I had profhilo injections for the first time in 2018 and, after reviewing many other skincare and facial treatments in my work as both a journalist and influencer, the profhilo treatment remains my undefeated favourite treatment.
It doesn’t change your face, unless used as a filler, and it doesn’t alter movement. It is like having an insanely effective serum injected straight into the skin. In fact, it is commonly referred to as an “injectable moisturiser”. It improves skin tone, elasticity and firmness, while making your skin look plump, soft and radiant.
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What is profhilo treatment?
Profhilo is made up of hyaluronic acid, but this ingredient isn’t an acid in the traditional sense — in fact, it isn’t at all. Hyaluronic acid is found in the skin’s dermis along with collagen and elastin, and it can hold 1,000 times its own weight in water, therefore keeping your skin lump and hydrated. As with all the good stuff in our skin, the levels deplete as we age which leads to drier skin, dehydrated skin and a loss of fullness to the face. Profhilo treatment injects hyaluronic acid into the skin to top of those levels and create fullness — it can also be used as a filler in the lips and face, often giving a more natural look than traditional fillers.
That is a brief summary, for more detail read my blog post all about it here.
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Will hyaluronic acid skincare products have the same effect as profhilo?
The answer quite simply is no — absolutely not. In fact, there are plenty or products out there that boast hyaluronic acid when in fact the molecule size in the product is far too large to penetrate the skin.
A commonly accepted measurement for skincare is the 500 Dalton Rule, which states that anything larger than 500 Daltons cannot be fully absorbed deep into the skin. Water, for example, is 18 Daltons and glycerin (another highly effective hydrating and moisturising skincare ingredient, much like hyaluronic acid) is 92 Daltons.
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Hyaluronic acid is around one million Daltons, super low hyaluronic acid is 10,000, ultra-low is around 6,000. This doesn’t mean it cannot penetrate the skin and sits on top of it, it just means that many over-the-counter products with hyaluronic acid cannot penetrate as deeply into the skin as we’d like. So you will never, ever, achieve the same results with a skincare product as you will with injectable hyaluronic acid in the form of profhilo treatment injections.
And, trust me, every time I’ve left a skincare and aesthetics clinic after having profhilo I have left with a much younger face, and wonderfully improved skin.
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Profhilo injection points
Profhilo is injected in ten places on the face, five on each side symmetrically. The five places are top of the cheek bone, top of the jaw, in the corner of the eye and the nose, the corner of the nose and under the edge of your lips — creating a five point circle around each cheek. It can also be injected across the neck, decolletage and hands.
When profhilo injections are used as filler, it will only be injected into the chosen area, such as cheeks, jaw, chin or lips.
Unlike Botox, profhilo should never be injected into the forehead. There are many small blood vessels here that could burst if it was, and leave you with broken vessel showing through. If you’re looking for an injectable to prevent lines and ageing across your forehead, Botox is the best option.
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Where to get profhilo in London
Prohilo at Skin & Sanctuary reviewed
My best experience of having profhilo treatment was at Skin & Sanctuary in Hackney. The team are absolutely lovely, they have me a stress ball to squeeze while the injections were happening (its not bad at all though), and it was so quick and effective I was over the moon.
Profhilo price: single treatment £425, two treatments £800, packages of six or more is £325 per treatment
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Prohilo at VIVA Skin Clinic reviewed
I had the treatment with Eva, at the Chelsea clinic, who herself is a huge fan of profhilo and made me very relaxed about the whole thing. The treatment itself, however, didn’t go as smoothly. The injections were a little sorer, and it felt a little bit like the needle was pulling on my skin while the injections took place. I could also hear the syringe moving — it squeaked a little, which was quite off-putting. Afterwards my face hurt more than it had done previously, so I wouldn’t go there again.
Profhilo price: Face for £425, hands for £500, neck for £650 and decolletage for £700.
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Prohilo at Cosmedics Skin Clinic reviewed
Dr Ross Perry at Cosmedics Skin Clinics won’t sugar coat his assessment. He took a look at my face and made his suggestions, one of which was profhilo. However, unlike previous treatments he injected it as a filler into my cheeks. It was very subtle but gave my face a little lift and improved structure. He did the injections expertly, and was able to give advice on other skin issues that he thought might need addressing (like IPL for my pigmentation, which I have scheduled in!).
If you go to him, just make sure you’re clear on whether you want profhilo around the ten points on your face for overall rejuvenation, or as a filler in specific areas.
Profhilo price: £475 per treatment
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I had all of these treatments for free due to my work as a journalist — not a blogger. No online content was discussed, this is in no way intended to be promotional.