The short answer
Dermal filler is a cohesive hyaluronic acid gel that stays where it is placed. It adds structural volume — lips, cheeks, tear-trough, chin, jawline. Results are immediate and last 9 to 18 months.
Profhilo is an injectable hyaluronic acid bioremodeller that spreads through tissue rather than staying put. It does not add volume. It stimulates the patient’s own collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid production. Results build over 8 weeks and improve skin quality, not shape.
The two products share an active ingredient (HA) but they are different categories under MHRA classification and they solve different problems. Treating them as alternatives is the most common expensive mistake in the bioremodelling category.
Why people confuse them
Both products are injected. Both contain hyaluronic acid. Both are marketed under the broad “aesthetic injectables” umbrella. The confusion is understandable — but the consequences of mixing them up are real. Patients who book Profhilo expecting volume restoration are disappointed when their lips look the same; patients who book filler expecting skin quality improvement are disappointed when their skin is still dull.
Side by side
| Dermal Filler | Profhilo | |
|---|---|---|
| Active ingredient | Cross-linked HA gel | Thermally cross-linked hybrid HA (high + low molecular weight) |
| MHRA classification | Class III medical device | Class III medical device (but distinct CE-marked indication) |
| Effect | Structural volume | Skin quality, hydration, elasticity |
| Stays put or spreads | Stays at injection site | Spreads laterally through dermis and hypodermis |
| Number of injection points | 1 to 6 per area | 10 standard BAP points per side of face |
| Visible immediately | Yes | No — builds over 8 weeks |
| Duration | 9 to 18 months | ~6 months |
| Treats | Volume loss, definition, grooves | Dullness, crepiness, mild laxity, dehydration |
| Reversible with hyaluronidase | Yes | Less effective — the spread tissue distribution makes full enzymatic reversal harder |
| Typical protocol | One-off, repeat at 9 to 18 months | Course of 2, 4 weeks apart; repeat every 6 months |
| Typical price (London) | £350–£800+ per syringe | £550 starter course (2 sessions) |
What Profhilo actually does — the science
The Profhilo molecule is a hybrid of high molecular weight HA (32 mg) and low molecular weight HA (32 mg) thermally bonded into a single product, with no chemical cross-linking agent (BDDE). When injected at the 5 BAP (Bio-Aesthetic Points) per side — 10 points total across the face — the product diffuses through the skin layers. Two effects follow:
- Immediate hydration — the HA binds water in the tissue, improving skin turgor and surface hydration over days
- Biological stimulation — the slow degradation of the HA produces signalling molecules that trigger fibroblasts to produce new collagen, elastin, and endogenous HA over weeks
The visible effect at 8 weeks is therefore not the product itself (much of which has metabolised) but the patient’s own newly produced extracellular matrix. This is what “bioremodelling” means — the product remodels the tissue’s biology, then leaves.
When Profhilo is the right answer
- Dull, tired, dehydrated skin in patients with intact underlying volume
- Crepey texture around the eyes, mouth, or jawline
- Mild early laxity where surgical intervention is not yet appropriate
- Preventative maintenance in patients in their 30s and 40s with otherwise healthy skin
- Adjunct to filler to improve the canvas before or alongside structural work
- Off-face areas — neck, chest, hands, knees — where the same skin-quality concerns apply
When dermal filler is the right answer
- Volume loss in cheeks, temples, under-eye, or pre-jowl
- Definition in lips, chin, or jawline
- Specific grooves — marionette lines, deep nasolabial folds, tear-trough hollows
- Feature refinement — asymmetric lip, under-projected chin, non-surgical rhinoplasty
When you need both
Most patients over 40 benefit from both, sequenced correctly:
- Weeks 0 and 4: Profhilo starter course (2 sessions, 4 weeks apart) — improves the canvas
- Week 6 to 8: Filler placed into priority structural areas (typically cheeks and jawline) once Profhilo has integrated
- Month 6: Profhilo maintenance session
- Month 12: Filler top-up plus Profhilo maintenance
This rhythm keeps structural volume and skin quality in step. The total annual cost is frequently less than “all filler, chasing volume” — and the result looks more natural because volume and skin quality are addressed in proportion.
The mistake to avoid — Profhilo as cheap filler
Some clinics market Profhilo as “soft filler” or “natural filler”. This is misleading. Profhilo will not plump lips, project cheeks, or fill a tear-trough hollow. Patients who book Profhilo expecting these outcomes leave disappointed and conclude that the product “didn’t work”. The product worked exactly as designed — it improved skin quality. It is not designed to add volume.
The other mistake — filler in place of Profhilo
Patients with the opposite problem — good underlying volume but dull, dehydrated, crepey skin — sometimes pursue more and more filler in the hope that “plumping” will solve the dullness. It will not. Filler adds volume to the area it is placed in; it cannot fix skin quality across a broad surface. The result is an over-filled face that still has the same dull skin.
Bottom line
Profhilo and dermal filler are complementary tools, not competitors. They occupy different roles in a comprehensive treatment plan. The right starting point depends on what is actually bothering the patient — and an honest consultation will sometimes recommend Profhilo when the patient asked for filler, or filler when the patient asked for Profhilo, or neither when skincare and time would do more than either.
