Did you know that volume loss is the root cause of many outward manifestations of aging? Facial wrinkles deepen around the lips and nose, and the skin on the cheeks begins to sag. Fillers for the skin, also known as dermal fillers, are a great way to restore a more youthful appearance by restoring lost volume and smoothing out wrinkles and thin lips. Read on to gain knowledge about dermal filler injections.
Dermal fillers are gel-like formulas injected under the skin to restore volume, reduce lines and wrinkles, and augment face contours. More than a million men and women annually opt for this standard face rejuvenation therapy because it offers a low-risk, low-cost alternative to invasive surgery and recovery time.
Dermal fillers, sometimes known as “wrinkle fillers,” are commonly used to reduce the formation of wrinkles, but they have many other applications. Dermal fillers are often used to treat the following common complaints:
Multiple filler products have received FDA approval and are used by cosmetic surgeons. The primary way to classify fillers is according to the material from which they are made. For your protection, only have fillers administered by a medical professional, such as a board-certified cosmetic surgeon, who has a valid prescription from the Food and Drug Administration.
The skin already contains hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring chemical. It’s excellent for maintaining supple, healthy skin. In most cases, HA fillers will have a smooth, gel consistency. The effects only continue for a short time, from six months to a year or more, before the body typically consumes the particles. Most HA fillers have lidocaine added to make the treatment more tolerable.
Poly-L-lactic acid is a biocompatible synthetic chemical (i.e., it may be used in the body) and biodegradable. For a long time, it was a mainstay in medical implements like dissolvable stitches. As the filler gel dissolves a few days after treatment, poly-L-lactic acid products are officially categorized as “collagen stimulators,” Their primary technique to smooth fine wrinkles is helping your skin regenerate natural collagen. Results from using poly-L-lactic acid to address deeper facial wrinkles can last for over two years. Sculptra® Aesthetic is one example of an FDA-approved Poly-L-lactic acid filler.
Another naturally occurring compound, calcium hydroxylapatite, is abundant in bone tissue. Calcium filler particles are typically microscopic and suspended in a transparent gel. CaHA fillers have a longer duration (12 months or so) and a thicker consistency than hyaluronic acid fillers. Calcium hydroxylapatite is often utilized for deeper lines and wrinkles and has been said to increase natural collagen formation.
Only surgically removing and replacing fat with autologous fat can restore volume to facial features, although the benefits may remain for years. Liposuction is commonly used to remove fat from one body part and transfer it to another. Cleansed and pure fat is injected into the face to restore fullness to the cheeks, temples, lower eyelids, or other places. Only a skilled, board-certified cosmetic surgeon should inject fat because doing so is dangerous for the untrained and rarely yields desirable results.
Medical practitioners have extensively used polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), a synthetic biocompatible material, throughout the last century. Microspheres, or tiny balls, made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), are used in dermal fillers because they may stay under the skin indefinitely to give support. Collagen, a naturally occurring protein in the skin that contributes to its firmness and structure, will also be present in PMMA fillers.
Choose your injectable treatment provider with the same care and scrutiny you’d give a surgeon. To achieve a safe process and natural-looking outcomes, a medical professional should only perform non-surgical filler therapy with the necessary training, expertise, and skill. A surgeon’s precision, ability, and in-depth understanding of facial anatomy should be prioritized while selecting a provider.
Choose a medical professional with a track record of success in cosmetic medicine, extensive expertise in injecting fillers, and relevant training. Inquire for before-and-after pictures of the service provider’s previous patients. If you’re getting injections done by a nurse practitioner or PA, be sure they’re working closely with a licensed doctor. Ideally, this would be a cosmetic surgeon who has completed additional training above what is required for certification.
Knowing which dermal filler product is ideal for you might be challenging without the advice of an experienced cosmetic surgeon due to the wide variety of products available. Different fillers are more effective for various issues because they are formulated differently in terms of texture, density, and injection depth.
For a long time, people have argued over what constitutes the perfect filler. Everyone hopes the ideal filler is simple to inject, yields consistent effects and lasts a long time (staying between 1 and 2 years). A perfect filler wouldn’t just be painless during injection—it would also be nonallergenic (no skin testing needed), noncarcinogenic, nonteratogenic, and wouldn’t move around once injected under the skin. The perfect filler would be easy to transport, last long, and be utterly free of infectious diseases. This perfect filler would also have to be inexpensive for the patient and the doctor, and it would ideally have minimal local side effects.
Lastly, we need the substance to be long-lasting, and whether or not temporary fillers are preferable remains open for discussion. Discussing the merits of the quick versus permanent options goes beyond the scope of this paper. With the development of HA fillers, we are now closer than ever before.
When administered by a trained professional, injectable dermal filler can produce subtle but noticeable improvements in facial contours and overall appearance. Get in touch with BCRN Aesthetics to learn more about your options. We also provide a variety of other beauty-enhancing aesthetic services.
