What Are Dermal Fillers? Here’s What You Need to Know About Them.

Dermal fillers, also known as “plumping agents,” are a topical skincare products used to alter the appearance of wrinkles and creases on the surface of the skin. Dermal fillers can be composed of hyaluronic acid, collagen, or fat and they usually provide short-term improvements in facial contours and overall smoothness. If you’re looking for a quick and effective way to reduce lines and wrinkles, add volume, and eliminate sagging skin, it’s probably time to consider dermal fillers. Dermal fillers are popular for their quick and effective results. A dermal filler can help reduce lines and wrinkles, add volume, or eliminate sagging skin. Dermal fillers are often used to improve the appearance of photodamage, acne scars, age spots, and other forms of scarring. They are also used on the face, neck, hands, chest, buttocks, arms, lips, nose bridge, and chin.

They’re not only beneficial for women who want to drastically improve their appearance, but also those who may be going to an event, such as a high school reunion or a wedding, and want to look more youthful and refreshed without the serious recovery time and without breaking the bank.

Ready to reduce lines and wrinkles safely without surgery? Perhaps you want to refresh your lips by adding a little volume and filling in those little lines around your mouth that your lipstick bleeds into. Or how about lifting the skin around your cheeks and jaw that just seem to sag a little more due to the life experience you add to yearly (we don’t use the term “aging”). More often than not, dermal filler is the best option to achieve these types of results. Consider dermal fillers with confidence because present-day fillers are safe, non-invasive, and designed to target specific areas and problems, and remember they are not permanent. But what exactly is a dermal filler? Here’s a quick guide to our client’s most commonly asked questions.

Dermal Fillers forever changed the cosmetic industry. They’re injections filled with a gel made up of Hyaluronic Acid (HA). HA is a naturally occurring substance in the body that has the ability to attract water, keeping your skin hydrated and firm. Dermal fillers can be injected into different parts of your face like cheeks, mouth, and jawline and are also popularly used around the eyes as well as lips, despite often being known more specifically by their pseudo-medical term “lip filler.”

Dermal fillers can be broken down into two categories: collagen and hyaluronic acid.

•  Collagen-based fillers, such as Radiesse, are derived from natural sources and last up to 18 months. They work by filling wrinkles and folds in the skin to restore a smoother appearance.

•  Hyaluronic acid-based fillers such as Juvederm, on the other hand, are manmade and typically last about six-nine months.

•  Juvederm Ultra/Ultra Plus– Ultra is made up of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and is commonly used to treat perioral lines (lines around the mouth), hands, the dark circles under the eyes, and lip augmentation. Juvederm Ultra/ Ultra Plus lasts up to one year, with optimal treatment. To learn more click here. 

•  Voluma– Also part of the Juvederm family, Voluma is made up of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and is commonly used to treat the glabella, hand wrinkles, and contouring of the cheeks and jawline. Juvederm Voluma provides results that can last up to 1 year, with optimal treatment. To learn more click here. 

•  Vollure– This Hyaluronic Acid (HA) based injectable is Juvederm’s perfect balance between the 3 V’s- Voluma, Vollure, and Volbella. Vollure is lighter than voluma but fuller than volbella. Making this injectable is very effective to treat where moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds occur, including the “parentheses lines” around the nose and mouth. Results last up to 18 months, with optimal treatment. To learn more click here.

•  Volbella– This injectable is made up of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and has a comparatively thinner and silkier formula making it great to use for perioral lines and natural-looking lip augmentation. Juvederm Volbella lasts up to 1 year, with optimal treatment. To learn more click here.

•  Revance (RHA 2, 3, 4)– Also known as the RHA Designer Collection, is made up of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and is newly designed to be long-lasting—with proven clinical effectiveness and duration up to 15 months. To learn more click here. 

