A Simple Breakdown of Dermal Fillers – Which Filler Works Best For What?
Sculptra
Sculptra is a dermal filler that works as a synthetic substitute for collagen. Collagen is something you hear about all the time in skin care product commercials. It’s a protein that keeps the structure of your skin stable so it can be tight and flexible. Your body naturally produces collagen throughout your life, but the amount of collagen produced will start to decrease as you get older. To keep your skin firm and smooth, you need more collagen in your skin. Sculptra restores the levels of collagen in your skin that are depleted.
Sculptra is primarily used to boost the levels of collagen around your mouth and chin to treat things like smile wrinkles, the folds in your skin that make a triangle around your mouth, and wrinkles in your chin. It is administered in a series of injections over a three month period. The results are gradual, but very effective at softening and smoothing out the skin.
Juvederm
Juvederm is a gel filler that can be used for multiple purposes. It mimics hyaluronic acid, another component of your skin that is designed to keep your skin hydrated so it stays smooth and flexible. Like with collagen, hyaluronic acid production decreases as you get older, so it needs to be recreated in order to give your skin a more youthful texture.
Juvederm is most often used to treat lines and wrinkles around the mouth, but it can also be used to improve contouring around your face by adding additional volume where it’s needed. A smooth, well-defined appearance on your face makes you look younger and healthier. Juvederm can give you results with just one series of injections and you’ll see the results immediately.
Restylane
Restylane is another synthetic hyaluronic acid dermal filler. It is specifically designed to mimic your body’s natural hyaluronic acid to give your skin extra hydration. The additional hydration allows your skin to smooth out and have a healthier appearance. This filler is most often used to treat fine lines and wrinkles that are present around the sides of your nose and around your mouth. The treatment course for Restylane is usually one session followed by a second session within a few months. Most patients who follow this treatment see results that last up to 18 months.
Restylane is unique in that it is also the only dermal filler currently approved by the FDA for lip augmentation. Some people have naturally thin lips or their lips become less prominent with age. Restylane is used to add volume and shape to your lips so they appear naturally plump.
Perlane
Perlane is a version of the Restylane dermal filler. It also works as a hyaluronic acid and it makes the same types of improvements to your face. The main difference between the two fillers is in the size of the particles used in the gel. Perlane has larger gel particles than Restylane, which makes it better suited for patients who deeper wrinkles or scars. It also works better on patients who have thicker skin. Perlane is broken down by the body at a faster rate than Restylane, so patients will need touch ups or full treatments anywhere between four to twelve months.
Artefill
Artefill is another gel dermal filler that is made of tiny microspheres of purified collagen. The injection also includes lidocaine as a pain reliever to make the treatments easier on the patient. The collagen makes your skin stronger and gives it better structure. The microspheres interact with your skin so the injection appears natural and lasts for a long time. Artefill can be used to fill in the lines around your mouth and nose as well as between the eyebrows and forehead. Like Juvederm, it can also be used as a filler to add volume to the cheeks, jaw line, temples, forehead, and the area underneath the eyes. Artefill also improves the look of acne scars or other deep indented scars. In some cases, Artefill can even be used on the rest of the body to help improve scars from injuries or other trauma.
Artefill is a very long-lasting dermal filler that can produce results in as little as one or two injections sessions. The filler is not absorbed by your body, which means that the gel will stay in place to continually give you smoother, younger-looking skin.
Radiesse
Radiesse is another dermal filler that provides volume, but it’s also slightly different from the others. It is made of a gel and water mixture that contains calcium microspheres, which act as a stimulant to the body’s collagen production. The volume in the gel helps to fill in lines and wrinkles around the mouth and nose, plus it increases your natural collagen production so your skin appears smooth and tight across your face. With this filler, you see improvement in your appearance immediately which will continue to improve over time as your collagen levels increase.
How Do I Choose a Filler?
You’ve probably noticed that most of these fillers are used to treat the same areas of the face – around the mouth and nose. So if they treat the same areas, why are there so many options? Even though these treat the same types of problems, each filler does it in a different way. Some do it by improving your collagen levels, other give your skin more hydration, and some give you extra volume in your face. Some of these fillers do all three! The type of filler that will help you the most should be determined by a plastic surgeon with experience in several different types of dermal fillers. They can assess your appearance and help you choose the best dermal filler treatment or treatments to reach your aesthetic goals.
To schedule an initial patient consultation for dermal filler treatments with one of the experienced plastic surgeons at Spalding Drive Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA, contact us today at (310) 275-2467.