Do you know that your face’s four major structural components are the skin, muscle, fat, and bone? With age, your face has volume loss in these structures that contribute to many visible signs of aging. Dermal fillers are your best solution.
Surprisingly more than one million men and women annually opted for this popular facial rejuvenation treatment. It is a cost-effective way to look younger without surgery or downtime.
You might have noticed an age-related bone loss in your face can lead to loss of high cheekbones, the descent of your nose, and retraction of your jawline.
With time your facial muscles decrease in volume and elasticity leading to the deflation of your facial muscles. There is a movement of your facial fat further that highlights the signs of aging.
Slowly your skin will stretch and lose elasticity. This is compounded by the loss of your face structure provided by fat, bone, and muscle. All these together lead to wrinkles, sagging skin, and other signs of aging.
What are Dermal Fillers?
Dermal fillers are soft, gel-like substances that are injected beneath your skin. They can address several common issues, including smoothing deep under-eye circles, lifting cheekbones, volumizing your lips, smoothing lip lines, and rejuvenating your hands.
Dermal fillers are sometimes called soft tissue fillers. They are substances designed to be injected beneath your skin surface to add volume and fullness.
They can also diminish your facial fine lines providing smoother facial skin. With age, your face naturally loses subcutaneous fat. As a result, the muscles in your face work closer to the skin surface. This, in turn, makes your smile lines and crow’s feet more pronounced.
Once your facial skin stretches a bit as you age, it adds to the loss of facial volume. Other factors that affect your facial skin such as lifestyle habits, sun exposure, and heredity reasons.
Dermal fillers are an injectable treatment your doctor performs at the clinic. Dermal fillers are lip fillers with slight difference. Each one of these is designed to treat different signs of aging or other cosmetic issues.
Dermal fillers should not be confused with Botox, an injectable drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration or FDA. Both are basically different. Botox injections help to smooth out your lines and wrinkles.
It actually ‘freezes’ your muscles to reduce wrinkles. On the other hand, dermal fillers are injectable implants which are FDA approved. They also help to smooth skin and wrinkles though the treatment is different. As the name implies, they are injected just beneath your skin using a microneedle.
Learn more about Profhilo vs Fillers here.
What is the Difference Between Botox and Dermal Fillers?
Both dermal fillers and Botox are cosmetic treatments given through injections, usually at your doctor’s office. Botox and fillers are minimally invasive, meaning they do not involve any plastic surgery. That is where their similarities end.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), both these filler treatments are popular, accounting for more than 9 million procedures in a single year.
Dermal fillers contain ingredients that will add fullness and volume to areas that have thinned due to aging. You can notice this thinning effect in the lips, cheeks, and around the mouth area.
On the contrary, Botox contains purified bacteria that freeze your muscles. In doing so, Botox in Dubai helps minimize the appearance of wrinkles and lines caused by facial expressions.
People should be aware of the costs and risks of treatments and have realistic expectations of what they can do.
Key differences
In summary, the differences between fillers and Botox are:
- Botox: This treatment freezes muscles to stop creases and wrinkles commonly caused by your facial expressions. You can find them in your upper face, around the forehead and the eyes.
- Dermal fillers: These use hyaluronic acid and similar substances to “fill in” or plump areas in your face that have lost volume and smoothness. Including wrinkles around your mouth, thin lips, and cheeks that have lost fullness. Your doctor can also use it on forehead wrinkles, scars, and other areas that need extra volume and a smoother look.
- Botox results usually last 3 to 4 months. Dermal filler results longer depending on the types of dermal fillers used.
Because fillers and Botox are different substances designed for different uses, your doctor can use them in combination. For instance, you might use Botox to correct lines between your eyes and a dermal filler to correct smile lines around the mouth.
What Dermal Fillers Can Do
- The filler softens your facial wrinkles and creases.
- Enhance or fill in shallow areas in the face.
- Plump up, thinning lips.
- Dermal fillers improve or soften the look of recessed scars.
- It reconstructs contour deformities in your face.
- It fills in or softens static wrinkles found on the lower face.
- The procedure removes or decreases the shadow or wrinkle under the eyes caused by the lower eyelid.
- People who have early signs of aging can choose dermal fillers. Many select it as a value-added part of your facial rejuvenation surgery.
Types of Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers are composed of a variety of substances. Most of these are occurring, and some are synthetic.
According to the FDA, these are four types of fillers.
1 Hyaluronic acid (HA)
HA, naturally produced by your body and is found in your skin. HA is one of the commonly used compounds in dermal fillers. It plays a major role in keeping your skin volumized and hydrated. Fillers made with HA will last between six to twelve months, even 18 months.
The chemical composition of these fillers can even last much longer. Finally, your body absorbs these fillers. Most Hydruronic Acid fillers have lidocaine infused, a numbing agent that aids in minimizing discomfort during and after the procedure. HA fillers include Restylane products, Juvéderm products, and Belotero Balance.
2 Calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA)
This mineral is found in your bones. When used in a filler, the microscopic calcium particles remain suspended in a smooth gel. The consistency of a CaHA filler is thicker than that of a HA filler and hence lasts longer. These fillers last up to eighteen months.
CaHA also helps stimulate natural collagen production. Hence it benefits your deeper lines and wrinkles. An example is Radiesse.
3 Poly-L-lactic acid
It is a biodegradable synthetic material and hence is safe to use in the body. Several medical products like dissolvable stitches use these synthetic materials. They last up to two years.
It is different from the others because its results are gradual; volumization happens over several months as it stimulates your body to produce collagen.
Poly-L-lactic acid products are medically classified as ‘collagen stimulators’. The filler gel will dissipate a few days after treatment. Your doctor will use these fillers to treat deep facial wrinkles as their results can last longer. Examples of Poly-L-lactic acid fillers include Sculptra Aesthetic.
4 Polymethylmethacrylate beads (PMMA)
Unlike the others, PMMA beads are the only fillers that your body cannot absorb. They give permanent results and hence your doctor will use them around your mouth.
PMMA is a synthetic, biocompatible substance used in the medical world for more than a century. PMMA is present in the form of a “microsphere” or tiny ball in dermal fillers.
As PMMA fillers contain collagen, they provide structure and firmness to your skin. It is more durable, but it has potential complications as it might form lumps under the skin. An example of PMMA fillers is Bellafill.
Each of these substances has a unique texture, density, and longevity and hence is suitable for a specific area of your face or hands. Your dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon can guide you to choose the right type of dermal filler. As they have a thorough understanding of facial anatomy and are familiar with the variety of fillers available in the market.
Your dermatologist will thoroughly evaluate your specific areas of concern, understand what your expectations are out of the procedure, and review what you should expect after the treatment.
Your doctor will follow these steps to get best cosmetic outcome.
What Are Any Possible Side Effects of Dermal Fillers?
Remember, even non-surgical procedures have their risks. The most common side effects could include swelling, redness, bruising, or pain. But all these should disappear within two weeks.
Raised bumps might erupt under your skin only in certain cases. Your doctor will treat them with medications, injections, or might even remove them surgically.
Many ask about the risks of dermal fillers? In some cases the fillers get injected into your blood vessel leading to complications. Hence you should consult an experienced doctor who is skilled in performing such procedures.
Dermatologists carry out millions of filler procedures each year, and they have a good track record of safety. You can get natural-looking enhancement of your facial features with the help of an experienced, qualified cosmetic surgeon. Side effects occurred in less than one percent of the recipients.
The procedure is very safe when performed by experienced board-certified dermatologists. If you are ready to learn more and explore the various dermal filler options, the next step is to meet our team for a consultation.
