Radiesse
Radiesse being injected along mapped-out lines. The white grid drawn on the face shows where the product will go before any needle enters.
← All comparisons
Dermapedia / CompareProcedures
Radiesse vs Restylane
Radiesse cannot be dissolved. Restylane can. Radiesse is calcium hydroxylapatite. It comes as tiny beads of a calcium mineral, suspended in a gel. Restylane is a family of hyaluronic acid gels. An enzyme called hyaluronidase breaks hyaluronic acid apart within minutes to hours. Almost every other practical difference between the two follows from that.
At a glance
| The difference | Radiesse | Restylane |
|---|---|---|
| What it is made of | Calcium hydroxylapatite beads in a gel | Cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel |
| Cost | Usually the dearer of the two | Usually the cheaper of the two |
Restylane
Lip filler being placed. The needle enters at the lip border and the product is added in small amounts along its length rather than all at one point.
Side by side
The differences that matter
What it is made of
Radiesse
Calcium hydroxylapatite beads in a gel
The beads are radiopaque, which means they show up on an x-ray.
Restylane
Cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel
The Restylane products differ in how the gel is crosslinked and made, not in how much hyaluronic acid is in it.
How it works
Radiesse
Volume now, then new collagen
The gel gives volume on the day and is absorbed over the first two to three months. The beads stay behind and drive new collagen, then break down to calcium and phosphate.
Restylane
The gel is the volume
It takes up space and holds water until the body breaks it down.
How it works, illustrated
Radiesse
Can it be dissolved
Radiesse
No, and there is no reversal agent
Hyaluronidase has no target in calcium hydroxylapatite. Nothing else is approved to undo it.
Restylane
Yes, with hyaluronidase
In the US, dissolving filler is an off-label use of the enzyme.
Lips
Radiesse
Not established, and lumps are reported
The labelling says safety and effectiveness in the lips has not been established. It also points to published reports of lumps after injection into the lips.
Restylane
Four Restylane products are used in lips
Restylane, Restylane-L, Restylane Silk and Restylane Kysse.
How long it lasts
Radiesse
Measured out to 39 months, fading over time
The label makes no duration claim. In the nasolabial fold trial, at 6 months 79% of treated folds scored at least a point better than the untreated fold on the same face. 102 of the original 117 people were followed up to 39 months, and 40% of folds assessed at 30 months or later were still graded "improved" or better, which means 60% were not.
Restylane
Measured product by product, not as a brand
Restylane in lips: 59% still improved at week 24, against 31% untreated. Eyelight under the eye: 64% at month 12, against 11%. Kysse in lips: 60% at week 48. Defyne in the chin: 74% at week 48.
The downside
Radiesse
Lumps, and the area changes the rate
In the nasolabial fold trial, nodules occurred in 0.9% — one person — the same as in the control arm. But the jawline trial recorded injection-site mass in 11%, and the hand labelling says Radiesse may cause nodules, bumps or lumps on the back of the hand in 12% of people, lasting up to a year.
Restylane
Bruising is the commonest complaint
In the Lyft cheek study, 49% of treated people had at least one side effect. The commonest was injection-site bruising, at 18%, usually lasting 11 days or less.
Related topic illustrations
Radiesse
Sculptra
Moderate to strong evidence. A pure collagen stimulator with no same-day change, given as a course, and typically lasting around two years. Broader and softer in effect, and also not reversible.
Cost
Radiesse
Usually the dearer of the two
In 2023 the American Society of Plastic Surgeons put the average surgeon fee for non-hyaluronic acid fillers at $901. That group was Radiesse, Sculptra, Bellafill and Renuva.
Restylane
Usually the cheaper of the two
The same report gave an average surgeon fee of $715 for hyaluronic acid fillers.
Who tends to be happy with it
Radiesse
- Best for — Structural work in the lower face and jawline, the hands, and deep folds. Best in someone happy for time to correct the result, not an enzyme.
- The mindset — Place it carefully the first time, because the plan is to live with it.
Restylane
- Best for — Areas where the exact product matters and where being able to change your mind matters more: lips, under the eyes, cheeks, chin.
- The mindset — Start conservatively, review at two weeks, adjust.
The material shows up on scans
Radiesse
Radiesse is radiopaque, so it is visible on imaging. The 2015 hand approval carried a required study of whether the product hides hand bones on x-ray across repeat treatments.
Not permanent and not reversible are two different things
Radiesse
Radiesse is the first without being the second. The gel carrier is absorbed over the first two to three months. The beads are then broken down into calcium and phosphate, which the body handles through normal mineral metabolism. It fades on its own timetable. It just cannot be taken back on yours.
