Injectables 101: Understanding Fillers

If you want to deal with age lines, wrinkles, recessed scars, or facial creases, dermal injections (or fillers) are an excellent option to consider.
Simply put, these injections are soft tissue fillers that help to fill out the skin. They can plump up your lips, fill in wrinkles, smooth out rough scar tissue, and reduce the visibility of age lines. Essentially, they’ll make your skin look young and healthy once more.

There are a lot of different types of fillers to consider:

• PMMA – Polymethylmethacrylate is a synthetic filler that takes on the form of tiny balls when injected. These balls remain beneath your skin indefinitely (not a temporary filler). The collagen they contain will help to firm up and provide structure for your skin. Artefill is one popular type of PMMA.

• Calcium Hydroxylapatite – CaHA is a natural substance that is found within human bones. The particles of calcium are very small, but when mixed with hyaluronic acid, it makes a thick filler that can deal with deep wrinkles and creases. The results will last for around 12 months before the mixture is absorbed into the body. Radiesse is the most commonly used CaHA filler.

• Poly-L-lactic Acid — Poly-L-lactic Acid is another synthetic filler, but one that’s designed to be broken down (biodegraded) by your body. The results last for around 2 years, and the fillers can help to stimulate the production of the collagen your skin needs to stay young and firm. It’s thicker filler, so it’s usually used for deeper wrinkles and pitting. Sculptra Aesthetic is a popular brand of Poly-L-lactic Acid.

• Hyaluronic Acid – Hyaluronic acid is probably the most popular filler, due to the fact that it’s natural. Hyaluronic acid is produced by your body to keep your skin hydrated and plump.

This means that HA is absorbed into your body, so the results only last for 6-12 months. Juvederm and VOLUMA are two of the more common HA products.

We recommend fillers to those who want to improve the appearance of their skin without the use of Botox. Doctors promote Botox for expression lines, but we believe fillers are the safer option for treating deep skin lines and creases. Fillers help to deal with lines that are always present, unlike the expression lines that appear when your facial muscles contract. Though the results of the natural fillers aren’t permanent, they do help to encourage better skin health and firmness.

We prefer Juvederm (a form of hyaluronic acid) for our facial and skin treatments. While there are a few side effects, we believe going the natural route is the safest way for you to enhance your beauty. Take a look at our Before and After photos and see for yourself how this natural filler can cause a marked improvement in your appearance…