Aesthetic medicine glossary
The words you will hear at the consultation, in two or three sentences each. No brand names, and Cosmo Clinic prices where there is a price.
Substances
Hyaluronic acid
A molecule the skin already has, and one that holds water. In aesthetic medicine it is made in a laboratory and used as a gel: denser for volume, more fluid for hydration. The body absorbs it over months, and if needed it dissolves with hyaluronidase.
Botulinum toxin
A purified protein that relaxes, for a few months, the muscle it is placed in. It treats the lines that come with expression: forehead, frown lines, crow's feet. The effect starts between day 3 and day 14 and lasts 3 to 6 months. At Cosmo Clinic it costs €150 per area, €189 for the forehead.
Collagen biostimulators
Substances injected into the deep dermis that get the skin to make new collagen over weeks. They add no volume on the day; they add firmness after 2 to 3 months. We use calcium hydroxylapatite (€450) and poly-L-lactic acid (€500).
Collagen
The protein that gives the skin firmness and structure. Production falls from the mid-twenties. Biostimulators and skin boosters exist to get the skin producing it again.
Hyaluronidase
The enzyme that dissolves hyaluronic acid. It corrects a filler that is misplaced or overdone within 24 to 48 hours. Having it in the clinic is a matter of safety, not convenience. €120.
Polynucleotides
Fragments of DNA used in some skin treatments to support repair and hydration. We do not offer them at the moment; ask at the consultation if you have been treated with them elsewhere.
Treatments
Dermal filler
Hyaluronic acid gel, injected where the face has lost volume or definition: lips, cheekbones, jawline, chin, under-eyes, nose, folds. You see the result on the day; the final one when the swelling settles, around day 14. It lasts 4 to 6 months in the lips, longer in structural areas.
Lip filler
One millilitre of hyaluronic acid in the lips, for contour, volume or symmetry. Proportion before size. €189, 30 minutes.
Cheek filler
Hyaluronic acid over the cheekbone, to restore the projection the mid-face loses with age. It supports the face from above and often softens the nasolabial fold on its own. €219 per ml.
Chin filler
Hyaluronic acid to project or balance the chin against the profile. Small amounts change a lot here. €219 per ml.
Jawline filler
Hyaluronic acid along the angle and the line of the jaw, for definition. €219 per ml.
Tear trough filler
A fluid hyaluronic acid in the hollow under the eye, to soften the shadow. A precise area with a precise product; it is assessed at the consultation, not promised on a page. €328.
Temple filler
Hyaluronic acid in the temples, which hollow with age and make the frame of the eye look tired. €219 per ml.
Non-surgical rhinoplasty
Filling the nose with hyaluronic acid, without surgery: it straightens the bridge, lifts the tip or hides an asymmetry. It lasts 10 to 14 months. €368.
Masseter botulinum toxin
The masseter is the chewing muscle, at the jaw. Botulinum toxin relaxes it and slims the lower face. It lasts 4 to 6 months. €305.
Skin booster
Fluid hyaluronic acid injected into the dermis in micro-injections, to hydrate the skin from inside. No volume; light and elasticity. 3 ml, €550, over 2 to 3 sessions.
Mesotherapy
Superficial micro-injections of vitamins, amino acids and hyaluronic acid. Texture, tone and light improve over sessions. At Cosmo Clinic, NCTF mesotherapy costs €189 per session.
Cannula
A blunt, flexible tube used instead of a needle for some fillers. It slides under the skin from one entry point, which means fewer bruises in some areas.
Nefertiti lift
Botulinum toxin along the neck muscle that pulls the jawline down. It gives the lower face a cleaner line. Assessed case by case.
Touch-up
A small adjustment 2 to 3 weeks after the treatment, once the result has settled. We review every result; if something needs adjusting, we adjust it.
Informed consent
The document you read and sign before any treatment. It says what will be done, what can go wrong and what to expect. At Cosmo Clinic it exists in English and in Portuguese.
Areas and signs
Dynamic wrinkles
The lines that appear when you make an expression and vanish at rest. They are treated with botulinum toxin.
Static wrinkles
The lines that stay even with the face at rest. They come from lost collagen and volume. They are treated with filler, biostimulators or a skin booster, depending on the cause.
Nasolabial folds
The line from the side of the nose to the corner of the mouth. It deepens as the cheeks lose volume, and is often treated from above rather than in the fold itself.
Marionette lines
The lines that run from the corners of the mouth down to the chin and give a sad look. Filler, and sometimes botulinum toxin in the muscle that pulls the corner down.
Periorbital
Around the eye: crow's feet, the tear trough, the brow.
Platysma
The thin muscle at the front of the neck. When it pulls the jawline down, botulinum toxin along its edge lifts the line.
Photodamage
What the sun does to the skin over the years: uneven tone, texture, fine lines. Skin boosters and mesotherapy treat the surface; sunscreen keeps it.
Tyndall effect
A bluish tint under the skin when a filler sits too close to the surface, most often under the eyes. It is corrected with hyaluronidase.
Zone of safety
The areas and depths where an injector can work with the lowest risk to blood vessels and nerves. It is why the same face gets a needle in one place and a cannula in another.
How the result is talked about
Aesthetic medicine
Treatments for the face and skin that do not involve surgery: botulinum toxin, fillers, biostimulators, skin treatments. In Portugal the establishment must be registered with the ERS, the health regulator; ours is, and the number is in the footer.
Downtime
What shows after a treatment: a little redness, swelling or a bruise, 24 to 72 hours in most cases. We tell you at the consultation what to expect from yours.
Still have a question?
The clinical team answers it at the assessment consultation, which is free.
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