Seoul
Chief MD, Gangnam
Duk-ha Kim
The trust our patients have placed in this clinic was built on conviction and principle. We intend to hold to both, unchanged, through the next hundred years.
Injectable volume category guide
Dermal Fillers
Dermal filler is a category rather than a single product, and most of the products grouped under it are hyaluronic acid (HA) gels. The FDA lists absorbable fillers as approved for moderate to severe facial wrinkles and skin folds, and for lip, cheek and chin augmentation and the back of the hands, and states that the most concerning risk is unintentional injection into a blood vessel, which can cause necrosis, vision abnormalities including blindness, and stroke.
- Material category
- Hyaluronic acid (HA) gel — an absorbable soft tissue filler
- U.S. scope for absorbable fillers
- Moderate to severe facial wrinkles and skin folds; lips, cheeks, chin, back of hands
- Most concerning risk (FDA)
- Unintentional injection into a blood vessel — necrosis, vision abnormalities including blindness, stroke
- Delayed-onset nodules
- Reported at 1.0% per patient
What is a dermal filler, and what makes one a hyaluronic acid filler?
Dermal filler is a device category, not one product. The FDA groups absorbable (temporary) soft tissue fillers, hyaluronic acid gels among them, as approved for moderate to severe facial wrinkles and skin folds and for lip, cheek and chin augmentation and the back of the hands. Hyaluronic acid is the base material behind most of the names a Korean clinic menu lists together, so the useful question is never the category but which product is being used and for which area.
Sources: FDA — Dermal fillers (soft tissue fillers)Fundarò SP et al., Int J Mol Sci 2022;23(18):10518 — HA filler rheology
What actually differs between one HA filler and another?
The measurable differences are physical. A 2022 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences describes HA fillers through rheology — elastic modulus (G′), cohesivity and hyaluronic acid concentration — and those values genuinely differ from product to product. They describe how a gel behaves under stress in laboratory conditions, which is why a clinician may match a firmer or a softer gel to a different tissue depth.
Sources: Fundarò SP et al., Int J Mol Sci 2022;23(18):10518 — HA filler rheology
Does a higher G′ value mean the product performs better?
No, and the same review says so directly. It states that lift capacity is not correlated only with G′, that scientific opinions on the clinical meaning of cohesivity are conflicting, and that HA concentration is only a reference value rather than an absolute parameter. The physical differences are real; they are not evidence of clinical superiority, and nothing on this page ranks these products against each other.
Sources: Fundarò SP et al., Int J Mol Sci 2022;23(18):10518 — HA filler rheology
Which areas is each product approved for, and in which country?
Approval is granted product by product and area by area. In the U.S., the JUVEDERM 24HV, 30 and 30HV gel implants from Allergan were approved on 2006-06-02 under PMA P050047, a record that has carried 107 supplements since; Juvéderm Volux XC was approved on 2022-07-29 for correction of jawline definition in patients over 21 with moderate to severe loss of jawline definition, with the approval page describing a duration of up to 12 months and noting that multiple injections may be needed for optimal results; Restylane Eyelight was approved on 2023-05-08 for improving the appearance of depressed, sunken or hollow areas under the eyes (infraorbital hollowing) in patients 21 and older; Belotero Balance from Merz North America was approved on 2011-11-14 for injection into the mid-to-deep dermis for correction of moderate-to-severe facial wrinkles and folds such as nasolabial folds, with use in the lips not evaluated for safety and effectiveness. Two limits apply to that list. The 12-month figure is what the U.S. approval page states; the approval page does not report the sample size, control arm or blinding of the study behind it. And these are U.S. records only: this page does not state Korean approval for any of these products, because none of its sources cover it, so ask the clinic which exact product it uses and under which local registration.
Sources: FDA PMA P050047 — JUVEDERM gel implants (Allergan)FDA — Juvéderm Volux XC (P110033/S065)FDA — Restylane Eyelight (P040024/S135)FDA PMA P090016 — Belotero Balance (Merz)
How long does the effect last?
