First the bad news. There are many ways that dermal fillers can be used to rejuvenate your face and help you look younger and refreshed. However, you should be aware that they are dermal implants and will remain in your skin for several months if not years. As such, they can cause reactions. This is because your body can recognize any filler as foreign (even if you’ve had the same filler before) and mount an allergic attack on it. If this happens it will make your skin swollen, painful and red because it will be inflamed. The same symptoms can happen if the filler becomes infected. In my experience an allergic reaction or infection happens in about 1 in 100 patients, so it is not an insignificant risk. Usually the problem will settle down, either on its own or with the help of a short course of steroids or antibiotics, but in a few cases the swelling and pain can persist for many months. If a dermal filler implant becomes badly infected a surgical procedure might be needed to remove it. With certain types of dermal filler procedures there are specific risks that are more fully described here. Please take the time to read it if you are seriously considering dermal filler implants.
Now the good news. The wonderful thing about the current generation of synthetic hyaluronic acid fillers is that you don’t have to wait for them to take effect as the results are instant. Those lines and wrinkles will usually soften before your eyes. Modern dermal fillers last for a good length of time, that is, about six to nine months, and they also promote a small amount of new collagen production in the areas that have been filled which results in a progressive smoothing and rejuvenation of the filled area.
So, thinking about where to start on the face, we can work from the top down starting with forehead lines, which can sometimes be very deep after years of stress! Forehead lines can respond to Botox, but sometimes Botox just doesn’t do the job and a little dermal filler can make a huge difference. If the lines between your eyebrows are deep then you do usually need some dermal filler treatment in addition to botox to get a really lovely result.
Moving down the face we can think about the dark circles that people can get underneath the eyes. This is usually due to the skin being quite thin around there, with little collagen and it allows the dark veins that are underneath to show through. Tear trough dermal filler can give a very nice result here.
What about those lines between the nose and the corners of your mouth? Dermal fillers can do a great job softening these. Each time they are filled they should get softer as the filler kick-starts more collagen production. Again, dermal fillers can soften these and even correct down-turned lip corners.
If you have a pointed jaw, giving a heavy jowled appearance, dermal filler can be used to sculpt the jaw line back to a straighter line. Previously it was considered that only surgery could be used to sculpt the jaw line. However, we now appreciate that replacing lost volume in the front of the jaw line itself can give make a huge difference to your appearance.
Your hands are a potential give-away for your age. They are often neglected, but can be effectively treated. A little filler injected into the skin of your hands will give a quick and long lasting result.
What about the decolletage area? It needs a little tender loving care too and fillers can help here. Often this area is neglected when sun screen is applied and the skin suffers from thinning due to loss of elasticity as a result of ultraviolet radiation exposure from the sun. Injection of small volumes of hydrating filler like mesolis over this area can make a big difference.
The important risks that were mentioned above are more fully described here. It is important that you are fully aware of these if you are thinking about having a this treatment.