Not long ago, I got a good look at my face in a new light—as in, my new office in my new house, where the sun shines directly on me when I log into Zoom or Teams or Google Meet. I looked…tired. Moving will do that to you. Gaunt. Sunken. It was jarring.

My phone must have known what I was thinking because shortly thereafter I began seeing a whole lot of TikTok videos about something called Volufiline. The women in the videos were about my age (late 30s) and claimed it gave them a bouncy, plump, refreshed, younger look—similar to facial filler without the risk of overdoing it and with a way, way cheaper price tag.

After many years working in and adjacent to the beauty industry, I tend to take these sorts of claims with a big grain of salt and some healthy side-eye. But the Volufiline videos simply wouldn’t stop, and I was soon seeing the ingredient on real-life beauty shelves. Examples include The Ordinary’s Volufiline serum, Then I Met You’s Snail Mucin Eye Cream, and Medicube’s PDRN Pink Collagen Volume Multi Balm. (The latter two products boast 5% Volufiline, despite not mentioning the ingredient in their product names.) Satisfied users of Medicube’s pastel-pink stick were even calling it “filler in a bottle” on TikTok, which sounds great on paper but felt like a stretch.

Allure has written extensively on all things filler, including “filler fatigue,” which was driven by social media examples of overfilled faces. Not to mention, many people (understandably) have mixed feelings about injecting Juvéderm or Restylane and the rest of their ilk into their faces for a bit of a volume boost, or balk at the price for half a syringe of the hyaluronic acid fillers. Thus, a product that may replicate the results of injectable dermal filler without needles or a high price tag sounds pretty darn good.

But is there any truth to it? Before you go smearing a Volufiline stick or serum on your face in pursuit of plumper cheeks or fuller lips, here’s what you need to know about this very buzzy ingredient—and whether or not it’s worth adding to your routine.

What is Volufiline and what are its purported benefits?

Volufiline isn’t a miracle product. It’s an ingredient blend created by the French company Sederma, which is owned by cosmetic ingredient supplier Croda. Julian Sass, PhD, a cosmetic chemist in Montreal, explains that the ingredient comes from the root extract of the plant Anemarrhena asphodeloides, a botanical grown in Asia, which is then combined with hydrogenated polyisobutene (an oil)—and voila, you’ve got Volufiline!

Volufiline is said to boost volume in the face by increasing fat storage within the adipocytes, or fat cells. As Dr. Sass explains, that means it is purported to “increase the number and size of fat cells in the skin,” which sounds like a pretty big claim for a topical product to make.

If you’ve seen videos about Volufiline products on TikTok, you’ve probably noticed that they are most frequently applied to the undereye area or the lips. But it claims you can use it anywhere you feel hollow or deflated. If you believe what you see on your FYP, Volufiline could be exactly the boost you need to feel like yourself again. And when you’re seeing those ads again and again (because the algorithm noticed you’re interested), well, it’s hard not to be convinced that this could be the product that changes your relationship to your face, especially if you’re seeing the first signs of aging or losing a significant amount of weight quickly on a GLP-1 medication and dealing with the dreaded “Ozempic face.” (Me? I’m both.)

Does Volufiline actually work?

Many pros say that the science isn’t quiiiiiite there to support such claims yet. “Volufiline is an interesting example of a cosmetic ingredient whose marketing has moved far ahead of the science,” says Caren Campbell, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in San Francisco. Think of it like PDRN and exosomes: skin-care buzzwords that were everywhere all of a sudden, with big, flashy claims that weren’t necessarily backed up by strong clinical data.

So what could be causing that plumping effect? Dr. Campbell points to a few things: It can be temporary swelling from potential irritation from the Volufiline product, as she notes that the oil carrier can be irritating, and the botanical extract could “cause contact reactions.” Or it could be the way it lies on the skin and reflects light. Think about how your skin looks when you apply a layer of your favorite hyaluronic acid serum or peptide moisturizer. It’s visibly better, right? Bouncier, glowier, more awake and alive-looking. That could be what users are seeing from Volufiline.

Plus, she says, “Many Volufiline products are also blended with oils and moisturizing ingredients that can temporarily smooth fine lines and make the skin appear fuller,” which gives a noticeable cosmetic effect. However, that is “very different from actually increasing fat volume or structurally reshaping the face.”

Chang Son, MD, a board-certified dermatologist who practices in New York and New Jersey, agrees and compares the much-praised effects of Volufiline to applying eye cream to dry, tired-looking undereyes: “It doesn’t matter which one, but if you put on a lot of eye cream you’re hydrating the area, which is very vulnerable to dehydration and therefore attracts wrinkles,” he explains, alluding to the fact that dryness can promote the look of fine lines. “We know that alone is gonna improve [the look], right?”

Dendy Engelman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon in New York City, says that based on what she’s seen, research-wise, “I think a well-formulated product containing Volufiline may make skin appear smoother, softer, and subtly plumper, but hydration and improved skin quality may account for at least some of that visible effect.”

Experts note that while there’s nothing wrong with using Volufiline—it’s safe to use if you purchase it from a reputable source—the science simply has yet to establish whether or not it’s making a legitimate difference in your facial fullness the way filler does. Says Dr. Campbell, “At this time, there is no credible, peer-reviewed clinical evidence showing that topical Volufiline meaningfully increases facial fat or produces filler-like results.” There’s only a small amount of data regarding Volufiline’s effectiveness available right now, given that the ingredient is pretty new.

