What's Agent R?

It's a gel-like substance that we inject under lines and wrinkles to fill them in, making them much less visible. Lines and wrinkles represent folds into the skin: fillers help push the skin folds back out, to leave a flatter and less wrinkled result. 

Agent R is composed of the same substance forming much of the bulk of living tissues throughout the animal kingdom. The naturally occuring substance itself would be an ideal dermal filler, except for one thing: it's broken down in a matter of hours. Our own body makes and breaks down hyaluronic acid all the time: injecting the natural substance would soon lose its effect.

Therefore, in Agent R, hyaluronic acid is modified and cross-linked to give it a more durable structure resistant to being broken down. That's why it lasts for six months or more.

What's it like having a Agent R treatment?

After signing the consent form, you will be seated in a treatment chair. Although the product is injected into the skin through extremely fine needles, many patients find it uncomfortable and so we generally offer local anaesthetic, as a dentist would, to make you more comfortable. Many patients, notably those having treatments into the body of the lips to make them fuller, can have topical anaesthetic (anaesthetic in a gel or cream smeared on the skin) instead. This avoids the risk of minor bruising and swelling consequent to the anaesthetic.

The treatment is mapped out and, with your consent, a pre-treatment photograph is taken.

The doctor then carefully injects the semi-permanent dermal filler under and parallel to the lines and wrinkles, and that's it. You are advised about post-treatment care, and the treatment is completed. A post-treatment photo is taken.

What are the benefits?

Very significant improvement in fine and moderate lines, generally lasting six months or even sometimes nine or twelve months. Another popular use for semi-permanent dermal fillers is to give fuller lips.

A small amount of filler can give thin lips better volume and definition. Those with acne scars, especially the deeper ones, find that it can be used to "fill in" these pits, again leaving a smoother result.

And the risks or side effects?

Happily these are few and rare. At the time of treatment you may experience some swelling and bruising. These of course last only a few days. Allergic reactions are rare, at around 0.4%, and mild and localised, as the product's primary ingredient so closely resembles the naturally occuring form, the only difference being the cross-linkage to make it durable. The dermal filler can feel firm under the skin. Occasionally it might feel uneven. If this is the case, however, it can be easily molded like Plasticine under the skin to even out any irregularities.

We at Peach aim to give you the most natural look possible. We therefore prefer to err on the side of caution and under-correct rather than over-correct. As the semi-permanent dermal filler settles into the skin and the initial swelling, if any, settles as well, you may feel that you need a "top-up" injection. We would rather do such a "top-up" three to six weeks after an initial treatment than risk over-correcting your lines in the first instance, leading to an over-full appearance persisting for perhaps nine months.