The RHA Collection offers 3 different types of fillers – specially formulated to treat different areas of the face:

     •  RHA® 2 is designed to treat superficial smoothing of surface lines and wrinkles, including vertical lip lines, lip augmentation, crow’s feet, and glabellar lines.

     •  RHA® 3 is ideal for deeper lines and wrinkles, nasolabial folds, lip augmentation, and adding volume to the cheeks.

     •  RHA® 4 is best for the lower face, jawline, nasolabial folds, and contouring your cheekbones.

•  Kysse- Restylane Kysse is a Hyaluronic Acid (HA) created with XpresHAn Technology™ for flexible, natural-looking movement. It’s commonly used to treat the lips and the lines around the mouth. With this new technology, it has been clinically proven to last up to 1 year. 

•  Restylane- This dermal filler is formulated with Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and brings a variety of other specialized products – similarly to Juvederm. This includes Restylane Defyne, Lyft, Silk, and Contour. Commonly treated areas are nasolabial folds, marionette lines, glabella, cheeks, jawline, perioral lines, and the lips. Results can typically last up to 18 months depending on the type of filler that is used. To learn more click here. 

•  Radiesse- The main component in Radiesse technology is the use of calcium-based microspheres, which essentially stimulate collagen production and in turn add volume to commonly treated areas such as nasolabial folds, hands, lips, chin, and cheeks. You can expect results to last 12 to 18 months, with optimal treatment.  To learn more click here.

One of our favorite advantages of getting dermal fillers injected means that you get to show off natural-looking results without any serious downtime, and the best part is that it is not permanent. Since they gradually work beneath the skin, the results get better with time allowing you to receive the most natural outcomes possible.

A dermal filler treatment can be quick, the longest part is the consultation because a trained injector will want to know your lifestyle as well as your expectations to make sure that you know what to expect and make the best recommendation for your desired outcome. A treatment typically takes anywhere from 20-45 minutes depending on how many areas are being treated.  In most cases it is possible to turn back the clock 10 years during a lunch hour.

The temporary side effects of dermal fillers include slight redness, swelling, tenderness that appear when injections are given. So, if you have the highschool reunion or wedding coming up you want to make sure that you allow at least 4-6 weeks before the event to make sure that any swelling, bruising goes down and in some cases you may need a little more product and we need to have time to add more.  Mild discomfort may be felt when the injection is being administered. At Beautique, patient comfort is our priority so we offer topical numbing cream if our patient wants it and most of the dermal filler products we have now include lidocaine in the syringe which really helps to make the treatment process as pain-free as possible.

Today, dermal fillers are a modern convenience that help us control the aging processes and stop their development for as long as we want to. Nevertheless, finding a practiced professional who can perform the service is equally as crucial as the treatment itself. At Beautique our expert injectors have over 45 combined years of  professional knowledge and always stay up-to-date on the latest injectable techniques and products we offer. 

Our injectors are fully trained and experienced in dermal injection procedures which we use. We take great pride in building a relationship with our patients which starts with the consultation. A consultation is  like a first date. You would never want a marriage proposal on your first date (creepy), getting injected without a consultation is kind of like getting married on your first date. But, during the consultation (“first date”) at Beautique your injector will ask questions that will let them get to know you and find out what you’re hoping to achieve, what your overall concerns are, your expectations and your budget. During the consultation we always start the journey with a VISIA skin analysis which gives our injector a visual tool to help you see what areas need the most attention and the degree of volume loss. This process allows us to address your concerns and make recommendations based on your skin’s needs, not just what is on TIK TOK or on sale at the medspa down the street.

We can’t stress the importance of the consultation period because we want a long-term relationship with our patients so that we can be a part of their personal anti-aging journey every step of the way.

Although injectables are typically considered low-risk procedures, our injectors are available for questions you may have about your injection and directions regarding the next steps to take in case you experience any unusual symptoms following the treatment. Follow- up appointments are necessary to make sure that you are happy with your results and so that we can help you achieve your overall skin goals!