MINI -FACELIFT WITHOUT SURGEY
Does it work?
As more people are choosing the needle over the scalpel for facial rejuvenation, “Fillers” are reshaping faces as well as ideas about beauty at every age.
Over the past several years, much has happened in the field of “injectables.” Various materials are now being injected into the face by doctors to produce a rejuvenating effect.
Fillers, on average, will make you look 7.3 years younger according to a study on patients aged 42-59 years of age. Some doctors promise even more. The most common shorter lasting fillers are the HA’s (hyaluronic acid) such as Restylane, Juvederm & Juvederm UP. These can last anywhere from 6 months 8 months, according to where they are injected and what areas are injected. They are mostly wrinkle fillers although some revolumizing can be done. Sculptra (Poly L-lactic acid) is mainly for re-volumizing most of the face and lasts about two years. Sculptra has proven to be an excellent product for this purpose. This is very pertinent because much of the sagging experienced with aging is from loss of volume, instead of loss of skin elasticity, as we all thought until the last few years. Of course there are the paralytics such as Botox which are a mainstay for the forehead and crow’s feet as well. Combinations of products are often needed to achieve the best results.
While many fear the idea of injections, especially in the face, patients generally report feeling slight discomfort rather than pain. Injections require absolutely no downtime, and the results seem to be well worth a few minutes of discomfort. Patients often say they feel like they’ve had a “mini face lift” without the pain or expense of an actual surgical procedure. In my practice we use a great numbing cream beforehand and the fillers all contain lidocaine for further numbing.
So how do you decide if fillers are right for you? If any aspect of your maturing face bothers you enough, you can with relatively little risk feel safe in having an injectable procedure. The most common downsides are bruising. The good news is that most fillers are not permanent and you can add product and repeat treatments.
In the last few years, doctors have shifted from simply filling a line or a wrinkle to completely restoring volume in the aging face as well as addressing fine lines in the face.
The newcomers for 2014 are Juvederm Voluma by Allergan, a 2 year FDA approved mid-face filler. Visit for more info: http://hcp.juvederm.com/professional/voluma/
Restylane Silk was just rolled out by Restylane USA as the first FDA approved Lip Enhancement Filler, also approved in 2014 and rolled out in beginning of 2015.Visit for more info: http://www.restylanesilk.com
