On September 30, 2026, Merz Aesthetics hosted the last leg of its Belotero Launch Roadshow in Chicago, IL, bringing together local injectors, physicians and medspa owners from the surrounding Chicagoland area to learn about their two new hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers, BELOTERO® Volume (+) and BELOTERO® Intense (+), which recently received FDA approval in the United States in 2026, after decades of use in Europe and Canada.
The new products join Belotero Balance (+), which has been in the U.S. market since 2013 after FDA approval in 2011.
Related: Merz Aesthetics Expands BELOTERO Portfolio with Two FDA-Approved HA Fillers
Held at The Langham in downtown Chicago, the event focused on the HA's unique rheology (how the gels flow, integrate, and behave within facial tissue) through live demonstrations and technical education from Injectors Dr. Cheryl Haseeb, a leading expert in aesthetic medicine and founder of Aesthetic National Institute (ANI) Houston, and Dr. Andrew Dargie, MD, who is one of the top injector educators and founder of The Botox Course.
- Belotero Balance (+) is designed to help moderate-to-severe facial wrinkles and folds and to improve infraorbital hollowing in adults over 21.
- Belotero Volume(+) is approved to help improve volume deficit in the mid-face or to correct midface contour deficiencies in adults 22 years or older.
- Belotero Intense(+) is approved to temporarily add volume and improve lip fullness in adults over the age of 21.
MedEsthtics was invited to the launch and spoke with expert injectors, Merz Aesthetics North America President Patrick Urban, and current and former AmSpa CEOs Adam Reinebach and Alex R. Thiersch, JD.
While observing the unique properties of the fillers, we discussed what the new fillers bring to the U.S. market, how they meet the demand for more personalized aesthetic care, and what they mean for medspas at large.
BELOTERO's CPM Technology and the Push for Natural-Looking Filler Results
Dr. Cheryl Haseeb, DNP, FNP-BC, who offers BELOTERO and other cosmetic injectable treatments at Pura Medical Aesthetics in Houston, Texas, says the gel works like a Turkish delicacy would.
“We look at our skin underneath; it looks like cobblestone. It's all integrated. Think of it like a pastry layer. Beautiful baklava – how that honey blends into each layer – that’s the BELOTEROS," Dr. Haseeh illustrates to MedEsthetics. “All of HAs have something called a shear factor. So when we pass them back and forth, mix them together, or even inject them, they can shear out and lose their cross-linking, so they don't function or hold up like they used to."
Dr. Haseeh goes on to explain that BELOTEROS's CPM technology includes an additional cross-linking stage, cross-linking at both high- and low-density areas, allowing the gel to integrate in multiple layers, like sweet syrup and flaky, paper-thin dough.
For medspa owners and wellness professionals, BELOTERO's HAs arrive at a timely moment, as patients increasingly want subtle, natural-looking results. According to Allergan Aesthetics' 2024 What is Natural Report, 75% of HCPs reported patients want to look natural.
Patients are also increasingly seeking customizable, anatomy-informed treatment plans focused on patient-specific outcomes. According to a 2026 Allergan Aesthetics report, individualized results are increasingly valued, as 75% of HCPs report that patients want to look natural[1].
Because CPM technology supports seamless tissue integration for natural-looking results that preserve individual expression, injectors using BELOTERO fillers, in theory, would be better equipped to deliver the natural-looking outcomes patients seek and have more flexibility in building individualized plans.
“I think it's clear that people want to feel understood uniquely as a patient and that you're willing to tailor a plan uniquely," Merz Aesthetics President of North America, Patrick Urban, says to MedEsthetics. "They want it to be a plan, not a one-time intervention."
"Bellotero is super important for us, not just because it's a great product in the HA filler landscape, but because it completes a portfolio of options that somebody can now create these plans with. So we now have increased our ability to be part of the customization conversation that we have not necessarily been fully part of in the United States in the past,” Urban continued.
More Filler Options Puts Greater Emphasis on Injector Education and Patient Selection
As hyaluronic acid fillers become a more specialized part of aesthetic treatment planning, product knowledge and patient education remain essential to achieving consistent outcomes.
At the Chicago event, founder, former CEO, and now Chairman of the American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) Alex R. Thiersch, JD, emphasized that adding options to a practice’s portfolio is only valuable when providers understand how to select and use them appropriately.
“Patients are coming in with their own treatment plans. You’re also educating them against themselves and the AI world that’s out there. So I think the more training that you have, the more you can credential yourself, the more that you can get a really in-depth knowledge of the product and its development and all those things that the manufacturers like Merz are telling you, the more you're going to be able to stand out because these folks are going to come in and they’re going to know everything,” Alex said.
Providers must be prepared to educate patients, correct misinformation and explain why a particular treatment may or may not suit their needs.
“Maybe 10 years ago, you could say, 'Hey, I think this is a great product. It's gone really well for my other customers, and I think it'll do great for you. And that was it," AmSpa CEO Adam Reinebach said. "As the provider, you've got to come armed with information, not just to educate a customer that doesn't know anything. You've got to maybe re-educate them on something they think they know."
Whether your medspa decides to carry BELOTERO's filler line, it's clearly one to learn about, as the filler, 20 years in approval, is finally in the U.S and of all the industry buzz.
"The fact that they made the investment for the FDA approval, which is no small investment in time and money, validates the fact that there is a need and that people want it, and the patients need it." Alex says.
“This completes their portfolio, which really gives their providers a chance to operate all within one portfolio, which I think puts market pressure and scientific pressure and R and D pressure on everybody else, which is only going to help the industry. It also helps us all be safer and more compliant, which is really important.”
References:
- 'https://news.abbvie.com/2026-06-10-Allergan-Aesthetics-Releases-The-Aesthetics-Evolution-What-Consumers-Really-Want-Highlighting-Consumer-Motivations-and-Expectations-in-Aesthetics
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13575298/