Duration is set product by product, not category by category, and only some approval records state a figure. Juvéderm Volux XC’s own FDA approval page states a duration of up to 12 months and notes that multiple injections may be needed for an optimal result — but as the approved-areas comparison above notes, that page does not report the sample size, control arm or blinding behind that number, so it reads as an approved claim rather than a controlled-study result. The rheology values described above (G′, cohesivity, HA concentration) describe how a gel behaves under lab conditions, and the same review states that lift capacity does not correlate with G′ alone, so a firmer or softer gel is not a shortcut for predicting how long a result holds. What decides duration in your case is which specific product is used, the treated area and depth, and your own tissue turnover; ask the clinic which product and country approval applies, what duration figure that approval states, if any, and how many sessions they plan.
Sources: FDA — Juvéderm Volux XC (P110033/S065)Fundarò SP et al., Int J Mol Sci 2022;23(18):10518 — HA filler rheology
What is the most serious risk of any filler injection?
The FDA states that the most concerning risk of a dermal filler is unintentional injection into a blood vessel. Filler that enters a vessel can cause tissue death (necrosis) in the skin, vision abnormalities including blindness, and stroke. This risk belongs to the injection rather than to a brand, so it applies to every product listed on a filler menu regardless of where the product was made.
Sources: FDA — Dermal fillers (soft tissue fillers)Murray G et al., J Clin Aesthet Dermatol 2021 — vascular occlusion management
Which sites carry the highest risk, and what is the emergency response?
A 2021 review in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology identifies the glabella, the nose and the forehead as the highest-risk sites, because vessels there anastomose with the ophthalmic artery. For suspected occlusion the review describes hyaluronidase 1,500 U diluted in 1 mL of saline or lidocaine, infiltrated across the entire ischaemic area and repeated at least hourly while capillary refill remains longer than three seconds, and notes that retinal infarction can occur within 12 to 15 minutes. That timing is why the practical question before booking is whether hyaluronidase is kept on site and how quickly you could be seen.
Sources: Murray G et al., J Clin Aesthet Dermatol 2021 — vascular occlusion management
What causes a lump that appears weeks or months after treatment?
Delayed-onset nodules are reported at 1.0% per patient in a 2020 review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open. The causes described there are bacterial biofilm, type IV hypersensitivity and foreign-body reaction, and management follows the type: inflammatory nodules are treated with antibiotics or steroids, while non-inflammatory nodules are observed or treated with hyaluronidase. Because the assessment depends on which product went where and when, keep a record of every injection you have had and report a new lump rather than waiting for it to settle.
Sources: Philipp-Dormston WG et al., Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2020;8(4):e2730 — delayed nodules
What does the country label next to a product name tell you?
It tells you where a brand comes from, and nothing about approved use. A menu that reads Korean Neuramis, German Amalian, German Belotero, US Juvéderm and Swedish Restylane is describing origin; the record that matters is the approval issued for that exact product, for that exact area, in the country where you are treated. Belotero Balance holds a U.S. approval under Merz North America, and Juvéderm and Restylane products hold their own U.S. records. For Amalian this page has nothing beyond the German origin shown on the menu, and for Neuramis nothing beyond the Korean origin shown there. A blank means this page did not verify a record — it is not a statement that a product is unapproved, and the clinic can show you the packaging and the registration that applies locally.
Sources: FDA PMA P050047 — JUVEDERM gel implants (Allergan)FDA PMA P090016 — Belotero Balance (Merz)FDA — Restylane Eyelight (P040024/S135)
What does the FDA tell consumers not to do?
Two instructions are stated plainly in the FDA consumer update. Do not buy dermal fillers that are sold directly to the public — they may be fake, contaminated, or not approved for use in the U.S. Do not inject yourself with dermal fillers or with needle-free injection pens. Both matter when treatment involves travel, because a syringe bought online or used outside a clinic carries no label anyone can verify and no route to the emergency care described above.
Sources: FDA consumer update — Dermal filler do’s and don’ts
What should you confirm before booking?
Ask which exact product will be used and which registration covers it where you are treated, whether the area you want treated sits inside that product’s approved use, who will inject and what training they hold, whether hyaluronidase is stocked on site, what the clinic does if blanching, severe pain or a vision change occurs during injection, and how a lump appearing weeks later would be assessed. Bring a full record of previous injectables, product names and dates included.
Sources: FDA — Dermal fillers (soft tissue fillers)Murray G et al., J Clin Aesthet Dermatol 2021 — vascular occlusion managementPhilipp-Dormston WG et al., Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2020;8(4):e2730 — delayed nodules
Do the products on one menu carry the same approval?
