Lanluma
Not publicly documented No manufacturer sheet gives the vial size, the amount of material, or how to mix it. Reseller listings are not specifications.
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Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Lanluma vs Sculptra
Both are poly-L-lactic acid, a material that makes your body build its own collagen. Sculptra is approved in the US, and every area that approval names is on the face. Lanluma is not approved in the US at all. It is sold in the UK and Europe, mainly for cellulite and buttock reshaping, and neither product can be dissolved once it is in.
At a glance
| The difference | Lanluma | Sculptra |
|---|---|---|
| What is actually in the vial | Not publicly documented | Set out in the FDA labelling |
| Cost | Per vial, over a course | Per vial, over a course |
Sculptra
Side by side
The differences that matter
What is actually in the vial
Lanluma
Not publicly documented
No manufacturer sheet gives the vial size, the amount of material, or how to mix it. Reseller listings are not specifications.
Sculptra
Set out in the FDA labelling
Freeze-dried powder, mixed with 5 mL or 8 mL of sterile water before use.
How it works, illustrated
Sculptra
What you actually do
Lanluma
Not publicly documented for this brand
No instruction sheet sets out depth, dilution or maximum volume for Lanluma.
Sculptra
A course of injections into the deep dermis
It is threaded into the deep dermis over several sessions. Trials used about three or four sessions, spaced a few weeks apart.
Conditions treated
Sculptra
Wrinkles and Fine Lines
A collagen-stimulating injectable given as a course, usually three sessions. Nothing looks different straight away; volume builds gradually over several months and lasts around two years. It suits overall thinning and flatness rather than a single line, and it cannot be dissolved, so it is a slower and less reversible decision than filler.
Where it is used
Lanluma
Marketed for cellulite and buttocks
The maker sells Lanluma for cellulite and buttock work. That is its own claim, not an outside finding.
Sculptra
Face only, in its US approval
Every area named in Sculptra's US approval is on the face. Body use is off-label. That is legal and common, but it means no regulator has looked at evidence for it.
Published evidence for the brand
Lanluma
None
There is no published trial of Lanluma itself. Trials of other poly-L-lactic acid products are not this product's evidence.
Sculptra
Two company-funded trials
One trial of 233 people treated nasolabial folds and followed them to month 25. A second trial of 149 people treated cheeks. In it, 71% responded at month 12, against 26% with no treatment. The maker paid for both.
Reversibility
Lanluma
No
There is no reversal agent for Lanluma.
Sculptra
No
There is no reversal agent for Sculptra either.
Getting it in the US
Lanluma
Outside the FDA framework
Using Lanluma in the US means using a product the FDA has never reviewed. The FDA also warns people not to buy fillers sold direct to the public. Such products may be fake, contaminated, or not approved here.
Sculptra
Prescription only, normal supply chain
Sculptra reaches US clinics through the ordinary route, so what is in the vial is what the labelling says.
Cost
Lanluma
Per vial, over a course
No price is published. A body area takes more vials and more sessions than a face, so a course costs more.
Sculptra
Per vial, over a course
You pay per vial and per session, and the trials ran to about three or four sessions. Cost follows how many vials an area takes, not the brand name.
Who tends to be happy with it
Lanluma
- Best for — Someone treated in the UK or Europe who accepts a brand with no published trials of its own.
- The mindset — You are buying the material, not a documented product.
Sculptra
- Best for — Someone in the US who wants facial volume from a product whose trials and labelling are public.
- The mindset — Build slowly over a course, and judge it at three months.
Same material is not the same product
Sculptra
For Sculptra those details sit in FDA documents anyone can read. For Lanluma they are not published anywhere you can check, and reseller pages are not a substitute.
The fine print
Lanluma
Lanluma has no FDA premarket approval and no FDA clearance. It is CE-marked and marketed in the UK and Europe by Sinclair.
Sculptra
Sculptra holds a US premarket approval, PMA P030050, and is distributed by Galderma. Its named indications are facial fat loss in people with HIV, granted 3 August 2004; shallow to deep nasolabial fold contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles suited to a deep dermal cross-hatch technique, in 2009; and fine lines and wrinkles in the cheek region, in 2023. Each vial holds 367.5 mg of freeze-dried powder — poly-L-lactic acid microparticles with sodium carboxymethylcellulose and mannitol — reconstituted with 5 mL or 8 mL of sterile water.
The body-use safety review cited above includes co-authors affiliated with Galderma.
More photographs
Sculptra
Related topic illustrations
Sculptra
Radiesse
Moderate evidence. The other common biostimulator. It adds volume the same day as well as building collagen, and typically lasts about 12 to 18 months rather than two years. Also not reversible.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Is Lanluma FDA-approved?
No. Lanluma has no FDA premarket approval and no 510(k) clearance. It is not approved and not cleared in the US. It is CE-marked and marketed in the UK and Europe, where it is sold by Sinclair.
Is Lanluma the same as Sculptra?
They share the same active material, poly-L-lactic acid, but they are different products from different companies with different regulatory histories. Particle characteristics, what else is in the vial and how the powder disperses when mixed all affect how a poly-L-lactic acid product behaves, and those details are published for Sculptra and not for Lanluma.
Can Sculptra be used on the buttocks?
Not as an approved use. Every area named in Sculptra's US approvals is on the face. Body treatment is off-label, which is legal and routine, but the FDA separately recommends against injectable filler for body contouring and enhancement, naming buttock augmentation specifically.
Is there any safety data for poly-L-lactic acid on the body?
Some. A real-world review of 498 people treated in non-facial areas reported nodules in 0.2% and bruising as the most common adverse event at 5.0%, using reconstitution volumes of 10 mL per vial or more. A smaller body-contouring series of 20 people reported a nodule in one. Neither was randomized, both include manufacturer-affiliated co-authors, and neither used Lanluma.
Which one lasts longer?
There is no way to answer that. Lanluma has no published trial of its own, so there is no duration figure to quote for it, and comparing it to Sculptra's trial timepoints would be comparing a number to nothing.
Can either be dissolved?
No. Hyaluronidase works on hyaluronic acid and has no effect on poly-L-lactic acid. No reversal agent is approved for either. If a result is unwanted, the material itself breaks down over roughly two years, and a lump can be managed with saline infiltration, steroid injection, antibiotics if a biofilm is suspected, or surgery in stubborn cases.
How many vials does body treatment take?
There is no published figure for that, for either product. What the body literature does show is that much higher reconstitution volumes are used than on the face - generally 10 mL or more per vial - which is the best-supported measure for reducing nodules.
Should I travel abroad for Lanluma?
That is a decision to make with a clinician, but the things to weigh are concrete. Outside the US you would be treated under that country's rules with a CE-marked product; you would be relying on a brand with no published trials of its own; and if a delayed problem appears months later you would be managing it at home, without the injector who placed the product.
Safety to keep in mind
The FDA recommends against injectable fillers for body shaping. It names buttock enlargement in particular. That covers off-label body use of a face product.