number of cc each area needs is not fixed in advance, so ask for a written, itemized quote that lists the product, the amount and whether numbing cream is included before you book flights. HILO WAVE (HIGHER Corporation), which the clinic also uses in its nasolabial fold package, is priced per 1 cc.

Contact the clinic right away if you notice skin that turns pale, gray or blotchy, pain that keeps increasing, or any change in vision after an injection, since these can signal a blocked blood vessel.

• Bruising, swelling and tenderness at the injection points in the first days.
• Small lumps under the skin (papules or nodules), which are a known reaction to particle-based products and are one reason the 5-5-5 massage is advised.
• Inflammatory lumps called granulomas, which can appear months later and need medical treatment.
• Blood vessel blockage by injected material, which can damage skin and, in rare cases, affect vision.
• Infection at an injection point.
• Uneven or less change than hoped for, since the collagen response differs between people.

Published follow-up gives some reassurance and some limits. In a three-year study of Radiesse in the nasolabial folds, no delayed nodules or granulomas were reported, and about 40% of patients were still rated as improved after 30 months, though the size of the improvement had fallen considerably from the early result (Bass, 2010). For PLLA in the face, reported adverse events were mostly mild to moderate, such as bruising, nodules and swelling, but the studies behind that finding were of low quality (Signori, 2024).