What are Dermal Fillers?

Dermal fillers are smooth injectable gels made from hyaluronic acid, these products fill deep-set lines and wrinkles. While the Botulinum Toxin works with what’s underneath the skin to prevent it from creasing the outer layer, dermal fillers work on the skin itself.

As we grow older, our skin loses elasticity and moisture. Repeated muscle movements become marked with lines over time resulting in wrinkles, fine lines and sagging.

Dermal fillers can correct these issues by plumping the skin and adding moisturizing agents like hyaluronic acid to its layers. Once plumped, it can then lift the skin for a more youthful appearance. These also help encourage the skin to produce collagen which is a naturally occurring substance that keeps the skin elastic and young-looking.

This is where the Botulinum Toxin and dermal fillers differ greatly. While the former will only address the prevention of the formation of wrinkles and fine lines, the latter will also lift the skin.

Dermal fillers are FDA-approved and are administered through injections. This makes them non-invasive and safe. Like Botulinum Toxin injections, the procedure takes about twenty to forty minutes. Dermal fillers offer natural-looking results too since you can still move the muscles on the treated area.

It’s one of the most common nonsurgical cosmetic procedures in the USA and provides longer lasting results (compared to Botox). Each treatment is quick and painless with results that can last from nine to twelve months.

What is Juvederm?

Often described as a family of hyaluronic acid injectables, this dermal filler brand is famous for adding volume to the face. The treatment promises a revitalized, younger looking appearance without any downtime.

Juvederm injectables come in gel form that introduces hyaluronic acid into the middle or deep layers of the skin to address age-related volume loss. Their range offers various products that are designed to address various concerns. The products offer different concentrations and bonding formats of hyaluronic acid to give patients the best possible results.

Its main ingredient, hyaluronic acid or HA, is a naturally produced substance that pulls in moisture to the skin to keep it hydrated and moisturized. It can also add volume on many occasions, providing more ways to make one’s skin look younger and rejuvenated.

Juvederm products are created using Hylacross technology which gives it a smooth texture uncommon among hyaluronic acid products.

There are five kinds of Juvederm fillers available today. Each promises to smoothen out the skin and improve its appearance.

The Juvederm Voluma XC can add volume to the cheeks to provide a nice and younger looking facial lift. The Juvederm XC and Juvederm Vollure XC help restore the skin’s elasticity and fill out lines around the nose and mouth areas.

Finally, the Juvederm Ultra XC and Juvederm Volbella XC are considered the nonsurgical alternatives to lip enhancement procedures. Some variants include the anesthetic lidocaine to ensure smooth and comfortable injections.

What is Restylane?

Just like Juvederm, Restylane is also a family of hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers. However, it’s set apart by its unique formulation – it uses biodegradable, non-animal sourced hyaluronic acid. The fact that it’s also the first hyaluronic acid filler approved by the FDA in 2003 to be injected in subdermal facial tissues also makes it quite notable.

This product is somewhat similar to Botulinum Toxin injectables as it’s sourced from a bacterium as well. It uses stabilized hyaluronic acid produced by the Streptococcus bacteria species through natural fermentation in a sterile laboratory.

This is a crucial point as this material makes it a safer choice in general. The production process reduces the risks of transmitting diseases and allergic reactions to staple food items like meat and dairy. As a result, this dermal filler product does not require allergy or skin testing before use.

Indicated for smoothing lines and wrinkles, filling lips, adding volume and lift to the cheeks, and contouring the chin, Restylane is also proven to help restore the skin’s elasticity. It works by filling mild to severe lines and folds by integrating into the skin tissue upon injection and binding with water molecules in the skin to maintain volume. It can also rejuvenate the skin altogether to help it achieve a more youthful look.

Over time, it will be naturally degraded by the body and disappear without any residue. This will usually happen about six months after the procedure but others attest to being able to enjoy results for much longer.

Bruising, swelling, and numbness are some of the most common side effects of Restylane. There are also rare cases of granulomas or lumps but it’s easily treated with hyaluronidase.

What is Radiesse?

Touted as a versatile foundational filler, Radiesse is not just designed to smooth lines and creases on the skin. It’s also formulated to stimulate collagen production so it can also help restore the skin’s elasticity with its use. So aside from an instant lift and volume, it also offers the longer-lasting effects of rejuvenating the skin.

Unlike the other two dermal fillers mentioned above, however, this product is not meant to be used on the entire face. It’s most recommended for smoothing the lower face and filling the skin at the back of one’s hands.

Also, instead of using hyaluronic acid, it features CaHA or Calcium Hydroxylapatite microspheres that are suspended in aqueous gel form. This is why it’s capable of stimulating the skin’s collagen production. It is then metabolized naturally by the body after a year or so but instead of completely degrading to nothing, it leaves behind naturally-produced collagen to keep the skin supple.

Like all dermal fillers, this product can also have risks of causing swelling, redness, soreness, vision impairment, and scarring among others as side effects. As it’s also not made from hyaluronic acid, hyaluronidase can’t be used to dissolve it if anything goes wrong.

What is Voluma XC?

Aside from lines and folds, the skin also loses volumes and sags with age. This is due to the skin’s slower production of collagen which causes the skin to lose its elasticity. One way to resolve this problem is by filling the mid-face to provide a non-invasive lift.

As the first and only FDA-approved injectable gel filler that is designed to fill and volumize the midface, the Voluma XC is highly recommended to help reverse this sign of aging. It uses hyaluronic acid injectables to get the job done. The effects can last for up to two years.

This product is actually a part of the Juvederm family so it’s practically formulated the same way as their other fillers. What makes it different is that it’s meant to fill a larger space. It also has similar potential side effects including tenderness, swelling, itching, and bruising just to name a few.