Dr. Sass explains that the current data comes from in vitro data, where the ingredient is directly applied to cells, not to skin. A study conducted by Sederma, where the ingredient was applied to one breast of 30 women for 56 days, found that the Volufiline-treated breast showed a 2.2% volume increase. However, “that volume increase could have happened via a wide variety of factors, so I think more evidence is needed to show benefits, especially on other areas of the skin like the face,” he says.

The promise of increasing fat cells within the skin is a complicated one. “It doesn't make sense to me as a dermatologist that a topical product will give you extra volumization,” says Dr. Son. But to be fair, he notes, researchers don’t fully know whether long-term exposure to Volufiline can increase adipocyte concentration or facial re-volumization. But “it’s hard to imagine that, to be honest with you,” he says.

What has science found so far?

Dr. Sass says “anecdotal evidence” shows that some users are seeing results, but flags that one of the main issues with Volufiline is that “the fat layer of the skin is quite deep and getting skin care down there is extremely difficult; most skin care works on the upper layers of the skin.”

In order to fulfill its claims, Dr. Campbell says that Volufiline would have to “penetrate the skin barrier, reach the subcutaneous fat, selectively enlarge fat cells, and do so in a predictable and symmetrical way. There is no convincing evidence that Volufiline accomplishes this.”

Sounds like a tiring, Odyssey-style journey? It is. “That’s a high bar for a cosmetic ingredient,” says Kelly Dobos, a cosmetic chemist, noting that sarsasapogenin (the official nomenclature for Volufiline) is a relatively large molecule, which adds to the challenge.

Though the clinical data is still in its early stages and the ingredient is still the newbie on the skin-care block, that doesn’t mean we should write off Volufiline entirely. Melissa Doft, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City, says she was “excited” about Volufiline and actually uses it in one of her brand’s skin-care products—partly due to the increase in patients who are on a GLP-1 and rapidly losing facial volume. “I initially pulled it because it was an interesting ingredient,” she says. Because GLP-1 users have lost “a significant amount of fat from their fat cells,” Dr. Doft explains, a product that could possibly add fullness where a patient wants it, like to the face or the lips, would be a game changer.

But Dr. Doft compares products made with Volufiline to “a frosting,” or the finishing touch to an existing skin-care protocol, including in-office treatments. “This is not replacing a lip lift. This is not replacing an injectable. This is not replacing a facelift or fat grafting or all of those other layers of procedures,” she continues. “I feel very secure that my operative schedule is not going to be changed by doing this.”

Instead of a miraculous invention that can replace facial filler after just a few weeks of use, Dr. Doft sees Volufiline as an additional tool in a provider’s kit. “Are there ingredients that can augment what we’re doing in the office, make things last longer, or for patients who are really afraid to do something in the office or can’t afford it?” she says. “I think it’s really important that we have a full spectrum of what we can offer.”

But she also flags that a product that claims to increase fat cells may not actually be the best option for the undereye area. “Under the eyes is such a complicated problem,” she explains. “Could this maybe make crepey skin better? Maybe. But a lot of people also have bags under their eyes as they get older. Could this make the bags bigger? It's affecting fat cells. That would be bad.”

Is Volufiline a “natural alternative” to filler?

The short answer is no. If you’re really hollow, perhaps due to weight loss or the natural aging process, skin care simply can’t replace that lost volume, and doctors recommend in-office treatments versus topical treatments for a visible difference in appearance. And Dr. Campbell says Volufiline simply isn’t a replacement for filler. “A topical product cannot currently replicate what injectable fillers do. Hyaluronic acid fillers physically add volume beneath the skin at a controlled depth and in a precise location,” she explains.

Dr. Engelman says Volufiline would be best for “someone with very early or subtle concerns who enjoys experimenting with skin-care ingredients and understands that the results may be modest,” or who isn’t ready for an in-office treatment. “It may be reasonable for a patient who wants improved hydration and a temporarily fuller appearance,” she says.

What do pros recommend? What are the best in-office treatment alternatives?

You’ve got options when you’re visiting your derm or plastic surgeon. Dr. Son notes that when he was in residency, providers exclusively used filler, but adds that he thinks “the best approach is to correct or engage your cells to turn on this [volumizing] process and help them by giving them energy.”

To do this, he often uses a combination of an energy-based device, like Xerf or radiofrequency, to “turn on the collagen,” and a second layer of PDRN or PN (a product with salmon sperm DNA thought to help improve skin quality, hydration, and texture) or platelet-rich plasma (PRP). He may also occasionally add a teeny bit of Botox, “not to volumize, but to relax the muscles to allow this plumping effect to fully take place.”

Then, if a patient wants to apply a topical like Volufiline, “I’m fine with it,” Dr. Son says. Just make sure you’re buying skin care from a reputable retailer and not a random drop-shipper on Amazon or TikTok Shop.

Just remember, skin care can only do so much. “I think the ingredient definitely has potential benefits, as shown by the decent amount of anecdotal evidence and the before-and-afters done by brands that have done clinicals on their products,” says Dr. Sass. “If you are just starting to notice any loss of volume, then a product with Volufiline may be helpful, but always remember that…there will always be a point where topical products won't help, and seeing a derm or plastic surgeon will be a more efficacious option.”

Meet the experts

• Caren Campbell, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist who practices in San Francisco.
• Kelly Dobos is a cosmetic chemist based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Melissa Doft, MD, is a board-certified plastic surgeon who practices in New York City.
• Dendy Engelman, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon who practices in New York City.
• Julian Sass, PhD, is a cosmetic chemist in Montreal.
• Chang Son, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist who practices in New York and New Jersey