Wrinkles are a notable outcome of the facial aging process, but they’re merely one part of how our facial contours change over time. In fact, many people find loss of facial volume just as distressing as wrinkles, if not more so. While I can remedy sunken cheeks, hollow temples, tear troughs, and other gaunt facial areas through surgical intervention, some patients ask about alternatives to facial plastic surgery at my NYC office.
Some of my favorite non-surgical options to treat facial aging center around the emergence of dermal fillers. Dermal fillers are a versatile group of injectable treatments that address multiple types of aging in many areas of the face. When injected by a trained professional, dermal fillers provide comprehensive results with virtually no downtime.
What do dermal fillers do?
Loss of facial volume can significantly change your face’s appearance, altering its shape and contours and creating a sullen, serious appearance that belies the vibrancy you may feel within. By rounding out your face with injectable fillers, I am able to re-create the full contours of youth in a way that looks and feels quite natural. Many patients enjoy the results of this approach for more than 1 year.
What are the benefits of dermal fillers?
While treatment with fillers is not a perfect equivalent to a surgical facelift, this approach does have the potential to create impressive results with some benefits not offered by surgery. These include:
- Immediate improvement: Because fillers physically add volume to your skin, there’s no need to wait for your results to appear. The procedure also does not require that you wear bandages or dressings, which means you can plan to look more voluminous as soon as your appointment is over. Some initial swelling may cause your results to appear more amplified than they will ultimately be, and cold compresses (not ice) can help settle this symptom. It’s best to schedule your injections several days before any high-profile social events so the swelling has time to subside.
- Minimal downtime: Injectable products do not require any sort of anesthesia or additional incisions, which means that downtime is very minimal. In fact, after your appointment, there’s no medical reason not to return to most of your normal daily activities, including work or running errands around town. Some localized side effects, such as bruising or soreness, are common but not severe enough to prevent you from returning to your day.
Can dermal fillers be used with other treatments?
Dermal fillers can be administered on their own or in combination with BOTOX® Cosmetic, another injectable product that softens wrinkles using a different mechanism of action. BOTOX reduces wrinkles caused by facial movement, which makes it more appropriate for treating conditions such as crow’s feet around the eyes or lines in the forehead region.
Administering dermal fillers and BOTOX at the same time can lift the skin, fill in areas lacking volume, and soften the look of prominent wrinkles to provide comprehensive improvement. This combination procedure is sometimes called a “liquid facelift,” thanks to its capacity to create significant results.
Dermal fillers can also be used in combination with fat transfer, a procedure that adds volume to your face by using fat extracted from other areas of your body.
Learn more about dermal filler and nonsurgical facial rejuvenation here.
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