Dermal fillers offer an easy, minimally invasive way to smooth wrinkles, restore facial volume, and reestablish a youthful appearance. However, the treatments provide so many benefits it can be challenging to determine what dermal fillers can and can’t do.
At Athena Plastic Surgery in Stuart, FL, we work with our patients to ensure they’re informed about their treatments and guide them to discover the most effective options to reach their aesthetic goals.
With the rising popularity of dermal fillers, you have extensive options to restore younger-looking skin. However, understanding the best dermal filler for your needs is the first step.
What Are Dermal Fillers?
Dermal fillers are injectable gel-like substances that restore volume and fullness to the face and smooth lines and wrinkles.
Over time, the subcutaneous fat in the face begins to diminish. As it recedes, the skin moves closer to the facial muscles, so facial expressions deepen lines on the face, like crow’s feet and forehead furrows.
Additionally, the skin loses collagen and elastin as you age. These proteins provide the skin’s structure and resilience. As lines deepen and skin begins losing its underlying support, the signs of aging appear to be more prominent. Dermal fillers target skin’s aging appearance, restoring shape and volume to the face.
Do All Dermal Fillers Work the Same Way?
The FDA classified dermal fillers by their active ingredient. The main ingredient in a filler distinguishes how it works and the area where it’s most effective. We offer three main types of dermal fillers.
Within their classification based on their main ingredient, fillers have different formulations that make them best suited for a specific area. For instance, fillers designed to add volume and shape to the lips contain a smaller molecule size than fillers intended to recontour the cheeks.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is naturally found throughout the body, serving as a lubricant for the joints, eyes, and skin. In addition, hyaluronic acid is a humectant, attracting and binding up to a thousand times its weight in moisture molecules to restore hydration to the skin.
Many popular dermal fillers use a vegan, synthetic form of hyaluronic acid as their main ingredient. The formulas are bioidentical to the body’s natural hyaluronic acid, so it’s less likely to cause an adverse reaction.
We offer the popular hyaluronic acid-based fillers Restylane, Juvéderm, and Belotero Balance.
Calcium Hydroxylapatite
Calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) is another substance naturally found in the body. A smooth gel in CaHA fillers suspends the microscopic biosynthetic calcium particles.
Since CaHA fillers are thicker than hyaluronic acid fillers, we typically use them to target deeper lines and wrinkles. First used in dentistry and reconstructive surgery, CaHA fillers have a long history of safe use and produce natural results. We use Radiesse CaHA filler to restore areas with significant volume loss.
Poly-L-Lactic Acid
Poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) fillers use a biocompatible synthetic gel made from the same material used in dissolvable stitches. Completely biodegradable, PLLA fillers mainly work as collagen stimulators, encouraging the body to produce more natural collagen and restoring the skin’s depleted supply to reverse the appearance of aging skin.
PLLA fillers are most effective in the lower half of the face, targeting deeper lines and redefining areas that develop skin laxity. While PLLA fillers, like Sculptra Aesthetic, gradually restore youthfulness to the face over four to six weeks, they’re considered to be a temporary solution.
How Do I Know Which Dermal Filler I Need?
When you schedule your complimentary consultation with our team, we can help you determine the suitable dermal filler for your specific skin concerns. Deciding which filler you need for different areas of your face can be complex, and achieving your particular aesthetic goals requires an expert’s insight.
Adding Volume and Shaping the Lips
Even patients who naturally have full and shapely lips may find their lips thinning or developing thin vertical lines that prematurely age the face. Dermal filler injections to the lips can significantly improve the youthfulness of your whole face.
However, lips are difficult to treat, as the skin is fragile and lines are particularly fine. Often, injecting lip fillers requires multiple treatments, allowing you to acclimate to your lips’ new shape and keep from overfilling the lips.
The most popular lip fillers, like Juvéderm Ultra and Restylane Silk, use hyaluronic acid as their main ingredient.
Smoothing Lines and Wrinkles
The lines that form around your mouth from smiling and laughing can create deeper creases that age the face. Nasolabial folds, or smile lines, extend from the nose to the mouth, while marionette lines appear below nasolabial folds and extend from the mouth to the chin.
All dermal fillers can effectively smooth lines and wrinkles, with hyaluronic-acid-based fillers like Belotero Balance treating moderate to severe lines around the mouth, and PLLA fillers, like Sculptra Aesthetic, restoring the skin from the inside out.
Adding Volume to the Cheeks and Under the Eyes
Over time, the loss of collagen, elastin, and subcutaneous fat hardens the contours of the face, creating a hollow effect under the eyes and a sunken appearance to the cheeks.
Hyaluronic acid fillers like Juvéderm Voluma can effectively restore lost volume to the cheeks, while Restylane or Belotero Balance offer a consistency that works best under the eyes. Patients ready for a longer-lasting solution for restoring plumpness to the cheeks may opt for the temporary results of Radiesse.
Discover the Skin Rejuvenating Effects of Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers offer impressive results for patients hoping to restore their skin’s smooth, plump, youthful appearance. At Athena Plastic Surgery in Stuart, FL, we ensure our patients can choose from our wide range of dermal fillers, so we always have the best option to treat your specific skin concerns.
