I began injecting butts in 2017. Initially, my aesthetician came to me and explained this would be the new aesthetic hot button, and I laughed at the thought. Who would actually desire a bigger rear end other than Kim Kardashian? Besides, at the time, hers was entirely too large and it appeared she was wearing a diaper. However, eager to learn a new technique, I signed up for a continuing medical education training by a plastic surgeon out of Houston, Texas to learn how to inject Sculptra into buttocks.
I had already been injecting Sculptra into faces for lipoatrophy since my dermatology residency in 2005 for HIV patients and later, mid-facial volume restoration for aesthetic patients. Thus, I was very comfortable with this product. Now, I would simply be working with it on the other end of the body.
Additionally, I had gained a familiarity with cannulas, a safer way to inject both on face and body. Cannulas are not needles, but rather blunt injectable devices which give the injector more maneuverability, and more control to safely avoid blood vessels and nerves. Usage of cannulas are much less painful for the patient because the only injections required are those needed to introduce the cannula, typically 2-3 per side, as opposed to several per side in the case of the direct needle injection technique. With the decreased numbers of injections comes significantly less bruising. Most of my patients have little if any bruising.
Remembering back to that first training with Dr. Cho from Houston, he was an excellent teacher for me and everyone that day. We began with didactics, which is a fancy word for classroom learning. Next was our hands-on portion. Everyone else went first using the direct needle stick technique, and Dr. Cho was charming, patient and funny with his dry humor that everyone enjoyed. I happened to be last, and I pulled out my cannulas. Suddenly, Dr. Cho was a like the proverbial kid in a candy store. His entire demeanor changed, and I had to almost fight to take over my own patient injections. He was incredibly excited about those cannulas!
As we took this new technique back to the Dermatology Office in Dallas, Texas, interest grew and my aesthetician turned out to be correct. And it was not just about girls “who liked big butts!” It was also about middle aged and older women, and even men, who were starting to see time and gravity taking over and how that affected their back side. Butt augmentation could be customized to positively influence their body shaping with zero time down or recovery. And it was incredibly safe, unlike a Brazilian butt lift.
Radiesse began to make a name for itself for butt augmentation around the time of the Covid pandemic. I began to transition to this product more and more for several reasons. From a cost standpoint, the two products were essentially equal so that leveled the playing field. However, Sculptra would take at least 1 month if not 3 months to see the results, while the Radiesse results were immediate. When patients were plunking down several thousand dollars, as they got up from the procedure table, they wanted to be able to look in the mirror and at the after photos and immediately say, “Wow, I love it! Thank you!!” They did not want to hear, “Trust me, you just need to massage the Sculptra five times per day for five minutes for the next five days, and you will start to see results in about a month and even more so in 90 days because your own collagen will build and grow.”
It’s the same with Radiesse, you know. They are both biostimulators and so there is more improvement at the 90-day mark. However, the immediacy of the results and seeing the increase in both volume and lifting of the buttocks is powerful and rewarding to patients. Plus, there is no massage required with the Radiesse product.
Finally, the differences in pain were something I did not truly realize until I had patients vacillate between the two products. Of course, I had always used anesthetic with the constitution of my Sculptra product, but the powdered lidocaine within the Radiesse product is far superior, and I use it for its convenience and time management of my staff. If a patient chooses to have the Radiesse butt augmentation procedure performed on the same day as the cosmetic consultation, the hyperdilution only takes minutes. And the pain level between the two products, even when using the cannula is night and day different. Radiesse is virtually pain-free.
Radiesse Advantages
- Immediate results
- Biostimulant nature means greater results at 90 days
- Lasts around 18 months
- Can be injected with a cannula (safe, minimal if any bruising)
- No massage needed
- Little to no pain
If you are considering a butt augmentation or lift, reach out to the Dermatology Office at 214-373-7546 for a cosmetic consultation. No ifs, ands or butts.
Before and after gallery of Sculptra for Butt Augmentation
Before and after gallery of Radiesse for Butt Augmentation
Written by Dallas Dermatologist, Ellen Turner, M.D.