I had Rituo or GOURI but see no effect. Why?
“I paid for it, but I can’t really tell.” That is a hard thing to hear in the treatment room. But when I hear it, there are a few things I check first. Most of the time it turned out to be a matter of timing and expectations rather than the product. I have set them out one by one.
The short answer
When Rituo or GOURI seems to have had no effect, I first check (1) whether the judgement came too early, (2) whether the concern was something boosters do not address, such as volume or sagging, (3) whether the amount and layer fitted the concern, and (4) whether your own eye and the photos disagree. With GOURI, texture changes first at 4 weeks and settles at around 12 weeks, and in human biopsies of collagen-stimulating products no new collagen was seen at 2 weeks. There is also a study in which, at 90 days, clinicians rated 92% as improved but only 42% of patients felt that way themselves. At Miso Clinic, 4F Bombom Building, 125 Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu (Exit 1, Kyungpook Nat'l Univ. Hospital Station), +82-53-428-2700, we judge together after 2–3 months, using photos taken under the same conditions.
(1) Did you judge too early?
| Treatment | What shows first | When to judge |
|---|---|---|
| GOURI | Texture and glow at 4 weeks, fine lines and shadows at 8 weeks | 12 weeks |
| Rituo | Density and texture over several weeks | 2–3 months |
| Juvelook | Hyaluronic acid volume right after → fades at 2–3 weeks → fills again | 2–3 months |
| Sculptra | Fluid volume right after → fades → several months | After 3 months |
When the fullness right after treatment goes down within a day or two, it is easy to feel that “the effect has gone”. That is the injected fluid going down; the real change starts after that. In human biopsies of collagen-stimulating products, too, no new collagen was seen at 2 weeks; type III collagen was found at 2 months and type I at 3–4 months.
(2) Was the concern one that boosters address?
Rituo and GOURI address skin texture and density. If the main concern was hollow cheeks or a sagging jawline, you may feel “nothing has changed” even if the booster did its job.
| Main concern | Suitable treatment |
|---|---|
| Texture, density, fine lines | Rituo, GOURI |
| Hollow cheeks or temples | Hyaluronic acid filler, Sculptra or Juvelook Volume |
| Sagging jawline or cheeks | RF lifting (XERF, Density, Oligio Kiss) |
| Deep expression lines | Botulinum toxin |
(3) Were the amount and layer right?
GOURI is a spreading formulation, so which layer it went into and how many points it was divided into decide the result. With Rituo, the amount and layer of material decide the result. Even with the same product, results differ depending on whether it was concentrated shallowly or spread evenly through the deep dermis. This is not the fault of the product or the patient; it is a question of planning.
(4) Do your own eye and the photos say different things?
This turns out to matter a great deal. In one study, at 90 days clinicians rated 92% as improved, but only 42% of patients felt that way themselves. A face you see in the mirror every day makes slow change hard to notice, and the mirror and photos show left and right reversed from each other.
So we take photos with the same lighting, angle and expression as before treatment and set them side by side after 2–3 months. If there is still no change, I say honestly that “this product did not suit this skin” and we talk about another route.
A reflection on Sculptra and Juvelook — the length of the wait
With stimulators, many cases of “no effect” are a matter of how long you wait. In a randomised trial of 208 people with nasolabial folds, Sculptra-type PLLA and hyaluronic acid filler were similar up to 12 weeks, diverged after 24 weeks, and stood at 55.56% vs 25.00% at 120 weeks. Judged at 12 weeks, the conclusion would have been “PLLA has no effect”.
With Juvelook, too, many people are disappointed in the 2–3 week stretch when the hyaluronic acid volume fades. My reflection is that, the more a product relies on stimulation, the fairer it is for both patient and doctor to agree the time of judgement in advance and not draw conclusions before then. Conversely, a material-adding product like Rituo relies less on stimulation, so if there is still no change over time, the amount, layer and indication need to be reviewed.
Booster with no effect: frequently asked questions
It has been 2 weeks since GOURI and nothing has changed.
