Radiesse

Support today, collagen for the years after

Radiesse does two things at once, and that is why I use it. On the day, it gives immediate structure to a jawline, chin or cheekbone that has softened. Over the following months, the calcium hydroxylapatite it is made of stimulates your own collagen, so the support it created is gradually replaced by your own tissue and the skin above it becomes firmer. At my clinic in Hale, near Altrincham, it is the treatment I reach for when a face has lost definition rather than volume.

I am Dr Caroline Warden, an NHS GP with over nineteen years of clinical experience, an independent prescriber and a Level 7 qualified aesthetic doctor trained at Harley Academy, practising aesthetic medicine since 2017. Every Radiesse consultation, treatment and review at the clinic is carried out by me personally, and I place it with a cannula under local anaesthetic. The clinic was named Best Doctor-Led Aesthetic Clinic in Cheshire 2026 by GHP.

Radiesse sits alongside Sculptra in my structure-first approach: rebuild support, improve the skin, and use filler only for finishing. Where a jawline or chin needs definition, it is often the single most effective syringe on the face.

On this page:

• What is Radiesse and how does it work?
• What does the evidence show?
• What can Radiesse treat?
• Radiesse, Sculptra or filler?
• Hyperdilute Radiesse for skin quality
• Who is Radiesse for?
• What to expect at your appointment
• Results and how long they last
• Safety and side effects
• Prices
• Frequently asked questions

What is Radiesse and how does it work?

Radiesse is made of calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) microspheres, a mineral the body already contains in bone and teeth, suspended in a smooth carrier gel. It is a biostimulatory injectable rather than a conventional filler, and it works in two phases.

The first phase is immediate: the gel provides lift and contour wherever it is placed, which is why a jawline or chin looks more defined as you leave the clinic. The second phase takes months: as the gel is gradually absorbed, the microspheres act as a scaffold that fibroblasts respond to by laying down new collagen and elastin around them. By the time the gel has gone, your own tissue has taken over the support. The microspheres themselves are then broken down and cleared by the body over time. Nothing permanent is left behind.

That combination of instant structure and lasting regeneration is unusual, and it makes Radiesse the right tool for a specific job: restoring definition where bone and ligament support have receded, particularly along the jaw and at the chin.

What does the evidence show?

Radiesse has been used in facial aesthetics for over twenty years and is one of the better-studied injectables. Its jawline use rests on a randomised, multicentre, rater-blinded pivotal trial: at 12 weeks, 75.6% of treated patients showed a clinically meaningful improvement in jawline contour against 8.8% of untreated controls, and in the long-term follow-up of 175 patients the response rate was still 62.9% at 48 weeks. On the strength of that trial, Radiesse (+) became the first injectable with specific regulatory approval for improving loss of jawline contour. The trial authors concluded that it

"is a safe and effective treatment for improving the contour of the jawline."

Moradi A et al., Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2021

Separate studies have shown measurable increases in collagen and elastin in treated skin, and Radiesse also holds approval for restoring volume to the back of the hands. I set the jawline evidence out in more detail in why Radiesse is so effective for jawline definition.

What can Radiesse treat?

I use Sculptra rather than Radiesse for the temples, and skin-quality treatments for the under-eye; where those are the better answer I will say so at consultation.

Radiesse, Sculptra or filler?

These are the three structural injectables I use, and the question of which is "best" has a different answer for every face.

They combine well, and in a deflated face with a soft jaw the usual order is Sculptra first, Radiesse at the jawline once the cheeks have recovered, and a small amount of filler only if something precise remains. The full comparison is in Sculptra vs Radiesse: which collagen stimulator is right for you? and the thinking behind it in less filler, more structure.

Hyperdilute Radiesse for skin quality

Diluted with saline and local anaesthetic and placed just under the skin, Radiesse stops being a contouring product and becomes a collagen stimulator for skin quality: crepey neck and décolletage, the backs of the hands, the abdomen, upper arms and above the knees. It is a different treatment with its own protocol and prices, and it has its own page; the neck and décolletage guide and the ageing hands guide explain where it fits.

Who is Radiesse for?

What to expect at your appointment

Results and how long they last

You see the contour on the day, with the true result at two weeks once swelling has gone. The collagen phase then takes over: by three months the tissue feels firmer and the definition looks more natural, because your own collagen is now doing part of the work. Most patients need one session; a second syringe is sometimes added at review for a larger jaw or a more pronounced chin. Results typically last twelve to eighteen months, and the collagen benefit often outlasts the gel, so many patients find their second treatment needs less product than the first.

Safety and side effects

Radiesse has over twenty years of clinical use and an extensive safety literature. It is a medical treatment, it cannot be dissolved, and both of those facts shape how carefully it is planned and placed. Every patient has a consultation first.

Treatment is not suitable in pregnancy or breastfeeding, with an active infection in the area, with certain autoimmune or connective tissue conditions, with a history of keloid scarring, or with a known allergy to any component including lidocaine. Blood-thinning medicines are discussed, never stopped.

Prices

Current prices are on the price list. For comparison, surgical rejuvenation of the lower face costs well into five figures with weeks of recovery; Radiesse offers a minimally invasive route to definition with immediate improvement and long-term collagen benefit.

Book a Radiesse consultation