Kim Kardashian said she underwent the injection after her last birth. Miley Cyrus told an audience during a June performance that she tried the treatment too, Jennifer Aniston said in an interview that she uses serums based on the ingredient, and Denise Richards also said salmon-derived DNA is part of her beauty routine. Pretend to be surprised: like many other trends, this one also arrived from South Korea. There, it turns out, salmon DNA injections have been used since 2014. Ready or not, the trend has now reached Israel as well.
“The use of this material isn’t new. It began in 1953 when a pharmacist in Italy discovered it and used it for years in rehabilitative orthopedics. Only in recent years have people recognized its cosmetic potential,” explains Dr. Monica Elman, a dermatologist and medical director of Maccabi Aesthetics.
“The substance is called polynucleotides, and it is indeed found in salmon testes. When I was on a cruise in Alaska last year, they told us that when a grizzly bear wants to get pregnant, she sits on the riverbank, catches salmon, takes out only the roe — the salmon eggs — and eats them. She knows nothing about aesthetics, but she knows the material is healthy and beneficial.”
What is special about this substance?
“Polynucleotides are fragments of pure DNA from a natural source — salmon or trout — and they discovered that these fragments can restore skin texture. Because it is an animal-based substance and the DNA of these fish is similar to human DNA, it supports skin regeneration, stimulates collagen and elastin production, does not cause allergies and is safe for almost all skin types. When we inject polynucleotides, we achieve tissue renewal through a restorative process.”
How does the treatment work in practice?
“Three treatments are needed, each one month apart, and the injections are targeted to specific areas. They involve many small, shallow injections done after local numbing. I had the treatment once on my décolletage, so the results are not significant yet, but the treatment is not painful. Afterwards, though, the appearance is a little alarming. Each injection creates a small bubble, and the overall look is reptilian and startling. The good news is that everything disappears completely after 48 hours.”
“I call it a ‘weekend treatment,’” says Dr. Orly Fuzailov, who specializes in facial and neck aesthetics and already performs injections of salmon-derived DNA from the brand Rejuran at her clinic. “You leave the clinic dotted with marks, yes, you look like a reptile, but it fades quickly. The injection technique is micro-papules — tiny, shallow injections that create small bumps absorbed into the skin after 24 to 48 hours. I’m among the first doctors to use the product, which comes from Korea with 15 million syringes already injected in more than 30 countries. It recently received CE approval, the European certification, so it can now be used in Israel. The substance I use is derived from wild salmon that swim more than 200,000 kilometers. Only the strongest fish survive the journey and are caught, and from them they extract these DNA fragments.”
Why should we use salmon DNA at all?
“They discovered that human and salmon DNA are 95 to 97 percent identical, which makes the material safe and unlikely to cause complications, side effects or skin inflammation. The recovery time is also very short. The purpose of the treatment is to heal and activate the skin, which means if you have a scar, I can soften and improve it. If your face is red, it may reduce redness. It can brighten the skin around the eyes, improve the texture of the neck and décolletage and give the skin a luminous, radiant look. But you must wait at least three weeks between treatments. The keyword is ‘slow.’ Koreans believe in slow and steady. In Israel, women have less patience, so I tell them: if you’re not patient, don’t come for this treatment. And only doctors perform the injections — never cosmeticians — just like anywhere else in the world.”
How much does it cost?
“The product I use, Rejuran, costs between 2,000 and 3,000 shekels per syringe. The facial syringe is 3cc and costs 3,000 shekels; the one for scars and the eye area is 2cc and costs 2,000 shekels.”
What advantage does it have over other boosters?
“All other boosters are based on hyaluronic acid and work by triggering inflammation in the skin. The inflammatory process stimulates collagen and elastin production. This is the only booster that works differently — it is a biological treatment that does not trigger inflammation and encourages the skin to produce all the good stuff without it.”
“I call this treatment a ‘deep infrastructure supporter,’” adds Dr. Elman. “Polynucleotides reduce inflammation in the tissue, help the skin renew itself, encourage new blood vessel formation and improve blood flow. A few treatments should give the skin firmness, elasticity and a smoother, more even appearance.”
So do salmon DNA treatments replace the popular use of hyaluronic acid?
“Not at all. This treatment does not replace hyaluronic acid. It does not provide volume; it works on skin texture. For facial symmetry, loss of subcutaneous fat, sagging jawlines and gravity-related issues — we still need hyaluronic acid.”
What about serums, creams and nutritional supplements made from salmon DNA? Are they effective?
“I don’t think they offer real added value. When you penetrate the skin through injections or create micro-injuries with a treatment device, the materials truly enter the skin. I’m not aware of proven effectiveness for topical salmon DNA products. I strongly believe in creams and think moisturizing is very important, but I can’t say that about creams containing salmon DNA. As for supplements, that’s a whole different field, and I don’t have research on polynucleotide supplements. I can say that collagen capsules, sold for 25 years, do not break down properly in the body and have no benefit when taken orally.”
Can everyone undergo the treatment?
“No. Anyone allergic to fish or seafood cannot have the treatment, and neither can someone experiencing active inflammatory conditions like acne or autoimmune diseases. For everyone else, it is very safe.”
One last tip
“Don’t do the treatment right before a vacation or an important event, and stay away from ovens. Not only after this treatment, after any beauty treatment, don’t go near an oven. When you open an oven at 200 degrees, and the steam hits your face, it can trigger a bad reaction, even pigmentation that cannot be treated later.”