Filler, Sculptra, Skinvive and Kybella answer four different questions, and most of the money wasted in this category comes from treating one problem with another’s tool. This guide covers what each one is for, what dissolves and what doesn’t, the timelines, what it costs, and why we would rather do half a syringe.
Three different problems
Almost every conversation about filler is actually about one of three separate things, and the treatments are not interchangeable.
- Lost volume — a hollow or a flattened area. Something needs to be added back. Filler.
- Lost structure — the underlying scaffold has thinned across a whole region. Something needs to be rebuilt. Sculptra.
- Unwanted fullness — usually under the chin. Something needs to go. Kybella.
Treating the second with the first is the most common wasted money in aesthetics: syringe after syringe of filler chasing a structural problem that filler was never going to fix.
Hyaluronic acid filler
Hyaluronic acid is a sugar your body already makes and holds water with. As a gel it can be placed to restore volume, define a border, or support an area that has lost projection. The result is there when you leave.
Privé carries the Juvéderm line (Ultra, Volux, Voluma) and the Restylane line (L, EyeLight, Refyne, Defyne, Kysse, Contour, Lyft). They differ in how firm they are, how much they hold their shape under movement, and how much lift they give. Half syringes are available, which matters more than it sounds — see below.
Choosing the product for the area
The useful principle, without pretending it is a lookup table: firmer products give structure and lift; softer, more flexible products suit areas that move. Cheeks and jawline want support that holds its shape. Lips and the area around the mouth want something that moves with you and does not read as a ridge when you smile.
Which specific product suits your face is decided in person. Anyone prescribing a product before looking at you is selling, not assessing. And often the answer is to treat somewhere other than where you think the problem is — a line around the mouth is frequently a shadow from lost support above it.
Sculptra — collagen, not filler
Sculptra is poly-L-lactic acid. It does not add volume; it prompts your own tissue to lay down collagen over the following months. Nothing much happens in week one, and that is the treatment working as designed.
A series of two to three vials spaced weeks apart, results developing over three to six months, then holding two years or more. It is the right answer for generalised structural thinning across the mid-face — and the wrong answer for someone who wants to look different on Friday. The full piece on Sculptra.
Skinvive, which isn’t volume at all
Skinvive is hyaluronic acid placed as microdroplets to improve smoothness and hydration in the cheeks. It is not a volumiser and will not add fullness. People book it expecting lift and are disappointed, which is entirely avoidable by being told first. $1,200 per area.
Kybella — the opposite problem
Kybella is deoxycholic acid, injected to destroy fat cells under the chin. Those cells do not return. It is a series — typically two to four sessions — and there is genuine swelling for several days after each, which people underestimate because the treatment itself is quick.
It is not reversible, which puts it in the same mental category as Sculptra rather than filler: worth being conservative and patient with. More on Kybella.
Why less is more here
This is the house position and it is not marketing. Filler is cumulative and it is easy to lose your own reference point — each visit looks like a small addition, and the drift is only visible in photographs a year apart.
So: half syringes when half is enough. Reassess at two weeks rather than filling to the limit on the day. Treat the cause rather than the line. And a willingness to say that the right number of syringes today is zero. We have written this out properly here.
What can be undone, and what can’t
The single most useful thing to know before any of this, and rarely said plainly.
- HA filler — reversible. Hyaluronidase dissolves it, usually within a day or two. This is why HA is the forgiving category and why it is the sensible place to start.
- Sculptra — not reversible. It builds your own collagen. There is no enzyme that removes collagen.
- Kybella — not reversible. The fat cells are gone.
That difference should change how fast you move. Start with the thing that can be undone.
Timelines
- HA filler — visible immediately, settles over about two weeks, lasts six to eighteen months by product and area.
- Sculptra — nothing for weeks, develops over three to six months, holds two years or more.
- Kybella — swelling for days, result over weeks, permanent for the cells treated.
- Skinvive — skin quality change over weeks, repeated periodically.
If you have an event, the honest advice is two weeks minimum for filler and months for Sculptra. Anything less and you are attending mid-settle.
