What causes hollow temples?
A common reason the temple beside the outer corner of the eye—sometimes called the marriage palace in face reading—looks sunken is that the subcutaneous soft tissue in the temple thins with age. When the tissue that supported a fuller temple in youth decreases, the area beside the outer corner of the eye recedes and casts a shadow, making the side of the face look hollow.
The pattern of this tissue loss differs from person to person. The entire temple may become broadly flat, or only a narrow area may develop a deep hollow. If this area looks sunken and you are deciding what to use to restore it, the width and depth of the hollowing are what distinguish filler from Sculptra.
For hollow temples, should you choose HA filler or Sculptra?
If the entire temple is broadly hollow and the skin has also thinned, I consider Sculptra first. If there is a single deep groove or the hollow needs to be filled immediately, I consider hyaluronic acid (HA) filler first. Sculptra is suited to gradually restoring volume as collagen forms across a broad area, while filler is suited to immediately filling a specific area and shaping it.
| Temple hollowing and desired change | Treatment considered first |
|---|---|
| A broad area is hollow and the skin has also thinned | Sculptra |
| You are comfortable with the area filling gradually over several months | Sculptra |
| You can have 2–3 sessions at 4–6-week intervals | Sculptra |
| A localized area forms a single deep groove | HA filler |
| You want to see a filled appearance immediately after treatment | HA filler |
If both patterns are present, we do not insist on using only one treatment. One option is to use Sculptra for the broad hollowing while also using filler for a deep area that needs immediate correction. Conversely, if skin texture or the thinning of the skin itself is the main concern rather than temple hollowing, I consider Juvelook first instead of either filler or Sculptra.
How should the temples be injected safely?
In the temples, the result of both filler and Sculptra depends on how deep the product is placed and how it is spread. So rather than looking only at which one lasts longer, we also look at how each is injected in this area.
Temple filler is placed with attention to the layers where blood vessels run and to the injection depth. Blood vessels pass through several layers here, and, along with the glabella and nose, the temple is considered an area where vessels need particular attention when filler is injected. In the rare case that the skin turns white or pain becomes severe during or after treatment, tell the clinic right away.
With Sculptra in the temples, the key is keeping the product from collecting in one place. At our clinic, we adequately dilute one vial with 8–10 mL, distribute small amounts broadly in the deep subcutaneous layer, and massage the area evenly immediately after treatment. At home, we instruct you to massage for 5 days, 5 times a day, for 5 minutes each time. Keeping to the right depth and even distribution does more to reduce nodules than the number of vials.
When do temple filler and Sculptra results appear, and how long do they last?
With temple filler, you can see the filled shape immediately after treatment. Sculptra results appear gradually over several months as collagen forms. Because the changes begin at different speeds, the choice differs between someone who needs an immediate shape before an important event and someone who wants to gradually restore a broad hollow.
It is difficult to give a single duration without accounting for the product and treatment conditions. In a study using VYC-20L, a specific hyaluronic acid filler, in the temples, 73.3% of participants still met the predefined improvement criterion at 13 months. In a study using PLLA in the temples, aesthetic improvement was observed through 12 months. These figures reflect the specific products and conditions used in each study; they do not mean that every filler or one Sculptra treatment will last exactly that long.
For Sculptra in the temples, we generally plan 2–3 sessions using 1–2 vials per session at 4–6-week intervals. When do Sculptra results appear, how long do they last, and can one session be enough? explains whether one session may be enough and how we decide on the next session.