No — approvals are product-specific and area-specific, and a country of origin is not an approval. This table lines up what the sources on this page confirm for each name and what they do not.
| Product on the menu | Origin shown on the menu | What a source here confirms | What this page cannot confirm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juvéderm | United States | PMA P050047 (Allergan) approved in the U.S. on 2006-06-02, 107 supplements since; Volux XC approved 2022-07-29 for jawline definition, patients over 21 | Which product in the family a clinic stocks, and any Korean registration |
| Restylane | Sweden | Restylane Eyelight approved in the U.S. on 2023-05-08 for depressed, sunken or hollow areas under the eyes, patients 21 and older | The approved scope of other Restylane products, and any Korean registration |
| Belotero | Germany | Belotero Balance (Merz North America) approved in the U.S. on 2011-11-14 for mid-to-deep dermis correction of moderate-to-severe wrinkles and folds; lip use not evaluated | Use outside that dermal plane, and any Korean registration |
| Amalian | Germany | Nothing beyond the German origin shown on the menu | Any U.S. approval or other registration |
| Neuramis | Korea | Nothing beyond the Korean origin shown on the menu | Any approval record, U.S. or local |
This table is a consultation map, not a ranking and not a recommendation. A blank in the third column means this page did not verify a record; it does not mean a product is unapproved. Approvals differ by country, product and indication.
Sources: FDA PMA P050047 — JUVEDERM gel implants (Allergan)FDA — Juvéderm Volux XC (P110033/S065)FDA — Restylane Eyelight (P040024/S135)FDA PMA P090016 — Belotero Balance (Merz)
Medical care at Abijou
Care is provided by the medical team at the branch you select. These clinicians lead the three branches linked from this guide; confirm the doctor assigned to your visit with that branch.
Chief MD, Myeongdong
Cheol-su Yoon
I want to be thinking about how the patient feels right up to the last moment of the procedure.
Chief MD, Hongdae
Jae-wook Kim
I will give my best with the attentiveness to catch even the smallest change.
Listed branch medical team — not a medical-review byline for this article.
Frequently asked questions
Is a volume filler a different product from a hyaluronic acid filler?
It is the same thing under a menu name. Volume filler describes how a clinic groups its list, while hyaluronic acid (HA) is the material most of those products are made from. The FDA describes this group as absorbable soft tissue fillers, approved in the U.S. for moderate to severe facial wrinkles and skin folds and for lip, cheek and chin augmentation and the back of the hands. Ask for the product name, because that is what an approval is attached to.
Are dermal fillers regulated as medicines or as devices?
In the U.S. they are regulated as medical devices, and the records quoted on this page are device premarket approvals — for example PMA P050047 for the Juvéderm gel implants and PMA P090016 for Belotero Balance. That describes the U.S. system only. How a particular filler is classified or registered in Korea is not covered by any source on this page, so ask the clinic to show the registration that applies where you are treated.
How does an HA gel create volume, and can it be removed afterwards?
It works physically: a cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel occupies space in tissue, and its stiffness, cohesivity and concentration govern how it behaves at a given depth. Because the material is hyaluronic acid, hyaluronidase appears in the literature here as the enzyme used both to manage suspected vascular occlusion and to treat non-inflammatory delayed nodules. Removal is a clinical decision made by the treating doctor, not a cosmetic undo button, so discuss it before the injection rather than after.
One product has a higher G′ than another — does it lift better?
Not on that number alone. The 2022 rheology review states that lift capacity is not correlated only with G′, that scientific opinions on the clinical meaning of cohesivity are conflicting, and that HA concentration is only a reference value rather than an absolute parameter. Read those specs as the reason a clinician chose a gel for a particular depth, not as a scoreboard between brands.
HA filler or a collagen-stimulating injectable — how do they differ in practice?
They are different material categories, and the sources on this page cover HA fillers only. An HA filler is a hyaluronic acid gel, and hyaluronidase appears in these sources as the route for managing HA-related occlusion and non-inflammatory nodules; do not assume an equivalent route exists for a material that is not hyaluronic acid. Ask which material is in the syringe and what the local approval for that material covers before you compare the two options.
If one filler is approved, does that approval cover every area?