Restylane
Restylane is both. The body breaks the gel down over time, and it can also be removed on purpose with hyaluronidase.
The fine print
Radiesse
Radiesse is made by Merz. The Restylane family is made by Galderma.
The Radiesse beads are 25 to 45 microns across, suspended in a gel of sterile water, glycerin and carboxymethylcellulose. Restylane, Restylane-L, Lyft, Silk, Kysse, Refyne, Defyne, Contour and Eyelight are all cross-linked hyaluronic acid at 20 mg/mL.
Radiesse's approved areas. Facial wrinkles and folds "such as nasolabial folds"; HIV-related facial fat loss; the back of the hands (2015); the jawline, for Radiesse (+) Lidocaine (2021); and the décolleté, diluted 1:2 with saline, approved March 2026 after the August 2025 advisory committee meeting. The label states that safety beyond 3 years in the face and 2 years in the hand has not been investigated.
Restylane
Restylane is approved area by area, product by product, not as a brand. Nasolabial folds and facial wrinkles: Restylane, Restylane-L, Lyft, Refyne, Defyne. Lips: Restylane, Restylane-L, Silk, Kysse. Cheeks: Lyft, Contour. Chin: Defyne (2021), Lyft with Lidocaine (2025). Back of the hands: Lyft (2018). Under-eye hollows: Eyelight (2023). Temples: Contour (2026).
Conditions treated
Radiesse
Wrinkles and Fine Lines
A thicker injectable that both fills immediately and stimulates collagen over the following months, used mainly along the jaw and in the cheeks and hands. It is firmer than hyaluronic acid filler, so it is not used in delicate areas like under the eyes, and it cannot be dissolved.
Common questions
Questions Patients Ask
Can Radiesse be dissolved like Restylane?
No. Hyaluronidase works only on hyaluronic acid, so it dissolves Restylane and does nothing to Radiesse. There is no approved reversal agent for calcium hydroxylapatite. If a Radiesse result is unwanted, the realistic options are waiting for it to fade, saline injected with a cannula to break up a lump, steroid injections for an inflamed one, and surgery in rare cases.
Is Radiesse permanent?
No. The gel carrier is absorbed over the first two to three months and the microspheres are broken down into calcium and phosphate that the body handles normally. The label makes no duration claim; it says only that safety beyond three years in the face and two years in the hand has not been investigated. The FDA's consumer page puts calcium hydroxylapatite effects at approximately 18 months.
Which one lasts longer?
Nobody can answer that from published evidence, because no trial has compared them. Radiesse's own longest measurement found 40% of nasolabial folds still graded "improved" or better at 30 months or more. Restylane products were each followed on their own scales — for example Restylane Lyft in the cheeks at 75.7% responders at month 12, and Restylane Kysse in the lips at 60% at week 48. Different trials, different scales, no comparison.
Can I have Radiesse in my lips?
Radiesse's own labelling says safety and effectiveness in the lips has not been established, and reports nodules after injection there. Four Restylane products do hold a US lip approval: Restylane, Restylane-L, Restylane Silk and Restylane Kysse. A review of the calcium hydroxylapatite evidence advises avoiding it in highly mobile areas such as the lips because lumps are more common there.
Does Radiesse build collagen and Restylane not?
Radiesse works in two phases: the gel gives volume immediately, and the microspheres left behind are colonised by fibroblasts and stimulate new collagen. Restylane is the volume itself. One laboratory study comparing immune cell responses to the two main biostimulator materials concluded that calcium hydroxylapatite acts through a non-inflammatory route; that study was run and authored by staff at Merz, which makes Radiesse.
Will Radiesse interfere with a mammogram or x-ray?
Radiesse is radiopaque, so it is visible on imaging. Its 2015 hand approval required a post-approval study of whether it obscures hand bones on x-ray. When an FDA advisory committee reviewed fillers in the décolletage in August 2025, interference with breast cancer screening was one of its stated concerns. Tell any radiologist or technologist what you have had and where.
Which one costs more?
In 2023, the last year the American Society of Plastic Surgeons published filler fees, the average surgeon fee was $715 for hyaluronic acid fillers and $901 for non-hyaluronic acid fillers, a category that includes Radiesse. That is a per-procedure fee, not a per-syringe price, it excludes facility costs, and it pools many products and areas. No society publishes a current price for either.
Safety to keep in mind
It also drove the debate about the décolleté. An FDA advisory committee looked at fillers in the chest area in August 2025. Its stated concerns included interference with breast cancer screening. It also flagged the risk of filler lumps being mistaken for suspicious masses on a scan, or the reverse. If you have had Radiesse in the chest area, tell whoever is imaging you.