What Are Facial Fillers?
A beautiful face defines the individuality of a person. Time and again various cosmetic procedures like botox, fillers, chemical peels and laser resurfacing have been done to enhance the facial contours, sagginess and volume loss in the facial region. The use of facial fillers have been popularized due to awareness that has spread among patients and practioners to achieve superior results in rejuvenating the face to look more youthful and supple, re-defining aesthetic proportions.
Facial fillers are basically injectables to rejuvenate facial skin, eliminate wrinkles, raise depressed scars, enhance lip contour, face lift and replace volume loss which are made-up of hyaluronic acid, collagen and calcium hydroxyl apatite materials. Longetivity of the fillers depends on the type of fillers used. Hyaluronic acid is basically a natural filler substance in our body and they can be synthetically derived by processing bacteria which is further made into the injectable form by adding it to materials to improve its consistency.
Age doesn’t catch one by surprise, so is the ageing skin that goes through a process of tissue loss, with the outward show of deeper nasolabial folds, dropping marionette lines, deep mentalis fold, with thinning of the lips and appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s not only the aging skin that benefits from fillers, now fillers have found its uses in high lip line individuals, asymmetric lips, lip augmentation, and aesthetic dental procedures to create a beautiful and attractive frame around the teeth. In the hands of a maxillofacial and plastic surgeon, fillers can be well advocated to improve malar prominences, chin aesthetics and lip sculpturing apart from restoring ideal skeletal relations in the maxillofacial region with the various orthognathic and cosmetic surgical procedures. Handling fillers makes one feels like a craftsman who is proficient to sculpt a face to look like a complete masterpiece by restoring beauty and perfection.
Which dermal fillers to use?
Fillers vary in their chemical make-up, degree of softness and longevity. Choice of fillers depending on the area to be augmented, for example, softer fillers are used for correcting finer lines, nasolabial folds and under-eye regions, while sturdier fillers can be considered necessary to enhance cheekbone regions, age-related volume loss and lip sculpturing and plumping.
Dermal fillers procedure steps
A healthy well motivated patient with a realistic outlook and goal in mind, to improve their appearance can be taken up as an ideal candidate for dermal fillers. First and foremost it is of prime importance to explain to your patient the steps, outcome of the procedure and obtain an informed consent. The injection of dermal fillers can follow the below mentioned steps:
Step 1- Facial assessment and mapping
Targeted points are marked on the face which requires the augmentation. Pre-operative photographs are mandatory to access the outcome of the procedure.
Step 2- Cleansing and anaesthetising
An appropriate cleanser can be used all over the face. Injection site discomfort can be ameliorated by using very cold instruments to chill the skin, anaesthetic ointments to numb the skin, or local anaesthetic injections in minimal amounts.
Step 3- Dermal filler injection
Injection per site takes about few seconds. After injecting the preferred site it’s a must to mould the area and evaluate the results to access if additional filler augmentation is required or not.
Step 4- Clean up and recovery
Once the targeted results are achieved, any marking on the face can be cleaned and ice pack application can be offered to reduce the swelling and alleviate discomfort. The injected area may feel a little tender for few days, but not so painful to require any medication.
Dermal fillers before and after results
The results following dermal filler injections are immediate generating a satisfactory result by rejuvenating and re-contouring the desired area of interest. The initial appearance after fillers will include an over-filled appearance with swelling, bruising or temporary redness and numbness, which will eventually subside.
Dermal Fillers Before & After
Length of a Dermal Filler Injections and Side Effects
A single filler session will take about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the amount of restoration that is required. Downtime of dermal fillers is very minimal allowing the patients to resume normal activities immediately after the treatment. Post- injections for 24 hours the individuals are instructed to avoid strenuous physical activity and sun exposure.
Complication with dermal fillers is rare, but varying risks depends on specific fillers and its relative permanence. The most common side-effects may include – lumps, allergic reactions (granulomas/nodules), bruising at the injection site, redness and rashes with itching, numbness, swelling, pain and acne like eruptions, asymmetry, scarring or discolouration. Under or over-correction with fillers can also be of concern.
Results of Injectable Fillers
The results of dermal fillers may be temporary, lasting from few months to almost a year, depending on the type of fillers used. Additional treatment sessions can be incorporated to make finer adjustments to the treated area to accomplish an ideal aesthetic and pleasing younger looking face. Fillers along with thread lifts and PRP can generate superior results in a skilful cosmetologist’s hands, refining the realms to addressing facial aesthetics.
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