Attaining a younger-looking face is something that many people strive for today. Some may try to achieve it by applying skincare, especially those containing active ingredients such as retinol, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and many more.
However, skincare alone is frequently insufficient to address ageing issues such as sagging skin, volume loss, and deep wrinkles. If you have these issues, you will require more advanced treatment than skincare, including filler injections.
Before you step into a clinic for a filler treatment, it is much better if you understand what the treatment entails. Given the variety of dermal fillers available, understanding the differences will help you determine which one is reasonably suited to your skin’s condition.
Continue reading to learn about the various filler types and decide which one is ideal for you!
What is a filler treatment?
For starters, filler treatment entails a medical aesthetics doctor who injects gel-like substances into the skin. It aims to reduce ageing signs, such as sagging skin, volume loss, and deep wrinkles, less invasively than surgical facelifts.
Once injected into the skin, the fillers will replenish sagging skin, volume loss, and deep wrinkles caused by decreased collagen production. Patients will most likely notice results almost immediately following treatment. But, the ideal results will emerge gradually over a few weeks.
If you choose to undergo this procedure, you should not be concerned because your body’s ingredients are mostly natural and easily absorbed. However, the dissolvable ingredients cause fillers to provide a temporary fix that lasts 6 – 9 months.
What are the perks of getting filler treatments?
As you age, it’s a natural occurrence that you gradually lose your ability to produce enough collagen, causing your skin to develop ageing signs such as wrinkles, sagging skin, and loss of elasticity. That makes clinical treatment like fillers become one of many options to preserve your youthful appearance.
Filler injections will help you as the gel-like substances will smooth out your ageing signs and make them less noticeable. Aside from that, dermal fillers can help you achieve the rejuvenated skin of your dreams without undergoing plastic surgery.
Moreover, the ingredients of dermal fillers are mainly natural, which your body can easily absorb. Although the procedure is minimally invasive and uses natural ingredients, dermal fillers typically last relatively long (6 – 9 months). That way, you can enjoy your youthful skin without repeatedly getting the treatment.
When should I get a filler treatment?
Getting a filler treatment to address ageing signs is an optional procedure. However, you should go for it if you struggle with the issues. You can improve your facial appearance and boost self-confidence by receiving the treatment.
Furthermore, the procedure will not only smooth out wrinkles and replenish skin volume loss. Instead, it also gives your skin a more defined contour by popping up the injected area –giving you a naturally youthful look that you desire.
Before deciding on a filler treatment, you should know the various filler types available in the market. We’ll go over these types of filler so you can choose the ideal one for you.
Fillers Type
We previously mentioned that most filler types involve injecting gel-like substances into the skin. However, you can still identify the difference by knowing their ingredients.
The following is the list of the common fillers used by medical aesthetics doctors, which you can choose depending on your skin’s condition and your treatment goals:
- Hyaluronic acid filler
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is one of the popular filler types used to correct ageing signs. HA itself is a natural substance that human bodies produce, making it biocompatible and safe to use.
Typically, patients who want to rejuvenate their facial appearance with this type of filler have two brand options: Juvederm and Restylane.
Juvederm
Juvederm is an FDA approved gel filler to treat various facial parts in adults over 21, including cheeks, chin, and nose. Other body parts like nasolabial lines, undereye bags, and lips are also possible to enhance using Juvederm.
Stating to Juvederm.com, there are five different types of Juvederm, and each treats different parts of the face, as explained below:
- Juvederm Voluma XC: It is common for usage around the cheek area to improve volume loss caused by ageing. It is also ideal for injecting on the chin to improve the chin profile.
- Juvederm Vollure XC: Its technique commonly involves injections into the mid to deep dermis level, making it ideal for smoothing out wrinkles and skin folds.
- Juvederm Ultra Plus XC: It’s ideal for minimising wrinkles and skin folds, just with a thicker consistency than the Juvederm Vollure XC. As a result, it may be more suitable to improve the appearance of deeper wrinkles and skin folds.
- Juvederm Ultra XC: It’s also suitable to reduce deep wrinkles and skin folds like the Juvederm Vollure XC and Juvederm Ultra Plus XC do. Aside from that, it has other functions such as lip augmentation and perioral area enhancement.
- Juvederm Volbella XC: It specialises in lip augmentation and reduces the appearance of perioral lines. It is also an option for patients who want to fill their sunken eye bags.
Restylane
Restylane is a brand of filler made with hyaluronic acid. Patients aged older than 21 years old who wish to treat their face and the back of the hand areas may want to choose this filler type as an option.