What it costs
- Juvéderm — Ultra, Volux, Voluma — $700 per syringe
- Restylane — the full line — $700 per syringe
- Skinvive — $1,200 per area
- Sculptra — $700 per vial, series of two to three
- Kybella — $600 per vial
- EZ Gel — from $1,000 · EZ PRF from $599
Half syringes available. Everything published on one page. For the autologous options — EZGel and PRF, made from your own blood — see the regenerative guide, and how all three compare.
What it won’t do
None of this lifts significantly loose skin — that is surgical, and filler used to chase it produces a heavy, filled look rather than a lifted one. None of it improves skin quality or texture; that is a different ladder entirely. And filler does not soften lines caused by muscle movement, which is what neuromodulator is for.
The most common disappointment we see is someone who wanted better skin and was sold more volume. Those are different problems and they look different in the mirror.
Frequently asked
How much does filler cost in Dallas?
At Privé, hyaluronic acid filler starts at $700 per syringe across the Juvéderm and Restylane lines. Skinvive is $1,200 per area, Sculptra is $700 per vial, and Kybella is $600 per vial. Across the wider Dallas market HA filler generally runs $650 to $900 a syringe. How many syringes you need is a consultation question, not a menu one.
Can filler be dissolved?
Hyaluronic acid filler can. An enzyme called hyaluronidase breaks it down, usually within a day or two, and it is the reason HA is the forgiving choice. Sculptra cannot be dissolved — it stimulates your own collagen, and once that collagen exists there is no enzyme that removes it. Kybella cannot be reversed either. That difference should change how conservatively you approach each one.
What is the difference between filler and Sculptra?
Filler adds volume on the day — a gel sits where it is placed and you see the result immediately. Sculptra is a collagen biostimulator: poly-L-lactic acid that prompts your own tissue to build structure over months. Filler is instant and reversible; Sculptra is gradual, longer-lasting and permanent in the sense that collagen is yours.
How long does filler last?
Most hyaluronic acid filler lasts six to eighteen months depending on the product and the area — lips metabolise faster than cheeks because they move more. Sculptra results develop over three to six months and typically hold two years or more. Kybella is permanent for the fat cells it destroys.
Which filler is best for lines around the mouth?
It depends on whether the line is a crease in the skin or a shadow from lost structure nearby, and the answer is often not filler in the line at all. Softer, more flexible products suit mobile areas around the mouth; firmer products are for structural support deeper in the face. Which specific product suits you is decided at consultation, in person, not from a chart.
Does lip filler hurt, and will it look obvious?
Topical numbing is used and most HA products contain lidocaine. Whether it looks obvious is a question about volume and technique rather than the product — conservative amounts placed to support the natural shape read as a good night's sleep, not as lips. We would rather do half a syringe and see you again than fill to the edge of what is possible.
What is Skinvive?
It is hyaluronic acid, but it is not a volumiser. It is placed in microdroplets to improve skin smoothness and hydration in the cheeks rather than to add structure. People book it expecting fullness and it does not do that — worth knowing before rather than after.
Does Kybella really work permanently?
Kybella is deoxycholic acid; it destroys fat cells under the chin and those cells do not come back. It is a series, typically two to four sessions, with real swelling for several days after each one. It is permanent in that sense — but remaining fat cells can still enlarge with weight gain, so it is not immunity from change.
Can I have filler and Botox at the same visit?
Usually yes, and they address different problems — Botox relaxes the muscles that fold skin, filler restores structure that has been lost. Many plans use both. Which comes first, and whether both should happen on one day, is decided at consultation.
What is filler migration?
Filler moving from where it was placed, most discussed in lips, where it can produce a shelf above the lip border. It is associated with over-filling, repeated treatment before previous product has resolved, and placement technique. It is also the best argument for treating conservatively and spacing visits.
Who performs filler at Privé?
Elizabeth Hurley, RN, BSN, CANS — a Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist — with medical oversight by Medical Director Dr. Gregory Gardner, DO.
When the answer is no
If you have filler in place that has not resolved, the answer is usually to wait rather than add. If what is bothering you is skin quality, filler will not fix it and we will say so. If you are asking for a specific look from a photograph of someone with a different face, that is a conversation before it is a syringe.
And if you have had a lot of filler over several years, the most useful thing we can offer may be dissolving some of it and starting again from your own proportions. That is a real option and we raise it when it applies.