How long does Profhilo last, honestly?

Profhilo is usually sold with a number attached to it. Two sessions four weeks apart, then a maintenance session at around six months. The number is tidy and easy to remember, and it is not really a measurement. It comes from a treatment protocol rather than from a study that followed people until their result wore off. If you are deciding whether Profhilo is worth your money, that distinction matters.

What Profhilo is doing, and why that changes the question

Profhilo is injectable hyaluronic acid, but it is not a dermal filler. It is manufactured using a thermal process that binds high and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid into what are called hybrid cooperative complexes, without the chemical cross-linking agents used in fillers. Because it is not cross-linked into a firm gel, it spreads through the skin instead of holding a shape.

The low molecular weight fraction is thought to signal to fibroblasts, the cells that build collagen and elastin. The high molecular weight fraction holds water and slows the breakdown of the complex. The intended result is a change in the quality of the skin: hydration, firmness and texture. This is the group of treatments we list under skin boosters and bioremodelling. It is not the same job as dermal fillers, which are placed to restore shape and volume.

That matters for the question of duration. A filler result is a physical thing sitting in the tissue, and you can watch it go. A bioremodelling result is a change in how your skin is behaving, and it fades gradually and unevenly rather than switching off.

Where the six month figure comes from

The standard protocol is two sessions four weeks apart, with maintenance roughly every six months. That schedule is a reasonable clinical convention and it works well in practice. It is not the same as evidence that the effect lasts precisely six months, and it is not evidence that nothing remains at month seven. Nobody has run a large trial that treated people and then watched them until they returned to baseline.

What the published studies actually measured

The follow-up periods in the literature are short. A 2025 open-label study in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery treated 30 women with two sessions four weeks apart and followed them for 12 weeks. At week 12, skin hydration had risen by about 21 per cent and water loss through the skin barrier had fallen by about 21 per cent, both statistically significant. The study did not look beyond 12 weeks, so it tells us nothing about month six.

A 2024 retrospective case series in Annals of Case Reports treated 10 patients on the forehead and temples and assessed them at day 150. At that point, 90 per cent rated the treated areas much improved. That is encouraging, but it is 10 people, there was no control group, and everyone knew what they had been given.

The most uncomfortable finding is the most recent. A 2026 randomised, triple-blind, split-face trial in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery gave 12 women Profhilo on one side of the perioral area and saline on the other, two sessions 30 days apart, with measurements at 60 days. Dermal thickness increased on both sides, and the increase on the Profhilo side did not exceed the placebo side. Around half the participants were dissatisfied with their outcome. Twelve people is a very small trial and it is not the final word, but it is the best controlled evidence available and it is not flattering.

The honest summary is this. There is reasonable evidence that Profhilo improves measured skin hydration in the first three months, weaker evidence that visible improvement persists to around five months, and almost no controlled evidence about what is happening at six months or beyond. Anyone quoting you a precise duration is quoting a protocol, not a study.

What actually changes how long your result lasts

Starting skin quality is the biggest variable. If your skin is already well hydrated and reasonably firm, there is less to improve and less of a change to lose, so the result tends to look shorter lived. Skin that is dry, crepey and long neglected often shows a larger change and holds it for longer.

Age matters, because hyaluronic acid turnover and fibroblast activity both slow with time. So do sun exposure and smoking, which degrade the collagen and elastin the treatment is trying to encourage. What you do between sessions counts: daily sun protection and a sensible skincare routine will hold a result better than anything injected.

The most common reason people tell us Profhilo did not last is that it was never the right treatment. If the real problem was volume loss, a heavy jawline or genuine laxity, bioremodelling was not going to address it. The result then appears to fade within weeks, because there was little there to begin with.

Who Profhilo does not suit

We would not treat you, or would ask you to wait, if any of the following apply. Anyone with a known allergy to hyaluronic acid products or to any component of the product. Anyone with an active skin infection, active acne or inflamed skin at the intended injection sites, where treatment should be postponed until the skin has settled. Anyone with a bleeding disorder, or taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medication, who will bruise more and needs an individual discussion first.

We do not treat during pregnancy or breastfeeding, because it has not been studied in those groups. We do not treat anyone under 18. If you have an autoimmune condition or take immune-modulating medication, we will want to discuss it before deciding, and this is one of the reasons we ask about every medicine and supplement you take.

We also turn people away when the expectation is wrong. If you want a lift, a rebuilt jawline or a filled fold, Profhilo will disappoint you however long it lasts. And if what you need is a fixed, promised duration, we cannot offer one, because the evidence does not support one.

What we tell people in the clinic

Our clinical team gives the same answer every time. Most people notice the improvement holding somewhere between four and eight months, fading gradually rather than suddenly. That range is a clinical impression drawn from what we see, not a measured figure, and we say so. Some people see less. A small number see very little at all, which is consistent with what the controlled trial found.

We photograph you at every appointment in the same light and position, because memory is unreliable about slow change in your own face. Comparing your photographs at month four and month seven is a far better guide to your own duration than any number quoted in an advert.

If Profhilo has not held for you before, the more useful conversation is usually about whether it was the right treatment for your skin, not about repeating it sooner.

If you want an honest read on whether bioremodelling is worth it for you, our consultations are free, last 30 minutes and carry no obligation to book anything. You can book a free consultation online.