What Are Fillers?
Fillers are semi-solid substances that are used to be placed to various parts of the body, though primarily the face, to enhance and re-volumize the desired areas.
What Are The Different Types Of Fillers?
There are many different fillers available for aesthetic purposes, and many more coming out each year!
The most common type is a hyaluronic acid filler (such as Juvederm, Belotero, and Restylene). Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a natural component of our body, playing various roles in wound healing and inflammation. Because of its property of water absorption, there may be swelling after your filler procedure. The different types of HA fillers differ primarily on their cross-linking, creating firmer or more viscous consistencies versus a more fluid consistency. These variations are taken into consideration when deciding what filler will be ideal for different areas of your face.Another type of filler is composed of poly-L-lactic acid (such as Sculptra), similar material to some dissolvable sutures.
Poly-L-lactic acid gradually stimulates your own cells to increase collagen production. This filler has data supporting wonderful long term results, with improvement in one’s skin quality. Another commonly used filler is calcium hydroxylapatite (Radiesse). This is an inert bioceramic, meaning that it’s non-allergenic, and identical to the minerals found in bone and teeth. This is another long-term filler, recommended for areas to provide structural support, so it works wonderfully when re-defining the jawline. It’s also approved for use in the hands, to create a more youthful appearing hand.
What Are The Most Common Side Effects Of Having Fillers?
Because this is a foreign material that is placed via injection, there is always a chance of an allergic reaction, bleeding, bruising, swelling, pain, asymmetry, and incomplete treatments. This is not a procedure I would recommend if you are only 1 week away from an important event! Due to the natural anatomic variations in everyone, and the mode of delivery of the filler, there is also a chance of filler placement within a vessel or compression of a vessel, resulting in a lack of blood flow to that part of the skin, possibly causing necrosis of the overlying skin and in rare cases blindness. It is important to understand that this is a possible risk even in the best of hands, but a board-certified dermatologist is trained to manage these complications and minimize the potential outcome in such a situation.
