Skin Boosters in Reigate, Surrey
Profhilo, polynucleotides and Sunekos. Every treatment carried out by Dr Haroon Ashraf, a GMC-registered doctor who injects full time.
Book a ConsultationWhat skin boosters do, and what they don't
Skin boosters improve the quality of your skin, not the shape of your face. They are light injectable treatments placed into the skin itself, where they hydrate the tissue and prompt it to make its own collagen and elastin. The aim is skin that looks firmer, smoother and better hydrated, with nothing added that could look overdone.
It helps to separate three problems. Skin quality, meaning texture, hydration and firmness, is what skin boosters treat. Volume, the hollows and flattened cheeks beneath, is the job of dermal fillers. Movement, the lines made by expression, is softened by anti-wrinkle treatment. Confusing the three is how people end up with filler they did not need.
Skin boosters are likely to help if- Skin on your face, neck, décolletage or hands has lost firmness and looks dull, crepey or tired
- The skin under your eyes is thin and crepey, with fine lines or dark circles, but there is no real hollow
- Sun damage or acne scarring has left the texture of the skin as the problem
- You have been told you need filler and would rather rebuild the skin than fill it
- The concern is lost volume or a hollow, which skin boosters will not fill
- The lines come from expression rather than from skin quality
- You have an active skin infection, cold sore or inflamed acne in the area, or a known reaction to hyaluronic acid products
- You have a fish allergy: polynucleotides are derived from salmon DNA, and we will not give them to anyone who has one
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding, or under 18. We do not treat anyone under 18
If yours is a different problem, we will say so at the consultation rather than sell you the wrong course. Our journal explains how we decide between skin boosters and dermal fillers.
Which skin booster do you need?
All three injectable skin boosters improve skin quality and none of them adds volume. They differ in how they work and in what they suit. Each has its own page with the detail, prices and answers.
Profhilo
Pure hyaluronic acid at a high concentration, injected at a handful of points and left to spread through the tissue. For skin that has lost firmness and hydration across the face, neck, décolletage or hands.
Polynucleotides
Purified fragments of salmon DNA that act on the cells that make collagen and elastin, and calm inflammation. Where we lean for thin, crepey under-eye skin, sun damage and acne scarring. We use Plinest and Vitaran.
Sunekos
Hyaluronic acid with a patented blend of amino acids, the building blocks the skin uses to make collagen and elastin. For lost elasticity and fine lines on the face, and for crepey skin and dark circles around the eyes.
Microneedling
The one treatment here that is not an injectable. It creates micro-channels that trigger the skin's repair response, boosting collagen and refining pores and scarring, with the depth tailored to your skin. Often the right starting point for texture, and it can be combined with PRP.
How Profhilo, polynucleotides and Sunekos differ
Dr Ashraf's first question is whether the problem is the skin or the structure beneath it, because the answers are different treatments. If it is the skin, the next question is which skin booster fits. Some people suit one; some plans use two in sequence.
Profhilo
How it worksHyaluronic acid at one of the highest concentrations of any injectable. It is not cross-linked, so it spreads through the tissue rather than sitting where it is placed, and it is absorbed within two to three weeks.
Who it suitsLost firmness and hydration across the face, neck, décolletage or hands, and early laxity where you do not want volume added.
The courseTwo to three sessions, four weeks apart. Most people have two.
Polynucleotides
How they workHighly purified salmon DNA, processed to remove the protein that could cause a reaction. They act on the fibroblasts, the cells that make collagen and elastin, and calm inflammation. They are not hyaluronic acid, and not vegan.
Who they suitThin, crepey under-eye skin, sun damage and acne scarring. Not suitable for anyone with a fish allergy.
The courseUsually three sessions, a few weeks apart. Eyes or full face.
Sunekos
How it worksNon-cross-linked hyaluronic acid with six amino acids in a patented formula, in a lighter strength for the eyes and fine lines and a stronger one for skin that has lost more elasticity.
Who it suitsFine lines, crepiness and lost elasticity on the face, and crepey skin and dark circles around the eyes.
The courseUsually three sessions, three to four weeks apart. Eyes or full face.
None of the three will fill a hollow under the eyes. Where there is one, we usually address it first with tear trough or cheek filler, and consider the quality of the skin after that.
Face, neck, décolletage and hands
Most people start with the face, but the neck, décolletage and hands age as visibly and are usually left out of the plan. Each area has its own injection map.
Face
All three skin boosters treat the face, each suited to a different kind of skin problem. Polynucleotides and Sunekos also have a dedicated treatment for the thin skin under the eyes.
Neck
The neck gives age away as reliably as anywhere, and filler does little for it. Profhilo is one of the few treatments that does something useful here.
Décolletage
For skin across the chest that has lost firmness and looks crepey. Each area is treated, and priced, as its own Profhilo session.
Hands
Hands show age as clearly as the neck. Profhilo has a hand map of its own; expect a little more sensitivity, and slightly more noticeable bruising, than on the face.
How Dr Haroon Ashraf approaches skin boosters
Assessment
We look at skin quality separately from structure: texture, hydration and firmness, how the skin recoils, where laxity is starting, and any sun damage or scarring. Under the eyes, we ask whether darkness is pigment, shadow or thin skin, and whether there is a true hollow.
