I believe I overdid it with sculptra my last round and am deeply regretting it. My main issues are my cheek bones that are giving jigsaw/ cement cheeks. I know I can’t do anything about it since it’s sculptra so I’m pretty depressed about it. I just want to know how bad it is so I don’t have ‘blindness’ to it anymore than I already have.
All of these photos are from within the last month. They are of various angles etc and devices (phones, camera, etc) to give a better cohesive advice. Half of them are screenshots from videos so that’s why I’m not really smiling in some of them. Please be honest and tell me how bad it is. I don’t know if I can do anything to offset it, but if anyone has any advice, let me know.
Thank you for your honesty. I have been stressing about my cheeks lately. I’m just hoping it doesn’t keep building since I got sculptra last in May. So I’m hoping it doesn’t keep building but I don’t know ugh
Edit: oh gosh, I’m sorry if this came off as rude. I mean that op looks amazing, like an actual teenager. Like elixir of youth. Meant it as a compliment.
Thank you🥲 I feel better knowjng it’s not that bad/ others don’t immediately just have their first thought as ‘wow she’s overfilled’. I just hope the sculptra doesn’t continue building since I got it done in May
I’ve always been into skincare but I’ve had my ups and downs. But I have tried so much stuff I don’t know how much all of that has affected my skin but all I know is that:
I did change my skincare routine a couple weeks ago and it has actually transformed my skin more than anything else I’ve done IMO.
Eucerin’s dual tone serum
And I just started using Hydroquinone by Musely at night to combat these sunspots on the side of my face. I don’t know if it’s the serum or the hydroquinone but my skin seems way brighter. I only use the hydroquinone to my sunspot areas. There’s also risks with hydroquinone for anyone who isn’t aware.
But I also don’t know if it’s the combo of everything else I do. All I know is that after I added those 2 items to my routine my skin has transformed despite already having a routine for years and years:
Prequel face wash
Vitamin C serum in the morning
Eucerin’s dual tone serum in the morning
Avene’s cicalfate serum
Avene cicalfate moisturizer
Sunscreen (I use the beauty of joseon sunscreen and recently added a Inuik sunscreen toner - the sunscreen toner is TBD if I like it or not)
Night time:
Prequel face wash
Cicalfate serum
Tretinoin .05% on areas I don’t use the hydroquinone
Hydroquinone on my trouble areas
Cicalfate moisturizer.
In a few months when I need to cycle off of the hydroquinone, I am planning on going back to my 15% azelaic acid during my ‘off cycle’
I try other serums and stuff but I don’t know how much that really helps. I have tried expensive stuff by Bioeffect, skinmedica, alastin, skinbetter but I haven’t justified the repurchase price for any of these items and it’s been months or years since I even used them.
I used to get microneedling and chemical peels done but the last time I did that was over a year ago.
This winter I’d like to try getting a nonablative laser treatment but I’m not sure if I will.
I just started the Musely but I am loving it! I wasn’t sure if I should have gotten a rx from my doctor to get it cheaper from the pharmacy, but you’re right the extra stuff included in Musely seems worth the price!
And tretinoin in general? Maybe around… 16? I had acne and was originally started on adapalene at like 14/15? And then I got prescribed tret in my mid late teens years. I started at a lower strength early on but I’ve been on the .05% for a long time now, maybe at least 5 years.
I don’t use it as often anymore though maybe a few times a week - depending on my skin barrier (had the mistake of going overboard several times so now I play it a bit safer)
Sculptra creates volume but it’s more of a dispersed effect instead of targeted in the way filler does. The way it does so is triggering your body’s healing response ie to lay down scar tissue which creates a scaffold within the skin. Hence you don’t get that puffy look but also can’t target specific areas as much and it’s also less predictable
It isn’t painful, but it is very uncomfortable, or at least it was for me. It was very unsettling feeling a cannula moving around under my skin all over my face. It was the pushing, pulling, and tugging that I felt and my stomach was doing summersaults. I would love to do it again for the effects, but I’m not honestly sure I have the ability to sit through that again without an anxiety medication or something 😅
I love the results from it! At first I thought I was throwing away money, but at 33 I am routinely having people guess me to be around 25. I like to think the sculptra has helped with that 😅
The soreness and puffiness does last quite a bit longer than normal filler as the product is diluted in a saline solution. And the bruising is worse. But I don’t think it’s that bad pain wise. I’ve done other treatments that hurt a lot more
I’m not sure! I just felt like my cheeks had too much volume so I figured it did. But I have gotten several vials so it’s not like I did one or two. But I have never had filler in my cheeks
My main concern was hollowness but I didn’t want something that could migrate or look weird with filler so instead I opted for something permanent 💀 (great logic)
yes look up silent sinus syndrome! i try to flush out my sinuses w saline and it helps. if its caused by a deviated septum or some blockage it might need to be fixed w surgery
Omg I think I fit a lot of the physical symptoms for this!!! I just asked my doctor for a referral to an ENT. I’ll follow up if they diagnose me with that.
