If you'd like to restore youthful fullness to your face, enjoy plump lips, enhance shallow contours or soften those facial creases and wrinkles, dermal fillers may be the answer. As your skin ages, it loses the collagen that helps to shape and support it. Dermal fillers replace this volume. Dermal fillers can reduce wrinkles around the eyes and mouth, create fuller lips and give your face a more supple, toned look.
Dermal fillers have been called "liquid facelifts" because they offer many of the benefits of a surgical facelift without the downtime. Although they can't help with excess sagging skin, these soft tissue fillers can add more volume and provide immediate results at a lower cost than surgery. These treatments aren't permanent, however, and they must be repeated and maintained. Some dermal fillers are used in conjunction with other skin rejuvenation treatments such as injections of Botox.
Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance found in your body. High concentrations are found in soft connective tissue and in the fluid surrounding your eyes. It's also in some cartilage and joint fluids, as well as skin tissue. If the name sounds familiar, it's because the same substance is often injected into the aching joints of people with arthritis to ease pain by providing extra cushioning. Hyaluronic acid is not derived from animal sources. Brand names include: Esthélis, Hylaform, Juvéderm, Perlane, Prevelle and Restylane.
Calcium hydroxylapatite, the heaviest of facial fillers, is found naturally in human bones. This mineral-like compound is reserved to fill the deepest creases such as nasolabial folds, marionette lines and frown lines. It's also used to enhance fullness of the cheeks and other facial contours. Calcium-based microspheres are suspended in a water-based gel. Brand names include: Radiesse.