Dermal fillers offer an easy, minimally invasive way to smooth wrinkles, restore facial volume, and reestablish a youthful appearance. However, the treatments provide so many benefits it can be challenging to determine what dermal fillers can and can’t do.
At Athena Plastic Surgery in Stuart, FL, we work with our patients to ensure they’re informed about their treatments and guide them to discover the most effective options to reach their aesthetic goals.
With the rising popularity of dermal fillers, you have extensive options to restore younger-looking skin. However, understanding the best dermal filler for your needs is the first step.
What Are Dermal Fillers?
Dermal fillers are injectable gel-like substances that restore volume and fullness to the face and smooth lines and wrinkles.
Over time, the subcutaneous fat in the face begins to diminish. As it recedes, the skin moves closer to the facial muscles, so facial expressions deepen lines on the face, like crow’s feet and forehead furrows.
Additionally, the skin loses collagen and elastin as you age. These proteins provide the skin’s structure and resilience. As lines deepen and skin begins losing its underlying support, the signs of aging appear to be more prominent. Dermal fillers target skin’s aging appearance, restoring shape and volume to the face.
Do All Dermal Fillers Work the Same Way?
The FDA classified dermal fillers by their active ingredient. The main ingredient in a filler distinguishes how it works and the area where it’s most effective. We offer three main types of dermal fillers.
Within their classification based on their main ingredient, fillers have different formulations that make them best suited for a specific area. For instance, fillers designed to add volume and shape to the lips contain a smaller molecule size than fillers intended to recontour the cheeks.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is naturally found throughout the body, serving as a lubricant for the joints, eyes, and skin. In addition, hyaluronic acid is a humectant, attracting and binding up to a thousand times its weight in moisture molecules to restore hydration to the skin.
Many popular dermal fillers use a vegan, synthetic form of hyaluronic acid as their main ingredient. The formulas are bioidentical to the body’s natural hyaluronic acid, so it’s less likely to cause an adverse reaction.
We offer the popular hyaluronic acid-based fillers Restylane, Juvéderm, and Belotero Balance.
Calcium Hydroxylapatite
Calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA) is another substance naturally found in the body. A smooth gel in CaHA fillers suspends the microscopic biosynthetic calcium particles.
Since CaHA fillers are thicker than hyaluronic acid fillers, we typically use them to target deeper lines and wrinkles. First used in dentistry and reconstructive surgery, CaHA fillers have a long history of safe use and produce natural results. We use Radiesse CaHA filler to restore areas with significant volume loss.
Poly-L-Lactic Acid
Poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) fillers use a biocompatible synthetic gel made from the same material used in dissolvable stitches. Completely biodegradable, PLLA fillers mainly work as collagen stimulators, encouraging the body to produce more natural collagen and restoring the skin’s depleted supply to reverse the appearance of aging skin.
PLLA fillers are most effective in the lower half of the face, targeting deeper lines and redefining areas that develop skin laxity. While PLLA fillers, like Sculptra Aesthetic, gradually restore youthfulness to the face over four to six weeks, they’re considered to be a temporary solution.
How Do I Know Which Dermal Filler I Need?
When you schedule your complimentary consultation with our team, we can help you determine the suitable dermal filler for your specific skin concerns. Deciding which filler you need for different areas of your face can be complex, and achieving your particular aesthetic goals requires an expert’s insight.
Adding Volume and Shaping the Lips
Even patients who naturally have full and shapely lips may find their lips thinning or developing thin vertical lines that prematurely age the face. Dermal filler injections to the lips can significantly improve the youthfulness of your whole face.
However, lips are difficult to treat, as the skin is fragile and lines are particularly fine. Often, injecting lip fillers requires multiple treatments, allowing you to acclimate to your lips’ new shape and keep from overfilling the lips.
The most popular lip fillers, like Juvéderm Ultra and Restylane Silk, use hyaluronic acid as their main ingredient.
Smoothing Lines and Wrinkles
The lines that form around your mouth from smiling and laughing can create deeper creases that age the face. Nasolabial folds, or smile lines, extend from the nose to the mouth, while marionette lines appear below nasolabial folds and extend from the mouth to the chin.
All dermal fillers can effectively smooth lines and wrinkles, with hyaluronic-acid-based fillers like Belotero Balance treating moderate to severe lines around the mouth, and PLLA fillers, like Sculptra Aesthetic, restoring the skin from the inside out.
Adding Volume to the Cheeks and Under the Eyes
Over time, the loss of collagen, elastin, and subcutaneous fat hardens the contours of the face, creating a hollow effect under the eyes and a sunken appearance to the cheeks.
Hyaluronic acid fillers like Juvéderm Voluma can effectively restore lost volume to the cheeks, while Restylane or Belotero Balance offer a consistency that works best under the eyes. Patients ready for a longer-lasting solution for restoring plumpness to the cheeks may opt for the temporary results of Radiesse.
Discover the Skin Rejuvenating Effects of Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers offer impressive results for patients hoping to restore their skin’s smooth, plump, youthful appearance. At Athena Plastic Surgery in Stuart, FL, we ensure our patients can choose from our wide range of dermal fillers, so we always have the best option to treat your specific skin concerns.
Schedule your free consultation today by calling us at (772) 266-5003 or contact us online to learn what dermal fillers can do to restore your aging skin.