Hello my friends,

I wanted to talk to you about Sculptra treatment as I've been having it for a year now. Here is a bit about me. I lecture Sports and Exercise Science and Nutition at the University here in Leeds, UK and I also worked as personal trainer/anti aging specialist in my spare time. Physically I have always been very fit, ate the right stuff and looked after my skin.

A few years ago I, unfortunately, had a bad accident where I was attacked and robbed and was in a coma for 11 months. I awoke with many injuries and have battled with them for years now having had many surgeries. One injury was that the right hand side of my face was stamped on and my jaw and cheek was completely smashed in. They were stabilised by a very good surgeon who kept all scarring to a minimum.

But the nice cheek bones that I used to have, well, one of them was now missing as the muscle had died from the blows to my face and the bone had been broken too. It really bothered me, I felt lop sided and odd, and really paranoid about looking this way. Peels and treatments had got rid of the scarring and marking to my face and my skin was looking really amazing but every time I looked in the mirror I saw this and it reminded me of the whole incident.

So  I started reading and decided Sculptra was the way forward. I found a really brilliant person to do it and chatted about it for ages and ages and then went ahead and booked my appointment.

Now, Sculptra is made of poly-lactic acid so it’s a natural substance that grows collagen. It's natural so chances of rejection are minimized and it looks natural as its not a nasty, gloopy fast-drying filler and it lasts for ages and ages,, in fact for up to 3 years!

When it came to the day of my treatment, I was really excited. It may sound stupid but I could not sleep the night before as I knew I was starting something that would hopefully help me get my confidence back. When I arrived at the clinic, I was plastered with Emla cream, which numbs the skin.

After half an hour it was wiped away and photographs were taken of my face. So progress could be seen and monitored. The lady discussed where she was going to apply the Sculptra and why.  She would rebuild my cheek area since I had gone slightly hollow in the lower face area after being poorly and, I guess, the aging process. She also said the temples go hollow with age and she would put some in those areas.

Next came the injections. Loads and loads and loads of them. Yikes, I was injected quite deep into the tissue of my face and after a while it really hurt as the numbing sensation gradually wore off. Two viles of the stuff was injected into my face. It bled a little but not much. Then came the massage bit. She massaged the areas deeply to spread the liquid evenly and it made a really weird squidgy noise, quite unsettling. All done and I looked in the mirror and it was amazing,, I was very swollen but the swelling was showing how it would eventually look.

I was instructed to massage my face deeply twice a day at least for 6 weeks, the time it takes for the new collagen to form.  Massaging it deeply would stop me getting lumpy bits of collagen growth and make it more even. I was really sore for 3 days and did have some bruising.

Sculptra is done in stages, the initial treatment needs 6 viles of the stuff: two viles every 6 weeks.

Well I'm all done now - I've had the lot and you wont believe the change. I have my new cheek, I have fullness and plumpness to my face again that’s lifted the whole face area!!! My temples have slightly filled out and I must say its taken years off my face . Something else that was exciting when I had my second lot I bled!!!! A lot!!! Exciting? I hear you say is he mad? The new collagen growth was being fed by a new network of blood vessels that had also grown and so my general skin condition had improved massively. Perfect.

The down side is its really expensive. It is expensive for the clinics to buy the stuff and then they charge for putting it it. So 6 viles cost me £2,400, a lot of money. It will last years and years though  and I can have a top up yearly of 1 vile to maintain the results for ever and ever.

It looks so natural and not only have I got my cheek back but I've got my youth back. We can put creams and serums on our faces until the cows come home but aging is so much more. Our faces lose fat and muscle, get thinner and we lose definition in lots of areas. This stuff is like a liquid facelift and its so worth it.. I'm so happy.  I really am so happy. Ive got my new cheek and I look in the mirror now and see the old Danny - how I was before this upset in life. In fact its taken years off me.

Thank you all for reading and if you want any advice about the treatment or have any questions just ask.