Kate Demolder reviews Profhilo, a 'beneath the skin' hyaluronic acid moisturising treatment.
I recently found out you can get hydration injected straight into your face.
It's a fad, obviously, I assumed. But, as an Irish woman in my late twenties with ham-toned Celtic skin and a commitment to non-flaking (as I type this, I have a serum, a face cream, a lip balm, an offensively large water bottle and two oils on my desk) I was intrigued by the possibility of syringing juiciness into me, like raspberry jam into a doughnut.
I, the round treat, wanted to suss out the possibility of internal jamminess, and therefore took myself to see Dr Ninnette De Klerk at South William Clinic & Spa.
I have no experience with injectables, for context. I know people who get them, both cosmetically and medicinally, and have asked a number of questions. I know the general gist of Botox: it freezes the muscle and therefore lessens the likeliness of you developing fine lines and deep wrinkles in that area.
Profhilo is entirely different. "Profhilo, developed by NAHYCO, contains one of the highest concentrations of hyaluronic acid and is injected into the skin to restore the levels of hydration naturally found in the skin," Dr Ninnette tells me.
"It’s often used side-by-side with Botox, as Botox is used from the eyes up (crows feet, forehead, T-zone) and Profhilo is used from the eyes down (chin, nose, jaw etc)."
It’s neither going to freeze anything nor be quite as thickly noticeable as filler, she tells me, it more improves skin texture and elasticity in a fairly non-invasive manner.
Launching in Italy in late 2015, Profhilo became an internationally used treatment in January 2016, but has been slow off the mark to be used worldwide.
"It’s only really last year that I got my hands on it," Dr Ninnette shared, "same with some of my former colleagues in South Africa." While it can be used in a number of areas, most of Dr Ninnette’s clients get it in the face and neck.
The procedure
Injected into five areas of the face, all below the eyes, the thick gel (the consistency is similar to honey) is administered in a tiny needle that barely infiltrates the skin’s surface. It doesn’t hurt in my experience, but you do feel the mixture being injected, more so than the needle itself.
For context, it hurts far less than getting blood done, and perhaps a little more than tweezing out an eyebrow hair.
The gel, given its consistency, is administered slowly. I assumed, having never gotten injectables before and being someone who bruises relatively easily, that I’d come out of there and immediately be able to play Join the Dots on my face. Not at all.
Immediately after
There is no pain, at all, immediately afterwards (the ten injections in total took us maybe 15 minutes) and no downtime at all. I could go straight back to work after lunch and no one would have been the wiser.
If I’m nitpicking, I can see a tiny bump where I was injected on the sides of my face, but nowhere else. That’s only because I know where it is, I’m not avoiding doing anything at all because of them. Dr Ninnette herself has seen the results and is dying to get them herself. "I just need to train someone in and we’re good to go!"
The next morning
I was expecting bruising the next morning, and while the places where I was injected feel a little bruise-adjacent when touched, there is nothing noticeable on my skin. There is also no distinctive difference just yet.
Three days after
No bruise-like pain in the least, I’m also still expecting the needle pricks to become noticeable at some stage but they’re just not. Even my mother, who held me down and glanced me over, can’t see it.
A week after
I’ve started to notice some plumpness in my skin in places I never had it (my cheekbones) and people are actually complimenting my skin. As soon as I say what it is, they’re all in.
How long does it last?
Profhilo lasts for between 3-6 months for most people, and is totally dependent on how quickly your body breaks hyaluronic acid down. "Most people get away with coming back every six months," Dr Ninnette says. "You get the odd person coming back sooner than that, though, because they get it as a combo when they get Botox too – so however often they get that, or before an event or something".
As for aftercare, I was told to avoid exercise, alcohol or active skincare (just stick to a gentle serum, moisturiser and SPF) for a day or two to avoid blood-thinning or over-sensitising your skin.
How does it compare with Botox?
The two are completely different and thus can’t really be compared. Profhilo isn’t administered to the forehead, for a start (the area Botox is most commonly used to treat). The treatment is designed to give the complexion an overall boost rather than to "remodel" the face.
It seems like a stepping stone to Botox, for me, with Dr Ninnette agreeing that many young people give this a go first as so many people are afraid of what Botox will do to their face. A lot of Dr Ninette’s clients use the two in sync, with Botox being administered to the forehead and eye area, and Profhilo administered below.
Where can I get it on my body?
I got it on my face, but many of Dr Ninnette’s clients request it on their neck with great results. Profhilo Body is actually about to be launched, too, to rejuvenate crêpey upper arms and abdomens. The injections of high- and low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid can sting, but there’s a post-treatment sheet mask and at-home cream to take off the edge.
Profhilo with Dr Ninnette will costs you €750 for two treatments, which was gifted for the purpose of review, with one or two treatments recommend initially, four weeks apart. For more information and how to book, check out South William Street Clinic And Spa’s website here.
