Understanding how HArmonyCa™ combines hyaluronic acid with a collagen-stimulating ingredient to address multiple signs of facial ageing

When patients come to us wanting to look fresher or more rejuvenated, the concern isn’t always a particular wrinkle.

You may notice that your skin doesn’t feel as firm as it once did. Perhaps the contours of your cheeks or jawline have changed, or you’ve noticed a gradual loss of volume and elasticity.

These changes are a normal part of facial ageing. Over time, levels of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid decline, contributing to changes in skin firmness, hydration, volume and overall facial appearance. HArmonyCa Magazine_LR

This is where treatments such as HArmonyCa™ offer an interesting approach to facial rejuvenation.

Unlike a traditional hyaluronic acid filler alone, HArmonyCa™ combines hyaluronic acid (HA) and calcium hydroxyapatite (CaHA) in one injectable treatment. These two components work differently, allowing the treatment to provide an immediate lifting and volumising effect while also supporting the body’s own collagen production over time.  

At The Aesthetic Clinic, Dr Anton Mathey offers HArmonyCa™ as part of an individualised approach to facial rejuvenation, following a comprehensive consultation to determine whether it is appropriate for your particular needs.

What is HArmonyCa™?

HArmonyCa™ is described by Allergan Aesthetics as a hybrid biostimulator.

It contains two key components in one syringe:

• Hyaluronic acid (HA) provides volume and contributes to an immediate lifting effect.
• Calcium hydroxyapatite (CaHA) supports the body’s own collagen production, contributing to gradual improvements in skin firmness and structure.

This is why Allergan Aesthetics describes HArmonyCa™ as a treatment with a “dual effect”: it combines the lifting properties associated with HA with sustained collagen stimulation associated with CaHA.

Rather than addressing only one aspect of facial ageing, the treatment is designed to work across more than one concern.

Why does collagen matter as we age?

We talk about collagen frequently in aesthetics, but what exactly is it doing for your skin?

Collagen is an important structural component of the skin. As we age, our ability to naturally replenish it decreases.

According to the Allergan Aesthetics HArmonyCa™ guide, the skin’s ability to replenish collagen naturally decreases by approximately 1–1.5% per year with age.

The collagen structure also becomes more fragile, while declining hyaluronic acid can further affect skin hydration and suppleness.

The diagram on page 12 of the guide provides a useful illustration of these changes, comparing the collagen and elastin architecture of younger, older and HArmonyCa™-treated skin.

This helps explain why treating ageing skin isn’t necessarily only about replacing lost volume.

For certain patients, supporting the quality and structural architecture of the skin may also form part of a longer-term rejuvenation strategy.

How does HArmonyCa™ work?

This is where the two components of HArmonyCa™ come together.

Following treatment, the hyaluronic acid component provides volume and contributes to an immediate lifting effect. At the same time, the calcium hydroxyapatite microspheres begin supporting the body’s own collagen-production process.

Allergan Aesthetics describes CaHA as activating fibroblasts through direct contact, supporting the body’s production of new collagen. This process of new collagen formation, known as neocollagenesis, can contribute to thickening of the dermis and improvements in skin architecture and firmness.

The result is therefore not intended to come from one mechanism alone.

Think of it as two complementary actions:

HA → lift and volume

CaHA → collagen stimulation and gradual improvements in firmness

This dual action is what distinguishes HArmonyCa™ from a conventional HA-only injectable treatment.

Who may be suitable for HArmonyCa™?

According to Allergan Aesthetics, HArmonyCa™ is designed for patients experiencing loss of skin elasticity together with mild to moderate facial volume loss.

This might sound familiar if you’ve begun noticing that your face feels less firm, the lower face has changed, or you feel that you have lost some of the structure and volume you had when you were younger.

Importantly, these concerns don’t automatically mean HArmonyCa™ is the right treatment for you.

There are many different reasons for changes in facial appearance, and different aesthetic treatments address different aspects of ageing.

A consultation with Dr Mathey allows him to assess your facial anatomy, degree of volume loss, skin quality, elasticity and treatment goals before recommending an appropriate treatment plan.

Where can HArmonyCa™ be used?

HArmonyCa™ isn’t designed to be injected indiscriminately across the face.

The Allergan Aesthetics guide identifies treatment areas including the zygomatic arch, jaw ramus, jawline, submalar area and pre-jowl sulcus, depending on the individual treatment plan.

The guide also places particular emphasis on treatment of the lateral face.

