Not quite. Skinboosters are hyaluronic acid; polynucleotides are DNA fragments and work through a different mechanism. In practice they are complementary and can be used in the same treatment plan.
Overview
Improve the terrain before you build on it
Purified DNA fragments that improve the environment your fibroblasts work in — before asking them to build anything.
Polynucleotides are chains of purified, highly fragmented DNA of marine origin — in practice, salmon or trout — prepared to pharmaceutical standards. Patients often ask whether that means foreign genetic material is being put into their skin. It does not: the DNA is deliberately fragmented and purified precisely so that it is no longer functional genetic material. What is left behind is a water-binding scaffold and a supply of nucleotides, and the proposed signal runs through an ordinary cell-surface receptor rather than through anything genetic.
Where hyaluronic acid bioremodelling addresses hydration and elasticity, and collagen biostimulators address structure, polynucleotides address tissue quality — the condition of the dermis itself. That makes them particularly valuable in skin that is thin, fragile, irritated or recovering.
In this practice they earn their place in three situations especially: the delicate skin beneath the eyes, skin that has been through a demanding course of resurfacing, and patients whose dermis is simply too compromised to respond well to stronger stimulation yet.
At a glance
- Treatment time20–30 minutes
- AnaestheticTopical anaesthetic for the under-eye area
- DowntimeSmall bumps and occasional bruising for 24–48 hours
- Sessions3–4, spaced 2–3 weeks apart
- ResultsBuild over 4–12 weeks
- Combines withProfhilo, energy devices, scar revision aftercare
How it works
Improve the terrain, then build on it
Three mechanisms are proposed, and they are worth keeping apart because they are supported very differently. The best established is agonism at the adenosine A2A receptor, which drives anti-inflammatory signalling and angiogenesis — the pharmacology here is solid, but the strongest clinical trial behind it is in chronic diabetic foot ulcers rather than in cosmetic skin. The second is the purine salvage pathway, where the fragments are recycled as raw material for cells that are repairing: plausible, and essentially unverified in human skin. The third, and the one most clearly observable, is simply physical — the longer-chain products form a viscous, water-holding three-dimensional structure in the dermis.
The practical result is skin that is better hydrated, less reactive, thicker and more even in tone — and that responds better to whatever comes next. Used after resurfacing, polynucleotides support the healing phase; used before, they prepare skin that would otherwise be a poor candidate.
A course is typically three to four sessions at two- to three-week intervals, with changes accumulating over the following months.
Indications
Suited to
- Fine, crepey skin beneath the eyes
- Thin, fragile or reactive skin
- Dull, dehydrated skin with poor light reflection
- Supporting recovery after laser or radiofrequency treatment
- Preparing compromised skin before stronger stimulation
- Skin quality on the neck and décolletage
- Fish or salmon allergy — the source material is salmonid DNA, and this is a real rather than theoretical contraindication
- Volume loss or structural descent, which this does nothing for
- Active infection or inflammation at the injection site
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding, where there is simply no data
- A patient looking for a visible change within a fortnight
In the clinic
Step by step
Assessment
Dermal thickness, hydration and reactivity are assessed, and a course length agreed.
Anaesthetic where needed
Topical anaesthetic for the under-eye region; usually not required elsewhere.
Injection
Small volumes are placed intradermally across the treatment area with a fine needle or cannula.
First 48 hours
Small raised bumps settle within a day. Occasional bruising, particularly under the eyes.
Repeat and review
Three to four sessions at two- to three-week intervals, with the result assessed a month after the last.
Recovery
Downtime, honestly
The first hours
Small raised bumps at each injection point, most obvious under the eyes, where the skin is thinnest. They flatten within a few hours to a day.
Days one to two
Mild swelling and tenderness are commonest around the second day. Bruising is occasional, and more likely in the under-eye area than anywhere else.
Weeks two to four
Nothing dramatic. The course runs to three or four sessions at two- to three-week intervals, and the change accumulates rather than arriving.
Month three
This is where the published studies record their peak effect, and it is when the result should be judged.
Month six and beyond
Benefit is still measurable at six months but declining. There is no published cosmetic data beyond that point, so maintenance intervals of six to nine months are clinical convention rather than evidence.
Risks
What can go wrong
Expected
Transient bumps at the injection points, mild swelling, occasional bruising. In the randomised studies no serious treatment-related adverse events were recorded.
Uncommon
Prolonged swelling in the under-eye region. Tenderness lasting several days.
Rare but serious
Allergic reaction, which is the reason the fish-allergy question is asked before anything else. Infection at an injection site. As with any facial injection, vascular events are possible in principle, which is why the under-eye region is treated with a cannula or a very fine needle and a conservative volume.
Evidence
What the evidence shows
ThinThe only systematic review restricted to randomised evidence found seven trials and 183 participants in total — and those were spread across three entirely different indications: skin rejuvenation, scar prevention and wound healing. No meta-analysis was possible because the protocols and outcome measures were too different to pool. The authors noted that the absence of standardised preparations is itself a barrier to assessing the field.
The better-designed individual studies are uncontrolled. A recent prospective study of forty-two patients treated around the eyes found significant improvement in patient-reported scores peaking at three months — and listed, in its own limitations, the absence of a control group, regression to the mean, placebo effect and expectation bias.
There is also a vocabulary problem worth knowing about. “PN” and “PDRN” are used interchangeably in marketing, but they are not the same thing, and there is no agreed molecular-weight boundary between them — manufacturers define their own. We use these because the tissue response in fragile and recovering skin is, in our hands, worth having. We do not claim they regenerate anything.
If you are travelling
Each session takes twenty to thirty minutes and nothing afterwards prevents flying, beyond looking briefly bumpy.
The constraint is the course: three or four sessions two to three weeks apart. For an international patient that usually means either a concentrated stay, or sessions shared with a trusted injector at home working to the same protocol.
If polynucleotides are being used to prepare skin before resurfacing, or to support it afterwards, the sequencing matters more than the location and we will set it out with dates.
Questions
Good to know
If your question is not here, ask it in the enquiry form — Dr. Henningsen answers these personally.
Ask a question- Is this the same as a skinbooster?
- Is it safe under the eyes?
It is one of the better-tolerated options in that area, which is precisely why it is used there. Bruising is the most common side effect.
- What is the origin of the material?
Most commercial polynucleotide preparations are of marine origin — usually salmon or trout — and are purified to pharmaceutical standards. If that matters to you for any reason, tell us at consultation.
- How long do the results last?
Typically several months. Polynucleotides are usually run as a periodic course rather than a one-off treatment.
Often combined with
Related treatments
Consultation
Ready to talk about your skin?
Consultations with Dr. Henningsen are arranged individually. Tell us what you would like to change and we will come back to you with the options, the honest downtime and the realistic result.