The RHA Collection is a family of resilient hyaluronic acid fillers formulated to stretch and recover as the face moves. Approved uses cover perioral lines, nasolabial folds, lip augmentation and midface contour deficiencies. Coastal Dermatology + Aesthetics injects them at its San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria offices, for adults 22 and older.
What RHA filler does for your face
RHA filler replaces what has gone from the areas that move. Smile lines that used to appear only when you smiled and now stay put. Lines around the mouth that got there from thousands of everyday expressions rather than from age alone. Cheeks that have quietly flattened and taken the rest of the face down with them.
What separates this family from the rest is how it behaves when you stop sitting still. RHA gels are made to stretch and recover, so the correction is there when your face is at rest and still there when you are mid-sentence. That is the whole reason the collection exists, and it is why its approved uses are written around dynamic wrinkles and folds rather than static ones. [1]
You see the change the day you have it. Some of what you see on day one is swelling, so the honest answer is that you will know your real result at about two weeks, which is when we look at it again and decide whether anything more is needed.
What RHA is good at
- Softening smile lines and the folds from nose to mouth without freezing the expression that made them
- Treating the lines around the mouth, the hardest area in the face to make look natural
- Adding lip volume with a gel that still moves when you talk
- Rebuilding cheek and midface support that has quietly flattened
- Holding correction in areas that move constantly, where firmer fillers announce themselves
- Being fully reversible, so nothing you decide today is permanent
Products in the RHA Collection, each with its own approved area. Redensity for the lines around the mouth, RHA 2 and RHA 3 for dynamic wrinkles and folds, RHA 3 also for lips, and RHA Dynamic Volume for folds plus cheek and midface contour. [1]
How treatment works
We watch your face move
Smile lines and perioral lines are made by movement, so a still photograph is the wrong assessment. We talk to you and watch what the tissue actually does, because a fold that disappears when your face relaxes is a different problem from one that does not.
The product follows the area
Each product in the collection is made for a particular depth and a particular kind of movement. Redensity sits shallow for the lines around the mouth. Dynamic Volume goes deep for midface support. Nobody here has a house product they use on everyone.
Correct, then let it settle
You will see a change immediately, and part of that is swelling. We would rather place slightly less and add at your follow-up than overfill the same day, because taking filler back out is a conversation nobody enjoys having.
The minimum age on every RHA indication. These are prescription medical devices with defined approved uses, injected here by medical providers in a dermatology practice. [1]
Why RHA and not something else
We carry more than one family of filler because no single gel is right everywhere on the face. Here is roughly how the decision goes.
RHA is the answer where movement is the problem. Around the mouth, in the smile lines, in a lower face that creases constantly. Its whole design is about surviving expression.
JUVÉDERM covers a wider range of jobs, including areas that need firm structure and hold, like a jawline or a chin that needs projection. Different gels in that family behave very differently from one another.
Belotero is the softest of the three and goes shallowest, which is why it gets used on fine etched lines that a thicker gel would sit under and shadow.
Sculptra is not really the same category. It is not filling anything; it prompts your own collagen over several months, which suits broad hollowing rather than a specific line.
If what is actually bothering you is muscle movement rather than lost volume, none of these is the answer and a neuromodulator is. We will say so.
The only test that matters for a filler in a moving area. Not how your face looks in the mirror holding still. How it looks while you are talking, laughing and frowning at your phone.
Areas we treat
Smile lines
Softens the folds running from nose to mouth without flattening the smile that creates them.
Around the mouth
Fills the fine vertical lines that make lipstick travel, in the area most likely to look overdone if it is treated with the wrong gel.
Lips
Adds volume and definition with a gel that still moves, which is the difference between fuller lips and obvious ones.
Cheeks
Rebuilds the support that has flattened, which lifts the lower face rather than adding weight to it.
Midface
Restores contour where the face has hollowed under the eye and across the cheekbone.
The staff is terrific, front to back. Thank you, Dr. Kilcline, for the great work today.
The Coastal difference
Filler that has to survive a conversation
The area around the mouth is the hardest region in the face to treat well. Everything there moves constantly, and a gel that is too firm for it announces itself the second you speak. That is the exact problem the RHA Collection was made for, and it is why its approvals are written around dynamic wrinkles rather than static ones. [1]
Choosing the product is still the easy part. The hard part is deciding whether filler is the right answer at all. Some of what people bring us is muscle activity and needs a neuromodulator. Some is surface texture and needs resurfacing. Some is skin that has genuinely loosened, and filler will make that heavier rather than better. We would rather tell you filler is the wrong tool than sell you a syringe of it, which is also why the consultation is a dermatologist’s assessment and not a sales appointment.
