Chasing youth is currently the trend in this era. Most women find its way to keep their beauty youthful and glowing; thus, they search for further treatments that will make them young looking. If they are not satisfied with topical skin solutions, they opt for medical treatments to regain their youthful appearance.
The most common issues of women who age is the appearance of fine lines, deep lines or otherwise known as wrinkles. One of the cosmetic treatments available to get rid of those unsightly lines is wrinkle fillers. The question is: are they the right solution to your lines?
Basics about wrinkle fillers
Injectable wrinkle fillers can provide a more youthful appearance in less than thirty minutes with results that can last from four months or more than a year. The difference between wrinkle fillers and Botox, it relaxes the muscle under a wrinkle, fill the line, crease or area with one of several different substances. Therefore, trouble spots nearly fade in time.
How does wrinkle fillers work?
This injectable treatment is also used to volumize skin as it plumps and lifts cheeks, jawlines, and temples. It is also used to fill thin lips and plump sagging skin on the back of the hands. It is fast and easy treatment.
However, every treatment has its side effects. For wrinkle fillers, you are at risk of getting allergies and bump formation under the skin. A bluish skin discoloration develops known as Tyndall effect. The color change lasts for several months but there are available treatments to get rid of that.
If not used properly, your skin cells may die, but this case is very rare in nature.
You need the medical guidance of a dermatologist to know which type of wrinkle filler is appropriate to your skin as not every wrinkle filler is right for every type of wrinkle.
The following are the most popular wrinkle fillers available.
1. Hyaluronic acid wrinkle fillers
What is this: Hyaluronic acid is the most popular category of wrinkle fillers as this is found naturally in the human body. It is a natural filler substance that helps rejuvenate the facial skin by reducing or eliminating wrinkles, enhancing thin lips and volumizing facial tissues. They are injected underneath the folds that need improvement or correction.
How long it lasts: The results vary. It may last for several months to a year depending on where the treatment is injected. Some study shows that repeated injections may help stimulate body’s natural production of collagen that will diminish lines and wrinkles. There are evidences that demonstrate the need of filler over time to attain same look.
The downside: Side effect are rare. The most common ones are redness, swelling, and bruising at the injection site. Bumps may show up under the skin but this problem improves over time.
2. Synthetic wrinkle fillers
What is this: a small category of wrinkle fillers which include lab-made substances not related to anything found naturally in the skin. They are non-biodegradable or degrade slowly. However, using this type of wrinkle filler poses several challenges such as low risk for allergic and immune reactions; it should not migrate outside the treated area and should be mechanically similar to natural skin matrix. Likewise, the substance used for this filler should not be toxic to prevent damaging the skin.
How long it lasts: Synthetic wrinkle fillers provide longer-lasting effect.
The downside: Side effects include redness, swelling or bruising at the injected area. Other side effects are bumps under the skin. If not used correctly, it may cause disfigurement.
3. Collagen wrinkle fillers
What is this: Collagen wrinkle fillers are more natural method for filling facial lines for they are derived from cows or human skin.
How long it lasts: This kind of filler does not last but the results appears natural than any other kind of fillers.
The downside: Skin are susceptible to allergic reaction especially those collagen extracted from human source. Other side effects include bruising and redness at the areas of injection.
4. Autologous wrinkle fillers
What is this: Autologous wrinkle filler is a procedure where your own fat is extracted, processed and injected into the subcutaneous tissue to add volume to aging skin. It restores facial volume in the eye area, cheeks, lips, among others facial areas. The fat that is used to fill the skin can extracted from any of these parts of your body: thighs, buttocks, and abdomen. Both procedure (removal of fat and injection) can be done in one visit. Because this treatment involves your own fat, there is no risk of rejection or disease transmission.
How long it lasts: It can be semi-permanent as some of the injected fat integrates in the treated area while the rest dissipates over a few months.
The downside: Like other wrinkle fillers, patients undergo such procedure experience redness, swelling and bruising at the area of injection.
Another type of autologous wrinkle filler is platelet-rich plasma injection where the blood is extracted from the arm, treated and injected into the face. The effects can last from one year to one and a half years.
Wrinkle fillers are considered the safest cosmetic procedure used today. To maintain the safety of this treatment, be guided by the following:
- Ensure that the procedure is done in a medical setting. Check with the medical professional who will do the treatment that he or she is using sterile instruments before performing the cosmetic procedure.
- Get the injectable fillers only from medical or doctor’s office. See to it that you are getting the FDA-approved wrinkle filler. Ask your doctor if the fillers underwent FDA approval and purchased from the licensed and accredited manufacturer.
- Apply sun protection daily to maintain the filler and help protect against post-inflammation pigment changes due to the needle sticks from injections.
- Don’t be deceived with the price tag. Don’t compromise your skin for a price that seemed too low or too good to be true. Quality and health should come first when you decided to undergo such cosmetic procedure.
