The is a simple office procedure usually requiring thirty minutes or less. After the skin is washed and prepared, the collagen material plus local anesthetic is injected into the superficial layers of the skin in the areas to be smoothed or raised. Patients may experience some discomfort and, afterward, redness which is usually gone by the following morning and normal activities can almost immediately be resumed. In rare cases, swelling can persist for a longer period.

While collagen injections are the least costly of the injection treatments, the results, which are initially excellent in removing most fine creases, wrinkles and scars on the face, are much less than permanent. In fact, "touch up" injections are required perhaps as frequently as every six months to maintain the desired result as the injected material tends to be absorbed by the skin over time. And, the patient should be aware that not all wrinkles are successfully treatable in this manner.

As stated earlier, the main risk is hypersensitivy to the collagen material which can usually be determined by performing a skin test prior to treatment.