WHAT ARE “FACIAL FILLERS?

by Donna McMickens

Dermal fillers can provide you with a minimally invasive, low risk way to improve aged and worn facial skin in order to recapture your youthful vitality. Fillers are applied to regions of your face that have lost volume due to aging. They are an excellent option to repair wrinkles, lines, and scars.

The key to successful injectable fillers like Juvederm, Restylane, and Radiesse is a natural end result that is not obvious. Simply put, you don’t want to look unnatural. Most filler patients want to look their best but still look like themselves.

So what’s the key to getting a natural look from fillers?

Stick with temporary fillers. Temporary fillers look more natural than something semi-permanent or permanent because they are more compatible with the body. Permanent fillers do not age along with the face.

Set a schedule with your doctor or nurse injector and try to stick with it. Be consistent with injections but wait until the majority of the results have worn off  before reinjecting. This way, you don’t have to regress back to your baseline, or start from scratch, with each session.

Ask your doctor or nurse injector to be conservative. Full correction (when fillers are used to fully diminish lines and wrinkles) may be necessary in some patients during the first series of injections, but, in general, your doctor or nurse should not be over injecting.

Don’t combine injections with too many other procedures. Injectables may be coupled with other treatments, but it’s important not to do too much of anything. Overdoing anything will distort normal facial proportions and convey a look that is “done.”

Know what’s being injected. One red flag that you are not being treated by a qualified injector is that they are unwilling to show you the packaging from which your injectable product comes, as well as the bottle that contains the actual injectable substance.

Cosmetic Procedures

As we age, our skin loses its youthful fullness. Fillers can replace lost volume in our face and hands. Many fillers offer immediate results and no downtime.

Also Called:

   • Anti-aging injectable
   • Dermal filler
   • Skin filler
   • Soft tissue augmentation
   • Soft tissue filler

Signs of Aging Treated

Fillers can reduce signs of aging on the face and hands caused by diminishing collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid — components of our skin that give it fullness. With a number of fillers now available, the following signs of aging can be treated:

Face
   • Brow, drooping
   • Cheeks, hollow
   • Chin, receding
   • Creases, deep
   • Eyes, hollow beneath
   • Jawline, beginning to lose firmness
   • Lips, thinning
   • Mouth, downturned
   • Scars, which often become more noticeable with age, if shallow
   • Ears, drooping and loss of volume
   • Wrinkles and fine lines, especially around the eyes and mouth

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several filler products to be used for facial enhancement purposes. Each product is slightly different and will yield unique results. If you have any questions or would like a consult, please call Donna McMickens, LPN, Certified Medical Aesthetics Nurse, @  318-561-0916 or 318-487-2020.

Email: dmcmickens@laeyeandlaser.com

Schedule a Consultation at the Aesthetic Center: http://ow.ly/D8aD50CgvFB

Visit the Aesthetic Center at Louisiana Eye & Laser: https://laeyeandlaser.com/the-aesthetic-center/