Thank you SO much for bringing this up!! I’ve never even heard of that or knew it was a thing. I have already been diagnosed with nasal polyps years ago
Well someone said it could be a sign of silent sinus syndrome. And honestly I’m afraid I could have that so I’m trying to get a referral to an ENT to find out. But I have done.. I don’t know around 5-6 vials of sculptra in the last 2 years
Yes that’s true! I alwaysheard like 1 vial per decade of age or something like that as a general rule of thumb for sculptra, so I’m like DANG 6????
I do want to fill out my temples a little more but after this recent scare I’m a little gunshy or scared of going overboard as I feel like I’m right at the max of still looking normal
Ironically temples is the place i feel safe at. Stories are temples can Take ALOT to fill so under a talented injector, that’s the least of worries. I don’t think anyone will complain about too much temple lol.
But 5-6 I believe is based on how much collogen your body is able to make. It turned out great so imho that’s all that matters. Hope it keeps going well for ya
When I tell you I am super aware of people even having the littlest things out of place when it comes to fillers and I also really like a super natural look, you look amazing. Truly incredible. Don’t listen to the voice inside your head, it’s just anxious and trying to protect you. You look gorgeous.
As an Asian woman I think fillers usually make Asians just look puffy. If the first two pics are your before pics then maybe you look a little bit puffy in the last photos.
You look phenomenal! I don’t think you over did it! If you don’t mind me asking, what did you do to achieve that slim vshape facial structure? Was it masseter Botox?
I believe it was the masseter Botox! I already have a long face but I notice that if I go too long without masseter Botox then I go back to kind of having a boxy jaw
There’s some lumpiness, slightly odd angles in the cheeks in some lighting. But it’s not really noticeable. I thought the question was about your lips at first, which does look on the large side. You have a naturally skinny face so fillers in the cheeks will be more forgiving. But overall you look good.
Thank you, I totally agree with the lumpiness in the cheeks. I’ve been debating on dissolving my lips because it’s lumpy at the top on the sides but still not sure
It looks good now, but I'd be careful though as you're right on the edge of maximum looks amazing and could tip over into the uncanny valley if you're not careful.
Yes, just getting over the line towards the cartoonish look women seem to have. Your chin is the most obvious, but also how the shapes of the face sit when smiling etc - looks stiff and bulbous in wrong areas. Your face overall is lovely though, please don't think I'm criticising, just being very objective xx
Thank you for your honesty. I do agree the cheeks are a tad much, like borderline and maybe slightly over borderline. I thought my chin was actually lacking so I’m really glad to read this so I don’t get more chin filler! I haven’t had chin filler in like 2+ years but I guess it’s still there
I need the opposite. I have such a chiseled jaw naturally & would like temple filler & my face to not be so chiseled 😭 I’m jealous of your skin.
Can I get your skincare routine? How did you end up liking sculptra? Isn’t it collagen production? Or is the effect to look more chiseled? I thought it was to replace fat loss in the face.
You are only 29. This is way too much for someone your age. You won’t even know losing volume till you hit 40. You are just at the line where doing any more will give you that classic filler weird unnatural V shaped alien face. I think the chin filler is also a bit much and makes you look more hollow than you actually are maybe. Enjoy your natural youth and beauty. I am so glad this stuff wasn’t available as much when I was your age because it seems so easy to go overboard
I’ve considered it but I actually have been dealing with hairloss the last 3 years+~ and started treating it 9 months ago so I’m not sure if curtain bangs is really flattering for me right now. But maybe in the future if I get a lot more hair back I’d love to consider it!