Is it right for you?
RHA is probably a good fit if:
- Your smile lines or the lines around your mouth are what you notice first in photographs
- You have had filler before that looked fine at rest and stiff when you talked
- You want more in your lips without it being obvious that you did
- Your cheeks have flattened and the rest of your face has followed
- You want something you can undo if you change your mind
We will steer you somewhere else if:
- You have an infection or a breakout in the area right now, which needs to clear first
- You have a relevant severe allergy, which we will go through with you
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding, when we defer elective treatment
- What is bothering you is loose skin or muscle movement, where filler is the wrong tool
Not sure which of these you are? That is what the consultation is for, and it is the reason we do not quote a syringe count over the phone.
What to expect afterward
Expect some swelling, possibly a bruise, and an area that feels firm or slightly uneven for the first week or so. Lips swell more than anywhere else and they swell fast, so if you have treated your lips, the first 48 hours are not the result. Most of it settles within a week and the rest by about two.
In the first week, do
- Follow the instructions your injector gives you, which are specific to what you had
- Use a cool compress if we told you to
- Sleep with your head slightly elevated for the first couple of nights
- Come back for your follow-up, which is when we assess the real result
In the first week, don’t
- Massage or press the area unless we specifically asked you to
- Judge the result while you are still swollen, or chase a small asymmetry on day three
- Book a facial, a peel or a laser in the same two weeks
- Ignore anything that feels wrong, which is the one instruction that actually matters
Call us about anything severe, worsening, or simply not what we described: significant or increasing pain, skin that changes color or goes pale or dusky, any change in your vision, or signs of infection. Do not wait to see whether it settles. We would far rather hear from you.
Concerns treated
RHA is chosen for areas that move, and for volume that needs to look like it belongs there. Pick a concern to see how we approach it.
What treatment costs
Filler is priced by the syringe, and how many you need depends on the area and how much correction you are after. Lips take less than a midface rebuild. We give you the number for your plan at your consultation, before you commit to anything, and we would rather stage a plan across two appointments than talk you into more product than you came for.
We also do not treat off a promotional price. If a smaller correction is the right one, that is the one you will be offered.
Treatment time
30 to 60 minutes
Downtime
Minimal, though swelling and bruising are possible
Results appear
The same day, then settle over about two weeks
Results last
Varies by product and area, and we tell you the range for yours
RHA® filler frequently asked questions
Hyaluronic acid fillers can be dissolved. The FDA notes that filler not made from materials such as hyaluronic acid may be difficult or impossible to remove. Nothing you decide at this appointment is permanent. [3]
Offered at
Ready to start? Request your consultation
Fill out the form below, book online in Santa Maria (opens online scheduler), or give us a call. Cosmetic and aesthetic appointments need no referral. For medical dermatology in San Luis Obispo, we are accepting new patients by referral from your primary care physician; send the referral across and then use the same form. In Santa Maria, medical appointments are available without a referral for PPO patients, and for HMO patients we are in-network with Santa Maria Physician's Choice.
A consultation fee of $125 is due at the time of booking.
Sources and medical review
1. The Teoxane RHA® Collection, Indications and Important Safety Information, Revance Aesthetics. Product-specific approved indications for RHA Redensity, RHA 2, RHA 3 and RHA Dynamic Volume in adults 22 or older. https://rha.revanceaesthetics.com/ · Regulatory / Prescribing Information
2. Revance and Teoxane. “FDA Approval of RHA® Dynamic Volume for Midface Contour Deficiencies,” January 13, 2026. Approved for cheek augmentation and correction of age-related midface contour deficiencies in adults aged 22 years or older. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/revance-and-teoxane-announce-the-fda-approval-of-rha-dynamic-volume-for-midface-contour-deficiencies-302658756.html · Manufacturer Announcement
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Dermal Fillers (Soft Tissue Fillers).” Notes that filler effect duration depends on the material and the area injected, and that it may be difficult or impossible to remove filler material that is not made of materials such as hyaluronic acid. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/aesthetic-cosmetic-devices/dermal-fillers-soft-tissue-fillers · Regulatory
Content on this page is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. RHA® is a registered trademark of Teoxane SA. Individual results may vary. Common effects after filler include swelling, bruising, tenderness and temporary firmness or asymmetry. Serious complications are uncommon but can occur; call the practice immediately about increasing pain, skin color change or any change in vision. A consultation fee of $125 is due at the time of booking.