A Complete Guide to Dermal Fillers
It is no doubt that everyone is trying to look younger these years, but most people are surprised by the number of products on the market that promise to help people do just that. Since lines and wrinkles are what a lot of people want to get rid of, many of these products are geared towards smoothing out the skin so that lines and wrinkles are much less noticeable. One of those items is dermal filler and most people consider it nothing short of amazing.
What Is a Dermal Filler?
Dermal fillers are gel-like substances that are injected into your face at certain spots. They are injected just beneath the skin and work to restore the volume that your skin used to have, soften any creases, and smooth out the lines so they virtually disappear.
Dermal fillers are cost-effective ways to improve the look of your skin without the pain and expense of invasive surgery.
Benefits of a Dermal Filler
The benefits of a dermal filler are plentiful. The substance used in the syringe essentially fills in the spaces in your skin and plumps those spaces out, which in turn smooths out lines and wrinkles.
Best of all, the results are practically instantaneous, which means that you won’t have to wait long to look better and feel better about yourself. It even works on vertical lip lines and improves the overall symmetry among your facial features.
How Does a Dermal Filler Work?
Dermal fillers are made with a gel-like substance that is a combination of different ingredients that have been proven to work well on lines and wrinkles. Some of these ingredients include hyaluronic acid (HA), poly-l-lactic acid, calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA), and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Other ingredients can also be used but all of them are safe and effective.
Types of Dermal Fillers
There is a variety of dermal fillers on the market today and some of the most well known include:
- Juvéderm: This is a collection of fillers and forms that can be used in various parts of the facial area.
- Radiesse: This one is made especially for people who have medium to severe problem areas and is used everywhere except on the lips.
- Restylane: This is specially designed to treat various problem areas, including many overlapping areas.
- Sculptra Aesthetic: This is made with ingredients that encourage the formation of new collagen to plump out the facial area.
Only your doctor can help you decide which treatment is best for you. This always starts with a complete examination so that you will make the right choice together.
Are Dermal Fillers Safe?
As with any other medical procedure, dermal fillers come with certain risks but those risks are minimal. As long as you are being treated by a doctor and practitioner who is experienced in this area of medicine and is using the right products, you can feel safe having the procedure done.
With any treatment such as this, it is possible for something to go wrong but the truth is that dermal fillers are perfectly safe the vast majority of the time, especially if you find the right practitioner.
What can Dermal Fillers Do and Not Do?
While dermal fillers are not miracle workers, they do an amazing job when it comes to improving the overall look of your face. Dermal fillers can plump thin lips, get rid of the shadows on the lower lids, enhance shallow contours, soften creases and wrinkles, and even improve the appearance of recessed scars.
What they cannot do is give you the same results as a facelift, eye lift, or brow lift. They are also not intended to be a permanent solution to facial lines and wrinkles. Most fillers, in fact, last six to twelve months, at which time you’ll have to get the treatments again if you want to continue experiencing the results.
Can Dermal Fillers Be Removed?
Some people eventually decide that they prefer to get a more permanent solution to their lines and wrinkles, such as a facelift. When they do, the doctor may remove the filler that you received earlier. So yes, a dermal filler can be removed for whatever reason even if you’re the one who wants it done. Most often, the doctors will use hyaluronidase treatments, which are a combination of two different dermal fillers.
Among of these materials, PLLA could be degraduabled in the body, that will decompose in several months or years, that deponds on the molecular weight. It is no need to remove from the body.
How Long Do Dermal Fillers Last?
In most cases, a dermal filler lasts six to twelve months. But there are now products that promise much longer results. For instance, Restylane Lyft can last up to one year while Juvéderm Voluma claims to last up to two years. The latter is currently the longest-lasting temporary dermal filler but other companies are working on newer.
Each material has different results. Meanwhile, the time also depend on your skin and facial features so make sure that you talk to your doctor about how long the filler you’ve chosen may last.
When Do Dermal Fillers “Settle”?
Naturally, it takes dermal fillers some time to settle and fill out that area of your facial skin. This usually takes several days but it can take several weeks for some people. The results aren’t immediate but they are fast.
Once the ingredients are injected into the skin, they start to break down and integrate into dermal tissue. They hydrate the skin from the inside out because they bind with water molecules. Regardless of how long the process takes for you, just know that the results are very natural-looking.
How to Care for Your Skin Afterwards
There have side effects with dermal fillers, but they shouldn’t be too extreme. The most common side effect is swelling at the injection site and you can ease this by applying ice several times a day.
For any type of pain, including headache pain, you can take an over-the-counter pain reliever. If any of the injection sites have bumps or itching on them, an antihistamine product can be a big help. Finally, if you experience lumps or bumps anywhere on your face, simply massage them for short periods of time several times a day.
If you experience anything else, especially a fever or extreme pain, you should definitely contact your doctor.