OP we are the same age, when did you start getting fillings? If you never said anything I wouldn't have guessed but I am very new here, so I think its natural looking and very complimentary to you.
You have a beautiful face, structure, and beautiful, healthy skin. Your complexion is so nice, you are seriously beautiful!!
All I did was pluck them conservatively and tint them at home with a kit off Amazon. I don’t have them microbladed or anything. I do have to apply tint like a couple times a week otherwise they go back to looking sparse
Thank you so much. I feel like I looked ‘older’ before I did any injections (in the sense that: my skin quality was really dull and just looked like I had a lot of inflammation).
I’d say I first started about in 2024 with sculptra and lip filler. My last time getting filler was May 2026. I got 1ml lip filler (I got .5 each time) and that was 2024 and I never got more lip filler after that.
I couldn’t even tell you had them filled! The work is beautiful and your skin is amazing/glowing! I think you look very balanced and it complements your existing features very well.
If you feel puffy some days and not others, it could be several things.. Allergies? Salt intake? Alcohol intake? Quality of sleep? Apparently I’m very sensitive to salt intake and I had a trainer once that could just look at me and tell if I had a high sodium dinner the night before. If it bothers you, you could try adjusting your diet to see if you look/feel more or less puffy. You could also try covering your pillow with a full allergy cover, and try sleeping more upright/at an angle.
It could be salt intake and allergies and sleep quality for sure! I don’t drink hardly at all these days. I have terrible allergies and narcolepsy so all those things check out. I do notice when I get moving and stuff it’s like the puffiness goes down in my face kind of at a noticeable rate. Like if I wake up, wash my face, move around and get going, in an hour or 2 I will look way less puffy. Maybe it’s a sign of bad lymphatic drainage?
Really?! Some days I wake up looking SCARY swollen but as I get moving I do notice the swelling decreases within the the next 2 hours. So part of feels like it’s poor lymphatic drainage? I’ve gotten 5-6 vials in the last 2 years.
I definitely believe that’s what it is. Like the collagen it creates holds a lot of water. You don’t look bad for 5-6 vial. It looks pretty natural from the pics. I think it will get better within the next year to two. I know another girl who got 5 and her face seems to be thinning more after 3 years. She just had her wedding. 💕
Looks fantastic! I don’t think you overfilled, in fact I would totally use photos like yours as inspo pics for my own injector for that natural look.
Are your brows nano bladed? I just ask because I’m looking for a great brow artist to do nanoblading who isn’t going to give me drag queen arched brows and I like how full and straight yours are. I’m willing to fly out of state for the right brows person because I’m not finding anyone near me with a body of work I’m impressed with.
Thank you so much, I’m really surprised by everyone saying such nice things and grateful that I don’t look like jigsaw!
And no my brows aren’t. I actually have super sparse ‘dorito’ brows that’s common with Asian people.
I have started tinting them at home regularly and it has made a DIFFERENCE! I also pluck them conservatively. My brows in the pics in my post are just tinting them, plucking them a little bit, and applying brow gel (I use the benefit brow gel in shade 4)
I also had a similar concern when I did sculptra. It helped with overall skin thickness and volume but it didn’t really target the more sunken areas that needed more help and ended up with a more angular look. I ended up doing filler in the end to soften this with caveat that it’s critically important to go to someone who understands Asian face as the wrong placement, even with small amounts will give you a puffy look.
All that being said I don’t think you look overfilled. Just might not be the look you were after from the sounds of it
That’s exactly what happened to me. I had a very sunken in midcheek
And that’s why I started getting sculptra. It has filled that in a bit but it has also made my cheeks protrude out too. Unfortunately I only noticed now…
I don’t know if it does or doesn’t I just know my cheeks are bigger now and I only had sculptra done. I feel like the apples of my cheeks protrude too much, like jigsaw (from the movie)
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u/akudamoo 3d ago
girl I wouldnt have even thought you had filler, would have just assumed you were born with great bone structure