Only then is a treatment chosen. Sometimes the honest answer is filler, or less than you came in for.
Product and Technique
Profhilo goes in at a few fixed points and spreads: on the face, five on each side, the bio-aesthetic points, chosen because they sit away from the major vessels. Polynucleotides and Sunekos are placed as many small, superficial injections across the area, so it is treated evenly.
None of the three adds volume. Each is absorbed over the following weeks, and what remains is the change in your own skin.
Comfort
Numbing cream goes on first, and most people describe a sting rather than pain. The eyes take three to five minutes, the full face five to ten.
Small raised bumps at the injection points are normal. Bruising is possible, and more likely under the eyes. If you take blood-thinning medication, tell us, and we will plan around it.
What the appointment looks like
Before You Arrive
You complete a medical questionnaire and consent form beforehand, including a question on fish allergy if polynucleotides are a possibility. Come without make-up on the area if you can.
Ideally, avoid alcohol for 24 hours before. If you take blood-thinning medication, tell Dr Ashraf and keep taking it as prescribed.
On the Day
Plan for 30 to 45 minutes for a first session, and less for later ones. A consultation and skin assessment with Dr Ashraf come first, then numbing cream, then the injections. You can go straight back to your day.
Photographs taken at every appointment form part of your clinical record and are only used elsewhere with your separate written permission.
Afterwards
No make-up on the area for the rest of the day, and no strenuous exercise, saunas or heat for 48 hours. You leave with written aftercare and Dr Ashraf's direct contact details.
Most courses are two or three sessions, a few weeks apart. The first change usually shows a few weeks in, and the full effect around three months after the last session, because you are waiting for your own collagen. After that, a single maintenance session when the effect begins to fade keeps the result.
Profhilo, Sunekos and polynucleotides compared
Dr Ashraf on the differences between the three skin boosters we offer, how each one works, and how to choose between them. Also on our YouTube channel: Profhilo explained.
Skin booster cost in Reigate
Profhilo
Sunekos
Polynucleotides
Microneedling
Prices are per session, and courses cost less per session. A Profhilo session treats one area: the face, neck, hands or décolletage. The plan, the number of sessions and the price are agreed with you before anything is booked. Every treatment at the clinic is listed on our pricing page.
Risks, and how we reduce them
Skin boosters are a medical procedure and they carry medical risk. Less of it than filler, but not none, and any clinic that tells you otherwise is not one to be treated at.
Which is why who treats you matters. Dr Ashraf is a GMC-registered doctor who injects full time and is trained to recognise and manage the complications of injectable treatment. As a senior clinical trainer at Derma Medical, he has trained over 1,000 doctors, dentists and nurses in injectable technique and complication management.
Every treatment here is carried out by Dr Ashraf and not delegated, you have his direct contact details afterwards, and we decline treatments we do not think are in your interest. More about Dr Haroon Ashraf.
Skin booster FAQs
What is a skin booster?
A light injectable treatment placed into the skin to improve its quality rather than the shape of the face. Skin boosters hydrate the tissue and prompt your own collagen and elastin, so the change builds over weeks. We offer three: Profhilo, polynucleotides and Sunekos.
Profhilo or polynucleotides?
Both improve skin quality, by different routes. Profhilo hydrates and remodels through hyaluronic acid and suits lost firmness across the face, neck, décolletage and hands. Polynucleotides act on the cells that make collagen, and are where we lean for sun damage, acne scarring and thin under-eye skin. Sometimes the plan uses both.
How many sessions will I need?
Profhilo is two to three sessions, four weeks apart; most people have two. Polynucleotides and Sunekos are usually three sessions, a few weeks apart. After the course, a single maintenance session when the effect begins to fade keeps the result.
How long do skin boosters last?
Typically nine to twelve months, and longer with maintenance. Skin boosters work against time rather than stopping it, so the result lasts as long as you maintain it.
Do skin boosters hurt?
Most people describe a sting rather than pain. Numbing cream goes on first, and the injections take three to five minutes for the eyes and five to ten for the full face. The neck and hands are a little more sensitive.
Can I combine skin boosters with filler or anti-wrinkle treatment?
Yes, and it is often the right plan. Skin boosters treat the skin, filler treats structure and anti-wrinkle treatment treats expression lines. Around the eyes we usually treat any hollow with filler first; the order and spacing are decided at your consultation.
Is there any downtime?
Very little. Small bumps that last from a few hours to, sometimes, a day or two, some redness, and possibly a bruise, which around the eyes can take up to a week to fade. No make-up for the rest of the day, and no heat or heavy exercise for 48 hours. If you have an event, leave a week.
Where are you, and do you see patients from Redhill and Leatherhead?
We are at 3 Holmesdale Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0BA, one minute from Reigate station and open seven days a week by appointment. Redhill is four minutes away by train, and Leatherhead about twenty minutes by car along the A25. Junction 8 of the M25 is about ten minutes away.
Book skin boosters in Reigate
Every appointment starts with a consultation with Dr Haroon Ashraf, and there is no obligation to book a course on the day.
Book a Consultation3 Holmesdale Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0BA
07885 519 416 · info@mindfulaesthetics.co