The anatomical illustration on page 14 shows the facial ligament line and explains that injection in the lateral face may offer a greater lifting effect than treatment of the medial face.

This highlights something we emphasise regularly at The Aesthetic Clinic: injectable treatments require a detailed understanding of facial anatomy, appropriate product placement and injection technique.

It’s not simply about choosing an injectable. Where and how that injectable is used matters.

When will I see results?

Because HArmonyCa™ has two components working in different ways, the treatment has both an immediate and a progressive element.

The HA component provides volume and contributes to an immediate lifting effect, while collagen stimulation associated with CaHA develops over time. The source material notes that new collagen fibres can begin forming as early as one week after treatment, with gradual structural changes developing thereafter. 

The patient journeys featured in the Allergan Aesthetics guide also demonstrate why HArmonyCa™ shouldn’t necessarily be judged only by what you see immediately after treatment.

The guide documents patients at 1 month and 3 months after treatment, illustrating changes over time. Importantly, these are individual case examples and should not be interpreted as a guarantee of the results another patient will experience.  

Individual results vary.

HArmonyCa™ vs dermal filler: what’s the difference?

This is a useful distinction.

Traditional hyaluronic acid dermal fillers, including products within the JUVÉDERM® range, can be selected for specific aesthetic purposes such as restoring volume, supporting facial structure, contouring or refining particular features.

HArmonyCa™ combines HA with the collagen-stimulating properties of CaHA, making it particularly relevant where loss of firmness and collagen accompanies mild to moderate volume loss.

They aren’t necessarily competing treatments.

In fact, Allergan Aesthetics’ treatment-planning guide shows that HArmonyCa™ and JUVÉDERM® may form part of an integrated treatment approach, depending on the patient’s individual facial needs.

One patient may benefit from HArmonyCa™ alone. Another may require targeted refinement with an HA filler. For somebody else, a completely different treatment may be more appropriate.

That’s why we start with the patient rather than the product.

Why medical assessment matters with biostimulatory injectables

Treatments that influence facial structure and are injected into deeper tissue layers require careful assessment and appropriate medical expertise.

The HArmonyCa™ Instructions for Use referenced in Allergan Aesthetics’ guide specify injection into the deep dermal and subdermal layers.  

At The Aesthetic Clinic, Dr Anton Mathey brings more than 17 years of experience in aesthetic medicine to his injectable treatment planning.

Before recommending HArmonyCa™, he considers not only the area you’re concerned about, but also your overall facial anatomy, existing volume, skin quality and the relationship between different areas of the face.

The goal is not to simply add volume.

It is to determine what is changing in your face and which treatment is appropriate for addressing it.

That’s why we start with the patient rather than the product.

A different way of thinking about facial rejuvenation

Aesthetic medicine is increasingly moving beyond simply treating individual lines.

For patients experiencing several aspects of facial ageing simultaneously, such as volume change, reduced firmness, loss of elasticity and declining collagen, a multi-dimensional approach may be appropriate.

The important thing is that treatment remains personalised.

You don’t need to decide whether you need a filler, biostimulator or combination treatment before coming to see us.

Start by telling us what you’ve noticed and what you’d like to address.

From there, Dr Mathey can help determine the most appropriate way forward.

Considering HArmonyCa™ in Pretoria?

If you’re noticing loss of facial firmness, elasticity or volume and would like to understand whether HArmonyCa™ could be appropriate for you, book a consultation with Dr Anton Mathey at The Aesthetic Clinic Waterkloof.

Phone: 082 894 0967 / 012 346 1800
Email: dranton@theaestheticclinic.co.za
Contact The Aesthetic Clinic Waterkloof

Individual results vary. A comprehensive consultation with Dr Anton Mathey is required to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for your individual needs. A consultation fee applies to all bookings and will be waived if you proceed with your prescribed treatment following your consultation.

Sources

This article was developed for patient education by The Aesthetic Clinic using information supplied by Allergan Aesthetics, an AbbVie company, in its HArmonyCa™ Before and After Guide: The Future of Collagen Stimulation.

The Allergan Aesthetics guide draws on the HArmonyCa™ Instructions for Use, Allergan Aesthetics clinical data and published literature relating to facial ageing, hyaluronic acid, calcium hydroxyapatite and collagen stimulation. These include Urdiales-Gálvez et al. on HArmonyCa™ facial rejuvenation, Fakih-Gomez and Kadouch on hybrid fillers, Swift et al. on facial ageing, Reilly and Lozano on skin collagen, and published research on calcium hydroxyapatite and neocollagenesis.