Written by: Blaise Geyer PA-C
Just Say No: Why the Hyaluron Pen is Not a Good Option
Lately I’ve been getting a ton of questions from clients about the Hyaluron Pen. If you follow trends in the cosmetic world, you likely have seen this pop up on your various social media feeds. Hyaluron Pen promotes a painless, needle-free way to inject hyaluronic filler into your skin and advertises delivery of a wrinkle-free face and plump lips. All this plus you can achieve the results for a fragment of the cost of filler done at a medical spa! Sound too good to be true? That’s what I thought too.
What is the Hyaluron Pen?
If you are unfamiliar with this device, the jet injector is a small, needle-less handheld device that was originally developed for diabetic patients as a means to painlessly deliver insulin into the subcutaneous tissue. The Hyaluron Pen creates enough external pressure for hyaluronic acid filler to penetrate the skin without the use of needles. While the jet injectors have not been FDA approved for cosmetic use, they have been rebranded and repurposed and are being sold online for correction of wrinkles and volume loss.
The Problem
Not only have the jet injectors not been tested and approved for cosmetic use, the hyaluronic acid fillers that are sold with them are also not approved for injection into humans and “often are of unknown sterility, safety or quality.” This technique is normally promoted by non-medical facilities with an unskilled injector and even promotes self injection which increases risk of infection, contamination, and vascular occlusion.
While the injected hyaluronic acid dose per “firing” can be adjusted, the placement of the filler is not as precise as with syringe and needle injections. There is also no way to ensure that the right amount of filler is injected at the appropriate location or depth. American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) provides that “the amount of the drug that is actually delivered and the precise location of delivery can vary from injection to injection. The depth and penetration also can be influenced by tissue density, the angle of the injector to the skin, and the pressure applied against the skin prior to firing”. Therefore, the risk of unsightly results and scarier yet, a vascular occlusion resulting in tissue death, are very real. Additionally, studies showed that needle-free injections “had a higher rate of pain, redness and swelling at the injection site than those who received traditional hypodermic injections” (1).
Before and After Hyaluron Lip Injection (2).
The Lesson
Although injectable filler is not without potential complications or discomfort, I do believe with injectables that you get what you pay for. When you come in for an appointment at L Aesthetics & Longevity you are paying for excellent, FDA approved products and the skill of excellent licensed and/or physician supervised injectors. It is important for you to understand the risks these off label devices and techniques pose to your look and your health!
- AmSpa Administration. Hyaluronic Injection Pens: What You Need to Know. 15 Jan. 2020, https://www.americanmedspa.org/blogpost/1633466/338800/Hyaluronic-Injection-Pens-What-You-Need-to-Know.
- Kindred, Alahna. Mum, 20, Horrified after £85 No-Needle Lip Filler She Bought over Facebook Left Her Lips Lumpy and Bruised. 28 Aug. 2019, www.thesun.co.uk/news/9762856/mum-no-needle-filler-lips-lumpy-bruised/.