RENUVA

How Renuva is Different than Juvéderm Facial Fillers

Juvéderm is still the world’s most popular and well known facial filler. It is prized by celebrities and everyday people alike for its wide variety of formulas – each tailored to different cosmetic needs. Certain Juvéderm formulations are also among the longest lasting facial fillers on the market – lasting up to two years.

However, new technologies in injectables are now promising to work better, last longer and give more natural results. In January 2021, Renuva® was added to the list of FDA approved injectable products that volumize the face and body. And, while Renuva gives the same plumping and wrinkle filling effect of a traditional facial fillers, it works quite differently – and can last significantly longer!

AMAE Med Spa in one of the first and only medical spas in the Birmingham and West Bloomfield area to offer this exciting new aesthetic and anti-aging treatment that can last up to an amazing ten years. In this article we explain the difference between Renuva and other traditional HA based facial fillers, such as Juvéderm.

How Juvéderm Works

As a person ages, their body produces less and less of both hyaluronic acid and collagen. Juvéderm is a facial filler that is made of a synthetic form hyaluronic acid (“HA”), a substance which occurs naturally in the human body. HA works two ways to add volume to the face (or hands).

First, hyaluronic acid binds with water molecules to plump the skin. HA can hold nearly 1,000 times its weight in water, so it forms a sort of “inflated cushion” that supports facial structures and adds facial volume that has been lost due to normal aging. The results from HA’s moisture retention are immediate.

Hyaluronic acid also works by stimulating the body to produce the protein collagen – which forms the structural scaffolding of the skin. Increased collagen also plumps skin – making it firmer, thicker and smoother – which fends off wrinkles. The rebuilding of collagen happens over time.

Juvéderm injections also contain a small amount of the numbing agent lidocaine to help minimize any discomfort during injection.

Juvéderm and other hyaluronic acid facial fillers deliver immediate results, as well as improvements that can last from six months to two years – depending on the formula used and the location of the injection.

How Renuva Works

Renuva is a groundbreaking, different kind of treatment that restores age-related volume loss in the face and hands and body. It’s manufacturer calls it “an off-the-shelf alternative to autologous fat transfer” – rather than a filler. In lay person terms, this means that Renuva is more similar to “fat transfer” than it is to water-retention HA fillers for filling lines and adding volume

In fact, Renuva® is actually made up of collagen, proteins, and growth factors that are derived from donated, living purified fat cells. Rather than plump the face by holding water (like HA), Renuva triggers the body’s own natural collagen and fat production. After Renuva is injected, the body’s own stem cells divide and grow into new, living fat cells that populate the new collagen matrix. In other words, the Renuva gets replaced over time with the patient’s own living fat cells.

So, rather than sitting on top of moving facial muscles (like HA fillers), Renuva creates new volume that is made up of  living cells within in the anatomical layer in which it belongs. Because of this it looks and moves just as naturally as the body’s own tissue. And the new living fat cells can live for at least 10 years – if not longer – far exceeding the longevity of hyaluronic fillers which dissipate in a matter of months.

Renuva works best in areas of the face that naturally have fat cells, including the cheeks, nasolabial folds (puppet lines), chin, jawline, and temples. It can also be used on the hands, as well as to fill in scars and dimpled areas, in the breasts or due to cellulite.

What is Better: Juvéderm or Renuva?

As with any aesthetic treatment, what is “better” will depend upon the patient’s unique skin issues and appearance goals.

Renuva® is typically best for patients who desire milder, more subtle plumping that will last for many years. In fact Renuva’s slogan is “antiaging – for a look that’s still you, only better!”

However, hyaluronic fillers like Juvéderm are generally a better option if “bigger” or more dramatic results are the patient’s priority. Juvéderm effects are also virtually instantaneous – since you don’t have to wait for the body to build collagen and elastin. However, results only last for a few months up to a couple years – depending on the formula and location of the injections.