Restylaneusa.com says that there are different kinds of Restylane to treat different problems. Depending on their needs, patients can choose one of the following:
- Restylane: Its clear gel formula effectively corrects moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds like nasolabial folds and marionette lines. Besides, it is an FDA-approved filler for lip augmentation, along with Restylane Silk.
- Restylane Defyne: Its texture is popular for smoothing out deep laugh lines, such as nasolabial folds and marionette lines. Injecting it into the chin area is also possible, thus making patients appear younger naturally.
- Restylane Refyne: Its consistency is ideal for softening shallow laugh lines, including nasolabial folds and marionette lines. Patients who wish to maintain their fresh facial expressions can choose to undergo this option.
- Restylane Silk: It’s an FDA-approved product that helps patients get their ideal and plumpy lips. Aside from augmenting lips, it’s also ideal for smoothing out wrinkles and fine lines around the mouth.
- Restylane Lyft: Its formula is capable of helping patients to rejuvenate their faces and hands at the same time. Patients who wish to complete their fresh and wrinkle-free appearance can opt for this treatment.
- Poly-L-Lactic acid filler
Poly-L-Lactic acid filler, also known as Sculptra, is a non-invasive treatment that replaces volume loss and increases natural collagen production. As a result, patients can achieve a more natural-looking and feeling appearance.
Sculptra provides longer-lasting support to the skin than hyaluronic acid-based fillers. The injected synthetic formula into the skin will stimulate collagen production sufficiently to make the skin appear more contoured.
Just like hyaluronic acid fillers, patients can also enhance multiple facial areas by undergoing Sculptra, including:
- Undereye area
- Cheeks
- Nasolabial folds
- Marionette lines
- Calcium hydroxylapatite filler
Calcium hydroxylapatite filler that goes by the brand, Radiesse, is one of the FDA-approved treatments for facial augmentation. It works by injecting it into the skin to correct moderate to severe wrinkles and folds.
Additionally, it can also enhance the appearance of brows, tear trough, and nasolabial folds areas. Augmenting several parts like the chin, nose, and lips is also possible through this procedure.
- Permanent soft tissue filler
Just like its name, a permanent soft tissue filler uses non-absorbable formula, unlike the preceding treatments. Due to the irreversible consistency, FDA limits this treatment only to correct nasolabial folds and sunken cheeks caused by acne scars.
- Fat grafting filler
Fat grafting filler uses a similar technique to liposuction, whereas a professional will harvest fat from other body parts to use on the face. Later, the professional will inject the fat into the face, resulting in a more defined facial contour.
How to choose a suitable filler?
Choosing a suitable filler type will require you to talk to a medical aesthetics doctor. You can communicate your concerns and treatment goals directly to them. Eventually, your medical aesthetics doctor can assess your skin condition and recommend what type of filler is ideal for you.
Consulting a medical aesthetics doctor may also be beneficial because you will better understand what to expect from the treatment. You can always adjust to what the treatment entails this way.
Is there any restriction on who can get a filler procedure?
There are several conditions that patients who want to get a filler procedure should think about. This is due to the fact that some conditions are prone to causing avoidable harmful side effects.
According to NCBI, people with the following conditions might want to reconsider getting fillers:
- Have active infections around the planned treatment area
- Have an allergy to fillers (e.g., hyaluronic acid, Poly-L-Lactic acid, etc.)
- Suffer from Glabellar necrosis
- Have an allergy to lidocaine
Aftercare guide for filler injections
We recommend that you avoid alcohol and anticoagulant medications immediately following your filler injections. It is because these substances may cause adverse reactions to the procedure.
If you have an anticoagulant prescription, you should always consult your doctor. This allows your doctor to examine your condition and make an informed recommendation for you.
Common side effects
According to Healthline, several side effects commonly occur after receiving filler injections. However, you should not be wary as the side effects will clear up after 7 – 14 days.
The following are common side effects that the majority of patients experience from dermal fillers:
- Redness
- Swelling
- Painful sensation in the injection sites
- Bruising
- Itching
- Rashes
Can I get my fillers removed?
Yes, you can get your hyaluronic acid-based fillers like Juvederm and Restylane removed. If you wish to do so, your medical aesthetics doctor will inject hyaluronidase that meltdown the hyaluronic acid fillers.
On the other hand, you can also wait for a couple of months until your body fully dissolves the fillers injected into your skin. Either way, it will be best for you to consult a medical aesthetics doctor before considering removing your fillers.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the filler type that is the most suitable for your concern and treatment goals amongst the differing dermal fillers in the market can be confusing. There are also many considerations that you should keep in mind before undergoing the procedure.
Fortunately, you can always contact us to book an appointment with our medical aesthetics doctor, Dr Dylan Chau. We will gladly guide you through what the treatment entails and how it can help you achieve the youthful freshness you dream of!
