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Last reviewed 26 September 2026
Clinically reviewed by Khali Reed, CRNA, APRN
Publisher Brazelia MedSpa & Integrative Wellness
How we sourced this page
Biostimulators · Boca Raton

Sculptra Boca Raton: What Sculptra and Radiesse Are Approved To Do

Patients asking about Sculptra Boca Raton clinics are usually asking about one thing: a result that builds gradually rather than appearing the same afternoon. Sculptra and Radiesse work differently from hyaluronic acid fillers, they are approved for different things, and they suit different faces. Here is what the approved labelling and the trials behind it actually say.

The short answer

Sculptra is poly-L-lactic acid, approved in 2004 and expanded in 2009 for nasolabial fold contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles, and in 2023 for fine lines and wrinkles in the cheek region. It is given as a course, typically three sessions at three-week intervals, and the labelling records effects lasting up to 25 months in some patients.

Radiesse is calcium hydroxylapatite, approved in 2006 for facial folds and in 2021 for jawline contour. Its main practical difference from Sculptra is speed. The approved labelling states that Radiesse “immediately adds fullness to your face giving you a visible result at the first treatment session.” For the jawline, 75.6% of patients showed improvement at 12 weeks and 67.3% still did at 48 weeks.

Quoted from approved labellingEvery claim below is taken from the products’ own FDA-approved labelling.
Trial figures with denominatorsDuration numbers come from the pivotal trials, shown with sample sizes.
We name what is not establishedWhere the labelling says a timeframe was not studied, this page says so.
Reviewed by the injectorRead by Khali Reed, CRNA, APRN, who performs these treatments here.

Sculptra Boca Raton: what each product is approved to treat

Sculptra and Radiesse are grouped together in most clinic menus, and the grouping obscures more than it explains. They are different materials, approved on different trials, for different problems. Choosing between them properly starts with what each one is actually cleared to do.

Read from the FDA premarket approval database on 26 September 2026. Indications condensed from the approved wording; the approval records carry the full text.
Product Material Approved Approved to treat
Sculptra Poly-L-lactic acid 3 Aug 2004 Facial fat loss in people with HIV
Sculptra Aesthetic Poly-L-lactic acid 28 Jul 2009 Nasolabial fold contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles
Sculptra (cheek) Poly-L-lactic acid 25 Apr 2023 Fine lines and wrinkles in the cheek region
Radiesse Calcium hydroxylapatite 22 Dec 2006 Moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds
Radiesse (hands) Calcium hydroxylapatite 4 Jun 2015 Hand augmentation to correct volume loss
Radiesse (+) jawline Calcium hydroxylapatite 1 Sep 2021 Moderate to severe loss of jawline contour

Two details in that table shape a consultation. Sculptra’s approved indication specifies immune-competent patients, which is part of the indication rather than a footnote, and the nasolabial indication is technique-specific — the labelling names a deep dermal cross-hatch injection technique. Radiesse, meanwhile, is the only one of the two with a jawline indication, and it is the only non-hyaluronic-acid product approved for that area.

Neither product is approved for lips. If a clinic offers you either one for lip volume, that is outside the approved indication for both, and there are ten hyaluronic acid products approved specifically for lips instead — covered on our lip filler page.

Radiesse: an immediate result, and a strong jawline record

The single most useful line in Radiesse’s approved labelling is about timing: “Once injected, Radiesse immediately adds fullness to your face giving you a visible result at the first treatment session.” That is an approved claim, not a marketing line, and it is the practical reason to choose Radiesse over Sculptra when a patient wants to see the change straight away.

Its strongest published dataset is the jawline. The approved patient labelling reports that 75.6% of patients (93 of 123) showed improvement in the contour of their jawline 12 weeks after treatment, and that about 67.3% (76 of 113) continued to see those improvements for up to 48 weeks after treatment. Two-thirds of patients still improved at eleven months, on a structural area that is difficult to treat any other way without surgery, is a genuinely good result.

For facial folds, the labelling is more conservative and worth quoting precisely: “Although treatment effects will differ for each person, in a clinical study, Radiesse lasted up to six months.” It adds that in that study of 117 patients, 78.6% showed improvement at six months, and that 35 of those patients continued to show improvement at least 30 months and up to 39 months after their last injection. So the honest picture for folds is a reliable six months for most people and a considerably longer run for a minority — which is why treatment intervals here are set by review rather than by calendar.

In the jawline trial, treatment responses were common and mild: firmness in 76%, lumps or bumps in 73.7%, swelling in 72.6%, and 77.7% of them resolved within 14 days. There were no serious adverse events.

Sculptra: a course of treatment, and a long runway

Sculptra is the opposite proposition. It is given as a course rather than a single appointment — the approved labelling describes “one to four treatment sessions (typically three)” with “a minimum of three week intervals” — and the change appears over that period rather than on the day. For patients who want to look gradually better rather than suddenly different, that pacing is the entire appeal.

The pivotal trial randomised 233 participants and followed them out to 25 months, with 106 completing the extension. The approved labelling summarises the result as “effects lasting up to 25 months in some patients”, and is equally clear about the limit of the evidence: “Long term safety and effectiveness of SCULPTRA Aesthetic beyond 25 months after last injection have not been investigated in clinical trials.”

That is worth reading carefully rather than rounding up. Two years of benefit in some patients is a strong result for any aesthetic treatment. It is not a guarantee of two years for everyone, and the trial data shows the effect softening across the second year, most noticeably in the deepest folds. Planning a review at around eighteen months, rather than assuming nothing will change until month twenty-five, is what keeps a Sculptra result looking consistent.

