Sunekos or Profhilo? How We Choose Between Them
Profhilo usually suits skin that has lost firmness and hydration across a wider area: the face, neck, hands or décolletage. Sunekos usually suits skin that has lost elasticity and picked up fine lines, and it is the one of the two we use around the eyes. Neither adds volume, so if the real problem is a hollow, the honest answer is not a skin booster at all.
Both are injectable hyaluronic acid treatments, both are given as a short course, and both work by prompting your own skin to repair rather than by filling it. They are built differently, though, and that is what decides which one suits you. Here is how we choose between them at our clinic in Reigate.
The short answer
Profhilo
What it is: a very high concentration of pure hyaluronic acid, not cross-linked
Usually suits: lost firmness and hydration on the face, neck, hands or décolletage
How it goes in: five points on each side of the face, left to spread
Typical course: two to three sessions, four weeks apart
Typically lasts: nine to twelve months, longer with maintenance
From: £325 per session, and a session treats one area
Sunekos
What it is: hyaluronic acid combined with six amino acids
Usually suits: lost elasticity and fine lines on the face; fine lines and crepiness around the eyes
How it goes in: a series of small, superficial injections across the whole area
Typical course: usually three sessions, three to four weeks apart
Typically lasts: nine to twelve months, longer with maintenance
From: £250 per session for the eyes
What each one actually is
Profhilo is a stabilised hyaluronic acid at one of the highest concentrations of any injectable. Because it is not cross-linked, it spreads through the tissue rather than staying where it is placed, hydrating the skin and prompting it to make its own collagen and elastin. The product itself is absorbed within two to three weeks; what remains is the change it has prompted in your skin. More on Profhilo in Reigate.
Sunekos combines hyaluronic acid with six amino acids, the building blocks the skin uses to make collagen and elastin. Where Profhilo hydrates and remodels, Sunekos is designed to give the cells that build the skin's support the raw material to do it. It comes in two strengths: a lighter one for the delicate skin around the eyes and for fine lines, and a stronger one for skin that has lost more elasticity. More on Sunekos in Reigate.
How they are injected, and why it matters
Profhilo goes in at a small number of points: on the face, five on each side, chosen because they sit away from the major vessels and let the product spread across the whole area. The neck, hands and décolletage each have their own map. The injections take five to ten minutes.
Sunekos is placed as a series of small, superficial injections across the area, so the whole area is treated evenly rather than from a few deep points. With a lighter strength made for the delicate skin around the eyes, it is the one of the two we use there, and the better fit when the concern is fine lines across the skin rather than firmness.
Under the eyes
This is where the choice is clearest. For fine lines, crepiness and dark circles that come from the skin rather than from a hollow, we use Sunekos, or polynucleotides where the skin is thin, sun-damaged or scarred. Profhilo is not the treatment we reach for here.
Before any of them, we look carefully at whether there is a hollow under the crepey skin. If there is, a skin booster will improve the skin and do nothing for the hollow, which needs tear trough filler or, in a good proportion of people, the cheek treated first. We will tell you that before you book a course.
Neck, hands and décolletage
These age as visibly as the face and are usually left out of the plan. Profhilo is the one we use here: it is one of the few treatments that does something useful for all three. Each area is treated, and priced, as its own session.
Courses, results and how long they last
Both are courses rather than one-off treatments, and with both you are waiting for your own collagen and elastin rather than for a product, so the change builds rather than appears.
Profhilo: two to three sessions, four weeks apart; most people have two. The first change, mostly hydration and a subtle glow, usually shows at around four weeks, and the full effect is at around three months after the course.
Sunekos: usually three sessions, three to four weeks apart; some people have two, some four. Hydration and texture change a few weeks in, and the full effect is around three months after the last session.
Results from both typically last nine to twelve months, and longer with maintenance: a single session when the effect begins to fade keeps the result without starting the course again. Results are individual.
What each costs at our Reigate clinic
Profhilo
1 session: £325
2 sessions: £600
3 sessions: £875
A session treats one area: the face, hands, neck or décolletage.
Sunekos
Eyes, 1 session: £250
Eyes, 3 sessions: £700
Full face, 1 session: £500
Full face, 2 sessions: £950
Full face, 3 sessions: £1,350
Where more than one area or treatment is involved, you will have a single plan and price at the assessment, before anything is injected. Every price is on our pricing page.
Downtime
Much the same for both. Expect small bumps at the injection points for a few hours to, sometimes, a day or two, significantly less visible after the first 24 hours, some redness and possibly a bruise, which is more likely around the eyes and can take up to a week to fade there. No make-up on the area for the rest of the day, and no strenuous exercise, saunas or heat for 48 hours. If you have an event coming up, leave at least a week.
Can you have both?
Yes. Some plans use two skin boosters in sequence, for example Profhilo for firmness across the face or neck and Sunekos for the skin around the eyes. Skin boosters also pair well with other treatments, because they answer a different question: boosters treat the skin, filler treats structure and anti-wrinkle treatment treats expression lines. The order and spacing are decided at your consultation.
When neither is the answer
A hollow or lost volume needs filler, not a skin booster. Our guide to skin boosters or dermal fillers explains how we tell the difference.
Lines made by expression are treated with anti-wrinkle treatment.
Where the skin is sun-damaged or acne-scarred, polynucleotides are usually where we start. Our comparison of Profhilo, polynucleotides and Sunekos covers all three.
We do not treat anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding, or anyone under 18. A known reaction to hyaluronic acid products rules out both, and an active skin infection, cold sore or inflamed acne in the area means waiting.
Who treats you
Every treatment at Mindful Aesthetics is carried out by Dr Haroon Ashraf, a GMC-registered doctor who injects full time. He has trained over 1,000 doctors, dentists and nurses in injectable technique and complication management. Every appointment starts with an assessment of whether your concern is the skin or the structure beneath it, and we decline treatments we do not think are in your interest. You leave with written aftercare and his direct contact details.
Our skin boosters page has a video of Dr Ashraf comparing Profhilo, Sunekos and polynucleotides. When you are ready, book a consultation.
Questions we're asked
Is Sunekos better than Profhilo?
Neither is better in general; they suit different skin. Profhilo is the stronger choice for firmness and hydration across a wider area, including the neck and hands. Sunekos is the stronger choice for elasticity, fine lines and the eye area.
Which is better for under the eyes?
Sunekos, or polynucleotides if the skin there is sun-damaged or scarred. We check first whether the problem is actually a hollow, because no skin booster will fill one.
Which is better for the neck or hands?
Profhilo. It is one of the few treatments that does something useful for the neck, hands and décolletage, and each has its own injection map.
Will either of them change the shape of my face?
No. Neither adds volume. Both improve the quality of the skin, so the result is skin that looks better rather than a face that looks different.
Which works faster?
Neither is quick. The first change shows a few weeks in with both, and the full effect is around three months after the course, because both depend on your own collagen and elastin.
Where are you based?
3 Holmesdale Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0BA, a minute from Reigate station. Patients come to us for skin boosters from across Surrey, including Redhill, Leatherhead, Dorking, Banstead and Horley.