No — each approval names its own area. In the U.S., Juvéderm Volux XC is approved for correction of jawline definition, Restylane Eyelight for depressed, sunken or hollow areas under the eyes, and Belotero Balance for injection into the mid-to-deep dermis for wrinkles and folds such as nasolabial folds, with lip use not evaluated for safety and effectiveness. Match the product to the area you want treated instead of assuming the category covers it.
Does it hurt, and what should I watch for immediately after the injection?
Injection discomfort is expected, but some symptoms are not part of recovery. Skin blanching, pain that is severe or keeps increasing, a mottled or dusky skin colour, or any change in vision during or after the injection can indicate vascular involvement and need immediate medical attention, since the FDA describes necrosis, vision abnormalities including blindness and stroke as consequences of filler entering a vessel. Report them to the clinic at once rather than waiting to see whether they settle.
How quickly do I need to be able to get back to the clinic?
Within the hour, not the next day. The 2021 vascular review describes retinal infarction occurring within 12 to 15 minutes of occlusion, and its management approach repeats hyaluronidase at least hourly while capillary refill stays longer than three seconds. Before you book, ask whether hyaluronidase is kept on site, who can be reached outside opening hours, and how far your accommodation is from the clinic.
How many sessions does a filler plan involve?
It depends on the product and the area, and the U.S. records give two concrete examples. The Volux XC approval page notes that multiple injections may be needed for optimal results and describes a duration of up to 12 months; the Restylane Eyelight approval describes a study of 333 subjects treated in one or two sessions and assessed at 12 months. Treat both as label statements, not as trial detail: the approval pages do not report the sample size, control arm or blinding behind the duration figure, and neither number is a forecast for one person.
Is swelling or bruising the same thing as a complication?
They are different situations and call for different responses. Ordinary injection-site swelling and bruising settle on their own; blanching, escalating pain, a change in skin colour or any vision symptom point to possible intravascular injection and are an emergency. A lump that appears weeks or months later is a third case — delayed-onset nodules, reported at 1.0% per patient and attributed to bacterial biofilm, type IV hypersensitivity or foreign-body reaction, with treatment depending on whether the nodule is inflammatory.
Who should hold off, and what does the injector need to know about me?
Candidacy is judged against the specific product’s labeling, which this page does not reproduce, so treat this as what to disclose rather than a contraindication list. The U.S. approvals quoted here are written for adults — over 21 for Volux XC, 21 and older for Restylane Eyelight. Tell the injector about every previous injectable with product names and dates, since delayed nodules are linked to biofilm and foreign-body reaction, and raise any active infection or inflammation in the area before a plan is made.
Does FDA approval mean the product is approved in Korea?
No — approval is granted country by country, and this page carries U.S. records only. Those records cover the Juvéderm gel implants (2006-06-02), Belotero Balance (2011-11-14), Juvéderm Volux XC (2022-07-29) and Restylane Eyelight (2023-05-08), each for its own area. This page makes no statement about Korean approval for any filler, because none of its sources cover it; ask the clinic to show the product and the registration that applies locally.
How do I compare quotes between clinics?
This page does not publish prices, so align what each quote contains before comparing figures. Line up the exact product name, how much product the quote covers, the area treated, whether follow-up visits are included, and what happens — and what is charged — if hyaluronidase is needed. Quotes built on different products and different volumes are not comparable numbers, whatever the headline says.
How do I tell whether this suits what I want?
Start from the area rather than the brand. Decide which area you want changed, ask which product holds an approval covering that area where you are treated, check whether the site is one of the higher-risk areas the vascular literature flags — glabella, nose, forehead — and ask what the plan is if something goes wrong. If the answers come back as brand names rather than records, keep asking.
How Abijou works
We started in Gangnam in 2006 and the network now runs 17 branches across Korea. The line we work to is skin transformation woven into everyday life — care you can keep up with, rather than one dramatic change.
- Across the 17 branches in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon and Busan: over 1,000 medical professionals and more than 350 certified medical devices
- Authentic products only, in appropriate amounts — the treatment is fitted to the condition, not to a package
- Prices are quoted from each branch’s published price list as it stands
Contact and location
- Phone
- 1544-0377
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Booking happens at the branch
There is no inquiry form on this page. Once you have picked a branch above, open that branch’s site or the official reservation center and choose a time yourself.
- No deposit and no online prepayment — everything is paid at the visit
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