Lip fillers and face fillers, also known as “dermal fillers”, are injections which are made in the skin and/or lips to plump up the area and reduce the signs of aging. Most dermal fillers are made from hyaluronic acid, a substance which occurs naturally in the skin. This stops your body’s immune system from “fighting” the filler, which could lead to problems otherwise.
Hyaluronic acid is used because it has a natural tendency to store moisture, making it ideal for a plump and well-moisturized look. The fillers themselves are a gel-esque substance which spreads into the underlying layers of your skin, plumping it up in desired areas. There are other types of filler substances available apart from hyaluronic acid, but they are non-reversible in nature, making them much trickier to remove should something go wrong.
In recent times, fillers are mostly used to enhance certain facial features and shape certain aspects of someone’s face differently. For example, you might use a filler to give the illusion of stronger cheekbones, straighter noses, or bigger lips. Face fillers are used to reverse the signs of aging and shape certain features of one’s face more attractively. The effect of the filler depends on how deeply it is injected into the face. For example:
Fillers can be administered with either syringes or cannulas, depending on the filler type and the desired procedure.
Filler treatments should not be confused with more invasive plastic surgery – face fillers and lip fillers are unlikely to leave you with that “botched” horror-movie appearance, especially in one single treatment. Fillers are a gateway into cosmetic surgery for many people, offering them a safe, cheap, and low-risk procedure which can increase their confidence and appearance without requiring going under the knife.
Most face fillers and lip fillers are made from Hyaluronic acid, a natural substance which is produced in the skin already. You are hence essentially molding your face with its own building blocks, rather than inserting foreign materials into your face which could cause infections and immune system responses from your body. You will likely experience a small amount of swelling and/or bruising after receiving face fillers, but this should go down after about 2 weeks.
There are many different types of face/lip filler which your expert may use for your procedures depending on your desired effects. These include Juvéderm, Restylane, Sculptra Aesthetic, and Radiesse. Each type of filler has a different consistency, composition, and timeline attached to its effect, so be sure to choose the best filler for your desired effect, the length of time that you want it to last for, and your budget.