Injectable · support and stimulation
HarmonyCa
A hybrid injectable: hyaluronic acid for support you can see on the day, and calcium hydroxylapatite, which the body responds to over the following months. It is placed deep, to hold a structure. It is not a skin-quality treatment and it is not a lift.
- Minutes
- 45
- Layers of effect
- 2
- Review
- 3 mo
What it does
Two materials in one syringe, doing two different jobs on two different timescales. The hyaluronic acid gives support immediately, the way a filler does. The calcium hydroxylapatite microspheres stay behind after the gel resorbs, and the body lays down its own tissue around them over the following months. That second part is gradual and it varies between people — how much, and how long it lasts, is not something anyone can quote you in advance. It is performed at our North Vancouver clinic on Lonsdale Avenue, and because the result builds over months, the review appointment matters as much as the first one.
Deep, not superficial
It sits on or near bone to support a structure. Placing this material shallow is a mistake, not a variation.
Two timescales
Something on the day from the gel, then a slower change over three to six months from the stimulation.
Assessed, not ordered
Whether this is the right material for your face is decided at the assessment. Sometimes the answer is plain filler, and sometimes it is nothing.
Usually a good fit
- Loss of support along the jaw, the mid-cheek or the temple, where the change is structural rather than in the skin
- You have had filler before and understand what an injectable can and cannot do
- You can come back at three months for review, and you accept the result is assessed then, not on the day
- You accept swelling and possible bruising for several days
Usually not
- You want a change in skin texture or fine lines — that is a different treatment
- Lips. This material is not placed in lips.
- Active infection or inflamed skin in the area, or an autoimmune condition currently being treated
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- You want something reversible on demand — the stimulating component is not dissolvable the way hyaluronic acid is
- You have an event inside three weeks
Before
- Tell us about blood thinners, fish oil and any recent dental work
- No alcohol the night before
- Leave three weeks before an event
- Come with a clear question about what bothers you, not a product name — the assessment decides the product
On the day
- 01AssessmentFace at rest and moving, under good light, to work out whether the change you are seeing is support, skin, or muscle. Only one of those is this treatment.
- 02Consent and photographsWritten consent, and standardised photographs. The three-month review is meaningless without the before.
- 03NumbingAnaesthetic cream, and the syringe itself contains a local anaesthetic.
- 04InjectionCannula or needle depending on the area, placed deep, in small amounts, with the face checked between passes.
After
- Swelling for three to five days, sometimes longer in the mid-face; bruising is possible
- Do not massage the area unless we specifically ask you to, and do not let anyone else massage it either
- No gym, sauna or pool for two days; sleep on your back for the first two nights
- No dental work for two weeks if it can wait
- Call us — not a walk-in clinic — if you get pain that is increasing rather than settling, skin that goes white or dusky, or any change in vision. That is same-day, not next-week.
- Review at three months, with photographs
What can go wrong
A hybrid injectable carries the risks of both halves. The hyaluronic acid part can be dissolved; the calcium hydroxylapatite part cannot, which is the single most important thing to understand before agreeing to it.
- Swelling, bruising and tenderness for several days
- Firm areas or nodules where the material sits, which may need massage or time
- Asymmetry — two sides of a face were never identical to start with
- A delayed inflammatory reaction weeks or months later, sometimes after an illness or vaccination
- Infection at the injection site
- The calcium hydroxylapatite component is not reversible. If you want a result you can undo, say so and we will suggest a plain hyaluronic acid filler instead
- Blockage of a blood vessel by product, which can damage skin or, very rarely, sight. It is treated as an emergency — call immediately rather than wait and see
Questions we get
How is this different from ordinary filler?
Ordinary hyaluronic acid filler supports and then resorbs. This has hyaluronic acid too, but it also leaves calcium hydroxylapatite behind, and the body responds to that over months. So part of it behaves like filler and part of it does not.
Can it be dissolved if I do not like it?
The hyaluronic acid part can be. The stimulating part cannot — it is not reversible with an enzyme. That is the main reason the assessment matters more here than with a plain filler, and why we would rather under-treat and review.
How long does it last?
The gel component goes in months. The tissue response is reported to persist longer than that, but the figures vary between people and we are not going to quote you a number as if it were yours.
Will I see something on the day?
Yes, from the gel — and also swelling, which is not the result. What the treatment actually did is assessed at three months against the photographs.
Can I have it in my lips?
No. This material is not used in lips.
How is it priced?
Per syringe. How many you need, if any, is decided at the assessment, and the current price is on the booking page.
How long is the downtime?
Swelling generally runs three to five days and can be longer in the mid-face: the hyaluronic acid half holds water while the calcium hydroxylapatite half is still settling. Bruising is possible. The area is not massaged — by us or by anyone else — gym, sauna and pool are left for two days, and the first two nights are spent sleeping on the back.
Book an assessment
Book onlineWho does this
Assessments and treatments at the Lonsdale Avenue clinic in North Vancouver are carried out by MMC’s own clinicians. Who they are, what they trained in and which treatments each of them does is on the team page.
Other treatments here
Everything listed here is offered at the Lonsdale Avenue address in North Vancouver. Names, durations and prices come from the clinic’s live schedule rather than from this page, so what you see is what is bookable today.
- Dermal Filler
- IV TherapyConsultation first
- Injectable Consultation
- Neuromodulator Treatment
- Skin Booster
- Thermage
- Ultherapy
Other places people start
These are sorted by what is bothering you rather than by treatment name. Each page says what actually helps, what does not, and when the honest answer is that nothing here is needed.
- Loose Skin After Weight LossLosing the weight is the hard part and you have done it. What is left is usually a skin problem rather than a fat problem, and those have completely different answers.
- Fatigue & Low EnergyThis is the concern where we are least likely to sell you anything, and we would rather say that at the top of the page than at the end of a consultation.
- Dullness & Uneven ToneDullness and dehydration are a texture problem, not a shape problem. That distinction decides which half of the menu is even relevant.
- Volume Loss & HollowsVolume loss is the change people describe as looking tired or gaunt without being able to name a line. It is also the one where over-treatment is most visible from across a room.
- Forehead & Frown LinesForehead and frown lines are muscle before they are skin. The question that decides your result is not the dose — it is whether the line is still only there when you move.
- Hooded Upper LidsThe line where this stops being an injectable question and becomes a surgical one is unusually clear, and you are entitled to be told which side of it you are on.
- Jawline & Contour LossThe most common reason people book here, and the one where the honest answer changes most with age. In your forties a device usually does it. In your sixties it usually does not.
- Nasolabial FoldsNasolabial folds are usually a symptom. Filling the fold itself is the most common way to end up looking heavy in the lower face.
- Stubborn Body FatA pocket that stays the same size while the rest of you changes. Usually the flanks, the lower abdomen, or under the chin. The useful question is not which machine to use — it is whether what you are looking at is fat at all.
- Under-Eye Hollows & ShadowsThe most common request here, and the one where the answer is most often no. Under-eye shadow has at least four causes and filler helps exactly one of them.