Why product choice is a considered decision here. Hyaluronic acid fillers can usually be dissolved with hyaluronidase. Poly-L-lactic acid and calcium hydroxylapatite cannot — an FDA advisory panel confirmed in August 2025 that no specific reversal agent exists for either. Neither approach is better; they commit you differently. That is precisely why these products are planned at a consultation rather than picked off a price list, and why a first-time patient is often started on hyaluronic acid.

Choosing between Sculptra and Radiesse

Reduced to the decision a patient actually faces, the two products differ on four things, all of them documented in the labelling rather than a matter of opinion.

Compiled from each product’s FDA-approved labelling and Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data, read 26 September 2026.
Sculptra Radiesse
When you see it Gradually, over the treatment course Immediately, at the first session
Sessions One to four, typically three, three weeks apart Single session, reviewed later
Published duration Up to 25 months in some patients Folds: up to six months. Jawline: 67.3% at 48 weeks
Jawline indication No Yes
Reversible No specific reversal agent No specific reversal agent

In practice the choice usually resolves quickly. Someone with a specific event in three weeks and a jawline they want defined is a Radiesse conversation. Someone in their forties noticing general facial thinning, who would rather nobody could point to what changed, is a Sculptra conversation. Someone treating an area for the first time, or unsure how much change they want, is usually better served starting with hyaluronic acid precisely because it can be adjusted.

That is a judgement made with a face in front of you, which is why nothing on this page is a recommendation. It is the information you need to have a useful conversation at a consultation.

Frequently asked questions

How long does Sculptra last?

The approved labelling states “effects lasting up to 25 months in some patients,” and adds that safety and effectiveness beyond 25 months after the last injection have not been investigated in clinical trials. The pivotal trial followed 233 participants, with 106 completing the extension to 25 months. Source 2.

How many Sculptra sessions will I need?

The approved labelling describes “one to four treatment sessions (typically three)” with a minimum of three weeks between them. The result develops across that course rather than appearing at the first appointment. Source 2.

How long does Radiesse last?

It depends on the area. For facial folds the labelling says “in a clinical study, Radiesse lasted up to six months,” with 78.6% of 117 patients improved at six months and 35 of them still improved at 30 to 39 months. For the jawline, 75.6% showed improvement at 12 weeks and 67.3% at 48 weeks. Source 3.

Will I see a result straight away?

With Radiesse, yes — the approved labelling states it “immediately adds fullness to your face giving you a visible result at the first treatment session.” With Sculptra, no: the change develops across a course of sessions, which is the reason many patients choose it. Sources 2 and 3.

Can Sculptra or Radiesse be dissolved?

No. An FDA advisory panel confirmed in August 2025 that for poly-L-lactic acid and calcium hydroxylapatite “there are no specific reversal agents.” Hyaluronic acid fillers can usually be dissolved; these cannot. That is why product choice is settled at consultation. Source 4.

Can Sculptra be used in the lips?

No product containing poly-L-lactic acid holds a lip indication, and neither does Radiesse. Ten hyaluronic acid products are approved specifically for lip augmentation, and those are what we use. Source 1.

Sources and how this page was built

Every indication, approval date and duration figure on this page was read from the FDA premarket approval database and from each product’s own FDA-approved labelling and Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data, on 26 September 2026. Where the labelling states that a period was not investigated, this page says so rather than extrapolating. Duration claims that could not be traced to an approval document are not repeated here.

  1. FDA. Premarket approval database, Sculptra P030050 and Radiesse P050052, read 26 September 2026. accessdata.fda.gov
  2. FDA. Approved labeling, Sculptra Aesthetic, PMA P030050/S002. accessdata.fda.gov
  3. FDA. Approved patient labeling, Radiesse (+), PMA P050052/S129. accessdata.fda.gov
  4. FDA. Executive Summary, General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel meeting, 13 August 2025. fda.gov
  5. FDA. Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data, Sculptra Aesthetic, PMA P030050/S002. accessdata.fda.gov
  6. FDA. Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data, Radiesse, PMA P050052. accessdata.fda.gov

Why patients choose Brazelia MedSpa

The reason this page quotes labelling instead of promising you three years is that the labelling is what an injector is actually accountable to. A clinic that sets your expectations from the approval document is a clinic that will still be right about your result in eighteen months, and that is a more useful thing to buy than an optimistic number.

These treatments at Brazelia MedSpa are performed by Khali Reed, CRNA, APRN, a master injector her patients know as the Facial Architect, in a practice under the medical direction of Dr. Herbert R. Slavin, MD. Because neither product can be dissolved, this is the category where planning and a conservative hand matter most, and where an experienced injector is worth seeking out rather than shopping on price.

Brazelia MedSpa has treated patients from the same address in downtown Boca Raton for 18 years, near Mizner Park, and serves patients across South Florida, from Delray Beach and Boynton Beach to Deerfield Beach and Fort Lauderdale. In a field where med spas open and close within a season, staying in one place that long is its own kind of evidence. Patients rate the practice 4.5 out of 5 across 24 Google reviews.

A face is also rarely treated as just a face here. Because Brazelia MedSpa runs hormone, metabolic, skin and regenerative programmes under one roof, a treatment plan can take account of what else is going on — skin quality, weight change, hormonal shifts — instead of being sold in isolation. Where that is relevant to you it comes up at the consultation. Where it is not, nobody raises it.

New patients start with a consultation, and nothing is treated on a first visit unless you want it to be. You will hear what the approved labelling actually supports before you hear what it costs.

This page describes what published labels, regulatory records and peer-reviewed research report about these treatments. It is general health information, not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for a consultation. Whether any treatment is appropriate for you is a clinical judgement that depends on your history and examination.

Find out which one suits your face

New patients start with a consultation. We will look at what you want to change, how quickly, and whether hyaluronic acid would serve you better first.