Temporal Hollowing Treatment Guide

Expert Techniques for Natural Rejuvenation

Introduction: The Overlooked Power of Temporal Rejuvenation

Want to take years off your patients through an injection that’s so subtle, none of their friends would even know? Temple injections are one of the most underused injection techniques in aesthetic medicine, yet it can dramatically rejuvenate the face. This powerful treatment is often overlooked because patients rarely specifically ask for it, requiring practitioners to develop strong consultation skills to identify and recommend this approach.

Why Temporal Volume Loss Matters

Temporal hollowing is seldom seen on young faces but becomes increasingly common with age. This makes it a powerful sign of aging that, when corrected, creates a significant rejuvenating effect. The benefits of temporal volume replacement include:

• Lifting the eyebrow
• Decreasing clutter around the eyes
• Making the eyes more dominant in the face
• Preventing the skeletal appearance associated with aging

Most importantly, this treatment stops people from looking slightly skeletal, which is often how patients describe their appearance before they have the right words. Because temporal hollowing becomes part of the overall appearance of an older face, correcting it makes a dramatic difference in a way that most patients don’t consciously perceive.

The Consultation Process

Since patients rarely specifically ask for temporal volume replacement, a thorough consultation becomes essential. Good consultations are built around:

1. Defining what the patient really wants (to look fresher or younger)
2. Conducting a facial analysis that connects what you see to their goals
3. Helping both you and the patient understand the areas of key volume loss
4. Explaining exactly why you’re recommending specific treatments

When this process isn’t followed well, it can come across like you’re just trying to inject all of the face for no reason. Your explanation must be careful and oriented around the patient’s goals.

Identifying Ideal Candidates

The key candidates for temple treatment include:

1. Patients who aren’t focused on another part of the face. These patients often have a more holistic goal to look fresher, younger, or better looking. You can guide them to the right treatments on any part of the face while still meeting their goal.
2. Older and slimmer patients. These demographics typically show more pronounced temporal hollowing.
3. Patients with a visible shadow in the temple. When you explain the aesthetics of the face, it’s important that they understand and can see the benefit in softening that shadow.

Once these criteria are met, you can discuss side effects, risks, and determine together whether the treatment is worth the investment.

Why Temporal Treatment Creates Youthful Results

The most important reason this treatment is so effective is that temporal hollowing is rare in younger patients. Being able to see too much of the skull’s shape and contour makes patients look skeletal by definition. This is often the term patients themselves use when seeking treatment, even before they’ve identified the temple as a cause.

As you address this problem, you’ll see a dramatic improvement in one of the most powerful signs of aging: the visibility of the skull through the skin.

Injection Techniques for Optimal Results

The debate between needle and cannula techniques has become a hot topic, with many injectors taking strong positions. The truth is that the best injectors use both techniques appropriately for different patients.

For most cases, a needle-on-bone technique is preferred, but the procedure involves multiple safety steps:

1. Angle and position the needle to get maximum benefit with minimal volume
2. Target the shadow behind the periorbital rim
3. Feel for a pulse before injecting
4. Consider using ultrasound to identify larger vessels
5. Use negative pressure through aspiration
6. Pull the needle in and out slightly to check for vessel flashback

This approach reduces risk dramatically while minimizing trauma. With one injection point, you place all your product through that single entry, reducing the likelihood of trauma to nerves, blood vessels, and veins compared to using a cannula across a wider area.

When to Use a Cannula

While the needle-on-bone technique works for most cases, cannulas have their place:

• For more superficial or widespread volume loss
• After correcting the most defining point of volume loss
• For spreading product in cases that need more volume

This is typically a minority of cases but remains a valuable tool in your arsenal.

Case Study: Assessing Temporal Hollowing

Let’s examine a case that demonstrates these principles.

In this particular patient, the periorbital ridge had become a dominant feature due to:

• Loss of fat underneath the periorbital ridge
• Volume loss in the temple itself
• Revealing of the skull’s shape and contour

Since the patient’s goal was looking overall younger and fresher, recommending temporal treatment was appropriate.

The shadows defining the skull’s shape were the target. By adding volume directly in those shadows, we connected the temple with the more projected area behind it. This created a more gradual transition across the lateral part of the head.

In the after picture, you can see how the contrast between the periorbital ridge and the temple is softened, as is the area of volume underneath connecting the forehead with the lower lid. This creates a fresher, more youthful appearance that looks very natural to all but the most trained injectors.

Conclusion

Temporal volume replacement represents one of the most underutilized yet effective treatments in aesthetic medicine. By understanding proper patient selection, consultation techniques, and injection methods, you can provide subtle yet powerful rejuvenation that addresses one of the most telling signs of aging.

Remember that the key to success lies in:

• Thorough consultation
• Careful patient selection
• Proper technique selection
• Attention to safety
• Focus on natural results

When done correctly, temporal volume replacement creates results that are subtle yet transformative, helping patients look fresher and younger without anyone knowing exactly what changed.

Ready to master temporal hollowing treatment?

GET DR TIM’S STEP BY STEP TEMPLE TUTORIAL here.