Mineral Injection

What is it?

"Mineral injection" (in Turkish, "mineral aşısı") is not a medical term but a name used by patients. The treatment it refers to is the fine, widespread delivery into a more superficial layer of the skin of a product carrying calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) microspheres, diluted with saline and usually a local anaesthetic. The "mineral" in its name comes from calcium hydroxylapatite being a mineral compound that is also found in bone and tooth tissue.

The same active substance is also used undiluted for volume and contour support; that treatment is described on a separate page. In the treatment on this page the aim is not volume but tissue quality: improvement over time in skin firmness, the appearance of fine wrinkles and tissue laxity. For this reason a mineral injection is classified not as a filler but as a biostimulator treatment.

No product name appears on this page; what is described is the active substance. The ranges reported in the literature vary with the person, the area and the dilution ratio.

How Does It Work, and When Is the Result Seen?

When the diluted product is delivered beneath the skin, the carrier gel and the diluting fluid are absorbed within a short time; the microspheres that remain stimulate fibroblasts in the surrounding tissue, triggering the production of new collagen and elastin. The fullness seen straight after treatment is largely due to the fluid and subsides within a few days. The real change appears over weeks as the collagen response develops; the literature generally recommends a period of two to three months before the result is assessed. What you see in the first days is not the final result.

The dilution ratio varies with the area to be treated and the thickness of the skin; a higher dilution is preferred in thin-skinned areas. The ratio and the technique (fanning with a cannula) are decided at the consultation. The treatment may not be limited to a single session: the literature mostly describes a series of sessions planned a few months apart. The number you need is decided according to the condition of your skin; no standard number is given in advance.

1. Dilution: the product is diluted with saline and local anaesthetic at a ratio set according to the area.
2. Treatment: the diluted mixture is distributed finely and widely beneath the skin with a cannula.
3. Early period: the temporary fluid-related fullness subsides within a few days; this period does not show the result.
4. Collagen response: the tissue response stimulated by the microspheres develops over weeks and determines the actual result.

Animated Explainer

Treatment Areas

• Face — skin firmness of the cheeks and lower face
• Neck — horizontal lines and laxity
• Décolletage — tissue changes due to sun damage
• Back of the hands — skin quality and thinning
• Inner upper arms, abdomen and above the knees — body areas showing laxity
• Not possible: lips and eyelids — this substance is not considered suitable for these areas
• Not possible: an expectation of volume or contour — for that goal the undiluted treatment is assessed

Procedure Steps

1. Assessment

   Skin thickness, the degree of laxity and your expectations are discussed. For someone expecting volume or an immediate result, you are told at this stage that this treatment is not suitable; if needed, a different class of treatment is suggested.

2. Information on irreversibility

   Calcium hydroxylapatite cannot be dissolved with hyaluronidase. In the diluted treatment the amount of substance delivered is small and no change of shape is intended; even so, irreversibility is a property you need to know about before deciding.

3. Preparation

   The area is cleaned with antiseptic; the cannula entry points are marked and local anaesthetic is applied. The mixture is prepared in the same session, immediately before treatment.

4. Treatment

   The diluted product is spread in a fan pattern in the subdermal plane with a cannula. Superficial and point-by-point placement is avoided; after treatment the area is gently massaged to even out the distribution.

5. Follow-up

   The result is assessed over weeks. At the follow-up appointment, whether an additional session is needed is decided together; no decision is made on the basis of how it looks early on.

Duration and Longevity

The effect comes not from the product itself being permanent but from the collagen response stimulated in the tissue; so the duration varies with the person's age, skin structure, sun exposure and habits such as smoking. The durations reported in the literature vary over a wide range depending on the area and the dilution ratio; whether maintenance sessions are needed is assessed at the follow-up appointment. Regardless of duration, this is what you need to know: the effect fading does not mean the substance can be dissolved.

Who is it suitable for?

• Adults who describe loss of firmness, fine wrinkles and tissue laxity in their skin
• People aiming for tissue quality rather than volume
• People looking for improvement in areas where filler is not suitable, such as the neck, décolletage and back of the hands
• People who accept that the result develops gradually over weeks
• People who come knowing about, and accepting, that the treatment cannot be reversed

Who is it not suitable for?

• Pregnant and breastfeeding people
• People with an active infection, a herpes outbreak, eczema or an open wound in the treatment area
• People with a bleeding disorder, and people taking blood thinners without the physician's approval
• People with an uncontrolled autoimmune disease or a known tendency to keloids
• People expecting an immediate or volumising result — this treatment is not a filler
• People seeking treatment of the lips or eyelids — this substance is not considered suitable for those areas
• Under 18s
• People who are undecided: with a treatment that cannot be reversed, indecision on its own is a reason to postpone

Aftercare

• Do not wear make-up for the first 24 hours; do not put pressure on the area.
• Avoid saunas, Turkish baths, sunbeds and strenuous exercise in the first days.
• If your physician has recommended it, gently massage the area in the first days; if not, do not.
• Keep using sunscreen; sun damage has a negative effect on the collagen response.
• Wait weeks before assessing the result; what you see early on is not final.
• If you have increasing pain, blanching of the skin or spreading discolouration, contact the clinic without waiting.

Possible Side Effects

• Temporary redness, swelling and tenderness at the injection points
• Bruising — more likely at the cannula entry points
• A feeling of fullness due to the fluid, lasting a few days
• A small palpable firmness or nodule — reported particularly with superficial placement and insufficient dilution
• Rarely, infection
• Rare but serious: tissue damage resulting from the product entering a blood vessel. Because there is no enzyme to reverse it, this is harder to manage than with hyaluronic acid fillers.

Frequently Asked Questions