Since 2003, dermal fillers have been used by clinicians to treat facial aging by filling and lifting cheeks, filling deep lines, and augmenting lips. More recent techniques have allowed clinicians to perform more advanced procedures, such as treating a sagging jawline, a hollow temple, or hollowness in the skin under the eyes.
Along with these new techniques come several new filler products that have come on the market – and the technology of these products has improved significantly. We now have many different filler products to choose from that aesthetic professionals can use to tailor treatments to meet individual client needs.
What exactly are these products and how do they differ from each other? Which one is the best for me? These are excellent questions – and an educated consumer armed with the correct information is a very astute consumer!
Let’s first assume that you have thoroughly researched your aesthetic clinician and feel entirely comfortable with them. This is key, as your cosmetic clinician will use their aesthetic eye to evaluate the area and propose a treatment and a treatment product.
Following is a brief summary of the dermal fillers on the market today and how they are used.
The primary difference between all the filler products on the market is:
They are made by different companies and,
They have different compositions and ingredients.
There are primarily three companies that manufacture fillers: Allergan® (Juvederm family of fillers), Galderma® (Restylane family of fillers and Sculptra), and Revaneese® (Versa). Usually, the brand of filler that is used is injector preference.
Composition refers to the thickness of the filler product – and the choice of this type of filler will depend on the area that is being treated. The thicker fillers – Voluma (Allergan) and Lyft (Galderma) are primarily used for the cheeks and jawline where more volume and lift are required. The middle fillers – Juvederm (Allergan), Defyne (Galderma), and Versa ( Revaneese) are used for deep facial lines in the skin around the nose and mouth, where more filling is needed. And the thinnest fillers including Volbella (Allergan), Kysse, and Refyne (Galderma), are primarily for lip injections. Versa is unique in that it is indicated for both deep lines and lips.
Most (but not all) of the fillers on the market today are made of Hyaluronic Acid. HA is a naturally occurring substance that is found in your skin, keeping it plump and hydrated. The HA fillers are soft and gel-like and typically last between 6 and 18 months depending on the area. Because HA is a naturally occurring substance found in the body the filler is easily integrated into the tissues and broken down by the body over time.
Versa® is the ONLY PRODUCT that is made by the company Revaneese. While it is also composed of HA, it differs somewhat on a molecular level. According to many reviews, Versa® treatment causes significantly less swelling after the procedure than other fillers (this is primarily in the lip). The advantage to this is that the treatment result you see in the office is what you will see in the long term, as there is minimal to no swelling at the time of treatment.
Sculptra® (made by Galderma) is the only filler that IS NOT made of HA. Sculptra® is composed of a biocompatible (compatible with living tissue) biodegradable (capable of being decomposed by the body) substance called Poly-L-Lactic acid. This substance has been used safely in the medical community for many years, in fact, it is what dissolvable stitches are made from. It is safe to use in the body and just like sutures, dissolves in the body a few days after treatment. Sculptra® is known as a “collagen stimulator” and is the main mechanism to stimulate the body to create more collagen on the facial bones and to thicken the skin to treat deep facial lines, volume loss, and facial sagging. The results can last up to 2 years.
At BeautoxEtc, we carry all of the above-mentioned filler products. We also offer a complimentary evaluation before filler treatment and discuss all the treatment options with you. We feel that an educated client is our best client
