Skin Quality
5 min readNCTF 135HA: Inject, Needle, or Both?
Educational reading for licensed practitioners — not clinical or injection guidance.
NCTF 135HA has become a fixture of the skin-quality menu, and part of its appeal is flexibility: the same vial can be delivered by needle, by device, or by a combination of the two. Getting a good result depends less on the product itself than on matching the delivery route to the patient and the depth you are trying to treat.
What NCTF 135HA Actually Is
NCTF stands for New Cellular Treatment Factor. It is a polyrevitalising mesotherapy solution from FillMed (Filorga) built around a broad cocktail — commonly cited as containing dozens of ingredients spanning vitamins, amino acids, minerals, coenzymes, nucleic acids and antioxidants — suspended in a base of free (non-cross-linked) hyaluronic acid. The "135HA" denotes the hyaluronic-acid concentration in the formula.
The important conceptual point is that this is a nutrient and hydration cocktail, not a filler and not a regenerative DNA product. It does not add structural volume; it aims to improve the everyday condition of the skin — radiance, hydration and a "rested" quality — by nourishing the dermis. Both the mesotherapy presentation, NCTF 135HA, and the skinbooster presentation, FillMed NCTF 135HA, sit in that skin-quality lane.
Route One: Injection
Classic mesotherapy delivers the solution into the dermis by hand or with a mesotherapy gun, using either the nappage technique (rapid, superficial micro-punctures across the area) or a series of discrete point injections. Injection is the most direct route: it places a controlled dose at a controlled depth exactly where you want it. The trade-off is technique-dependence and the usual transient pinpoint redness or bruising. For practitioners who want precision and reproducibility, injection remains the reference method.
Route Two: Microneedling
The alternative is to breach the barrier mechanically and drive the solution in through the resulting micro-channels, using a device such as the Dr. Pen Ultima M8S or a stamp-style applicator. Microneedling adds its own regenerative stimulus — the controlled injury itself prompts a repair response — on top of delivering the cocktail, and it can be more comfortable and even across broad zones. The limitation is depth and dose control: you are relying on channels rather than placing a measured bolus.
Route Three: Both
The two are not mutually exclusive, and combining them is often where the value sits. A common approach is to use targeted injection where precision matters and a needling pass to treat a wider field and add mechanical stimulus. A refinement is device-assisted delivery that does both at once — for example the microchannelling tool Aquagold, which infuses the solution through very fine gold-plated needles, or biostimulation microneedles such as the FillMed Nanosoft system for superficial, comfortable delivery in delicate areas. Combining lets you match method to zone within a single session.
Choosing the Route
- Precision and dose control the priority? Injection (nappage or points).
- Broad field, comfort, and an added mechanical stimulus wanted? Microneedling.
- Delicate areas, or a mix of targeted and diffuse treatment? A device such as Aquagold or Nanosoft, or a deliberate injection-plus-needling combination.
Whatever the route, NCTF is delivered as a course — commonly a series of sessions a few weeks apart with periodic maintenance — because it replenishes and refreshes rather than remodelling permanently. Results are gradual radiance and hydration, not a one-visit transformation.
Standard cautions apply: active infection or inflammation at the site, bleeding disorders, pregnancy and lactation, and relevant allergies. NCTF is a CE-marked mesotherapy product used internationally; note that the only FDA-approved injectable in the skin-quality space is SKINVIVE by Juvederm (formerly Volite), a hydration HA — mesotherapy cocktails like NCTF are a different, non-FDA-approved category.
The Takeaway
NCTF 135HA is a flexible skin-quality booster whose result depends on delivery. Inject for precision, needle for a broad field and added stimulus, or combine the two — and treat it as a maintenance course rather than a single event. Match the route to the patient and the zone, and the 59-ingredient cocktail earns its place on the menu.
Explore the mesotherapy range for NCTF and related boosters.