The FDA Just Approved a New Filler for Hollow Temples. Here's What the Data Shows

If your temples have started looking a little sunken or shadowed, you are not imagining it. In March 2026, the FDA approved Restylane Contour, a hyaluronic acid filler made by Galderma, specifically for correcting temple hollowing in adults. It is a small approval with a bigger story behind it: the temples are an area of the face that used to get almost no attention in aesthetic medicine, and that is changing fast. Here is what the approval actually covers, what the clinical trial behind it found, and why it is a different kind of fix than what Cor.e Laser Studio offers.

Why Temples Hollow Out in the First Place

Like the cheeks and under-eyes, the temples lose fat pad volume and bone density gradually with age. The skin there is also thin, so volume loss shows up early and can make the whole face look tired or gaunt even when nothing else has changed. We touched on a related trend in our September post on GLP-1 medications and skin laxity: as more people lose weight quickly on these drugs, doctors are seeing volume loss show up in areas that used to age more slowly, and the temples are one of the places getting more attention because of it.

What Got Approved, Exactly

Restylane Contour is a hyaluronic acid filler built on Galderma's OBT/XpresHAn technology, which is designed to balance structural support with natural facial movement. It is injected using a dual-layer technique that combines both a needle and a cannula, letting a provider place product at different depths depending on how much lift a patient's temple hollowing needs. The FDA approval, announced March 22, 2026, covers adults over 21 specifically for correcting temple hollowing, making it one of the first fillers approved for this exact indication rather than for general facial volume loss.

What the Clinical Trial Found

Galderma's approval was backed by clinical trial data tracking patients for a full 18 months after treatment:

• 91% of patients were rated treatment responders at 3 months, and more than 85% remained responders at 18 months

• Investigators rated improvement in 100% of patients at 3 months, 98% at 6 months, and 89% at 18 months

• More than 70% of patients said they looked younger and less tired at 18 months

• 85% felt their temples still looked natural at 18 months

• All treatment-related side effects were mild to moderate, including bruising, swelling, redness, and tenderness at the injection site, with no serious adverse events reported

Why This Isn't a Treatment Cor.e Offers

Restylane Contour works by physically replacing lost volume underneath the skin. That makes it a genuinely good option for someone whose main concern is structural hollowing, but it is an injectable filler, and it is not something Cor.e Laser Studio offers. We offer CO2 laser resurfacing and IPL, which work on a completely different layer of the aging process: the surface quality of the skin itself, including tone, texture, and sun damage, rather than the volume structure underneath it. If hollow temples are your main concern, a filler like this is genuinely the right tool for the job, and we would rather point that out than suggest otherwise.

Common Questions

Is Restylane Contour the same thing as regular Restylane? No. It is a distinct product in Galderma's Restylane line, built with different HA technology and approved for a specific indication, temple hollowing, rather than the lips, cheeks, or under-eyes that other Restylane products target.

Can CO2 laser or IPL treat hollow temples? No. Both treatments work on the surface of the skin, improving tone, texture, and sun damage, and neither adds volume beneath the skin. Temple hollowing is a structural change that needs a filler or similar volumizing treatment, not resurfacing.

What does Cor.e Laser Studio actually treat in the temple and forehead area? Sun damage, uneven pigmentation, and rough or crepey texture respond well to CO2 resurfacing or IPL. Volume loss itself is not something either treatment addresses.

How long do Restylane Contour results last? In the clinical trial behind the FDA approval, more than 85% of patients remained treatment responders at 18 months, which is the longest follow-up point reported so far.

Cor.e Laser Studio doesn't offer injectable fillers like Restylane Contour. Our two services are CO2 laser resurfacing and IPL, both aimed at skin tone, texture, and sun damage rather than volume loss. If that's what you're dealing with instead of (or alongside) hollow temples, we'd love to see you for a free consultation to talk through what CO2 or IPL could realistically do for your skin.