People spend years on their face and almost no time on the two areas that age faster than it does.
The parts that give you away
The backs of the hands and the décolleté, the V of skin across the chest, have thin skin, very little fat underneath, and decades of sun exposure that nobody was wearing sunscreen for. On the hands, the fat pad between the tendons thins, and veins and tendons that were always there start to stand out. On the chest, sleep creases stop springing back and settle into vertical lines.
Neither responds much to skincare, because neither problem is on the surface. Both are a loss of structure underneath.
What Radiesse is, in plain terms
Radiesse is not a hyaluronic acid filler. It is calcium hydroxylapatite, a mineral that occurs naturally in bone and teeth, suspended as tiny smooth spheres in a water-based gel.
That gives it two separate effects, on two different timescales.
The gel does the immediate work. It restores volume on the day of treatment, which is why hands look different as soon as you leave.
The spheres do the slower work. The gel is absorbed over the following months, and as it goes, the spheres remain and your own fibroblasts respond to them by laying down new collagen around them. Your skin builds the structure, rather than the product being the structure.
This is what the industry has started calling biostimulation. The word is new. The mechanism is not.
Hands: an FDA-approved use for a decade
Radiesse has been FDA-approved for hand augmentation since 2015, specifically to correct volume loss on the back of the hands.
It is one of the few treatments where the before and after is genuinely immediate. The product is injected into the space above the tendons, massaged to spread evenly, and the hollows between the tendons fill in. Veins and tendons sit less proud because there is cushioning over them again, not because anything was removed.
Downtime is minimal. Swelling and some bruising for a few days is normal, and most people are back to normal activity the same day.
Before
After
Before
After
Décolleté: what actually changed in March 2026
On 31 March 2026 the FDA approved a new indication for Radiesse. The label now reads:
RADIESSE Injectable Implant diluted 1:2 with 0.9% sterile saline solution is indicated for subdermal implantation for the correction of décolleté wrinkles in patients 22 years of age and older.
Two details in that sentence matter.
Diluted 1:2. This is not Radiesse used the way it is used on hands or a jawline. It is deliberately thinned with saline so it spreads in a thin, even layer under the skin rather than sitting as a volumizing bolus. The goal on the chest is not to add volume. It is to get the collagen response across a broad area of crepey skin.
Décolleté wrinkles. Until March, treating the chest with Radiesse was something practitioners did off-label. There was published work behind it, but no FDA indication. Now there is one, with the clinical data to support it reviewed and accepted.
For patients, the practical change is that a treatment for an area most people had written off now has a formal, approved option.
Before
After
What the evidence actually shows, and what it does not
Being straight about this matters more than the marketing does.
Supported. That calcium hydroxylapatite stimulates new collagen is a real finding, not a claim. Biopsy studies using picrosirius red staining and polarized light microscopy have shown new collagen formation and dermal remodeling after injection. A split-face study comparing Radiesse against a hyaluronic acid filler found more type I collagen at nine months on the Radiesse side.
Less certain. Most of these are small studies. The biopsy work involved a handful of patients. Several of the frequently cited reviews are narrative rather than systematic, and some appear in journals close to the manufacturer. The specific percentages that circulate online, the "up to 160% more collagen" figures, usually trace back to clinic blog posts rather than to a primary paper. Treat the direction as well supported and the exact numbers as marketing.
What nobody claims. This is not a lift, and it is not a substitute for sun protection. Collagen stimulation improves skin quality and texture. It does not reverse decades of photodamage, and pigment and redness on the chest respond better to light-based treatment than to anything injected.
Do we offer this at Florida Aesthetics and Wellness?
Yes, for both areas. Radiesse hand rejuvenation is an established treatment here, and we have treated the décolleté as well. Both results shown above are our own patients, and you can see more in the before and after gallery.
One thing worth setting expectations on. Radiesse works on crepey texture, not on pigment. If the brown spots and redness are what bother you about your chest, light-based treatment is the better answer, and often the two are combined. That is a conversation for a consultation rather than something to decide from a photograph.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Radiesse a filler?
It is classified as a dermal filler, but it behaves differently from hyaluronic acid. HA fillers hold volume by attracting water and are reversible with an enzyme. Radiesse is not reversible, and part of its effect comes from the collagen your own skin produces in response to it.
How long do Radiesse results last?
On the hands, most patients see results lasting around a year, with the collagen component contributing after the gel itself has been absorbed. Individual results vary with age, metabolism and the area treated.
Does Radiesse hurt?
Topical numbing is applied first, and Radiesse+ contains lidocaine. Most patients describe pressure rather than pain. Hands are typically more comfortable than people expect.
What is the downtime after Radiesse?
Minimal. Swelling and bruising for several days is common on both the hands and the chest. Most people return to normal activity immediately.
Can Radiesse be used on the neck?
The new approval covers the décolleté, not the neck. They are different areas with different skin and different risks, and the neck is not an approved site.
Is Radiesse décolleté treatment available in Brandon?
Yes. Florida Aesthetics and Wellness is in Brandon and we treat both the hands and the décolleté with Radiesse. The chest result shown above is our own patient.