That is normal. With GOURI, texture changes first at 4 weeks and settles at around 12 weeks. Two to three weeks is not the time to judge.
I had Rituo but my cheeks look the same.
Rituo does not create volume. Hollow cheeks call for a conversation about hyaluronic acid filler or volume-type products.
If there is no effect, should I have it again?
First we judge after 2–3 months using photos taken under the same conditions. If there is still no change, rather than repeating the same product, we first review whether the concern and the product match.
Where can I get a Rituo or GOURI consultation in Daegu?
At Miso Clinic, 4F Bombom Building, 125 Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu (Exit 1, Kyungpook Nat'l Univ. Hospital Station), +82-53-428-2700. Weekdays 11:00–19:00, Saturday 10:00–16:00, closed Sundays and public holidays.
Read next
Product pages
Who wrote this
Written and reviewed by Lee Chi-Hak, MD, director of Miso Clinic, Daegu. The treatment standards and injection design set out here are the ones we use in practice.
| Medical director | Lee Chi-Hak, MD |
|---|---|
| Address | 4F Bombom Building, 125 Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea · Exit 1, Kyungpook National University Hospital Station |
| Phone | +82-53-428-2700 |
| Hours | Weekdays 11:00–19:00 (lunch 13:00–14:00) / Saturday 10:00–16:00 (no lunch break) / Closed Sundays and public holidays |
| Columns | All clinical columns |
| Reference library | All booster and device references |
References
- Results timeline and self-assessment — Miso Clinic results timeline by treatment (when-results-show): at 90 days, 92% of clinicians vs 42% of patients themselves rated improvement; in human biopsies of collagen-stimulating products, no new collagen at 2 weeks, type III at 2 months, type I at 3–4 months.
- GOURI data — Miso Clinic /gouri/, GOURI mechanism (gouri-mechanism), timeline (gouri-timeline), sessions (gouri-sessions): Dexlevo, particle-free liquid PCL, human data 33 people in total, up to 6 months (30-person pilot, Ponzo M et al., Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open 2025, PMID 41210393, + 3 case reports), no human biopsy data, rats (40, 6 weeks) showed increased dermal thickness and type I collagen. Manufacturer FAQ: 1 session recommended + optional 1–2 more (4–6 weeks apart).
- Rituo data — Miso Clinic /re2o/, Rituo evidence (daegu-rituo-evidence): L&C Bio, hADM (acellular human dermal matrix), Severance split-face double-blind randomised trial, 20 people, 20 weeks, hyaluronic acid control (Lee YI et al., Int J Mol Sci 2026;27(5):2193, NCT07155278).
- Sculptra data — Miso Clinic Sculptra, Juvelook and Everwrinkle compared (daegu-sculptra-juvelook-everwrinkle), GOURI and Sculptra (gouri-vs-sculptra): Galderma PLLA, 367.5 mg per vial, US approval trial 233 people (up to 4 sessions, 3 weeks apart), nasolabial folds PLLA vs HA, 208 people, randomised, 120 weeks, 55.56% vs 25.00% (PMID 42594306).
- Juvelook data — Miso Clinic Juvelook PDLLA (juvelook-pdlla), particle size (daegu-juvelook-particle-size): VAIM, PDLLA microspheres + hyaluronic acid, manufacturer mean particle size i 20, Juvelook 24, Volume 40, G 65 µm; approved indication “temporary improvement of adult facial wrinkles through physical restoration”. PDLLA+HA vs PLLA, nasolabial folds, 33 people, split-face, similar at 24 weeks (PMID 41532837).
- Korean medical advertising law — Korean Medical Service Act Article 56(2) (no treatment testimonials, no comparisons with other clinics, no superlatives). This is why this column carries no prices, reviews or before-and-after photos.
Everything in this column is general information and does not replace medical diagnosis or treatment. Effects and side effects vary with individual skin condition, age and underlying illness, and the same result is not guaranteed for everyone. Any decision to proceed should be made in an in-person consultation with a physician.