Dermal fillers are great for anyone looking to restore the smooth and youthful shape of their face. Although some last for two years, others need to be repeated every 4-6 months for best effects.
They fill lines and wrinkles and add volume to areas such as your lips or cheeks. Fillers are not permanent. How long they last depends on things like the type of filler and where it's injected. They usually last between 6 and 18 months.
Deciding what to do next
Ultimately, fillers are temporary and the best “medicine” for subpar results is time. Your body will eventually metabolize the product; once this occurs you can choose to have another treatment if you wish.
Answer: Adding more
Yes. You can definitely add more voluma following a prior injection. This is done quite frequently. In our practice we ask that patients wait two weeks prior to injection; however, if there is no evidence of bruising or excess swelling the injections can be done sooner.
You should plan for touch-ups every 18-24 months. Are signs of aging impacting your appearance and your confidence? Contact the experts at Beverly Fischer, MD and The Advanced Center for Plastic Surgery today to learn more about dermal fillers and which is best for you.
Scheduling touch-up treatments every 4 to 12 months ensures that you maintain your results. Fillers such as RADIESSE® and Sculptra® treat more severe volume loss in areas such as the cheeks; they last 18 to 24 months, so maintenance treatments are needed less often.
In my practice, I advise my patients to wait a full 2 weeks before following up to get more filler. This is because, as you mentioned, lip fillers can create swelling, which can temporarily exaggerate your result. Once the swelling has settled after several weeks, your true result will be visible.
When you have had too much filler, then you may appear to have a bulging forehead, an overly pointy and sharp chin, and overly protruding cheekbones. Furthermore, the filler can stretch and weigh down your skin over time, which is known as filler fatigue.
Why Are Filler Results Temporary? Dermal fillers are created using naturally occurring enzymes, such as hyaluronic acid. For this reason, they are metabolized by your body over time. The speed of your metabolism will greatly affect how long your treatment results last.
Depending on the injection site and amount of dermal filler, most HA fillers last from 6 – 12 months on average. Regardless of which dermal filler you use, two or three syringes are almost always recommended in order to achieve the most gorgeous outcomes.
Juvederm and Restylane are currently the longest-lasting and most durable dermal fillers on the market. Juvederm and Restylane are families of hyaluronic acid fillers with numerous possible formulations. Each collection has numerous products catering to different cosmetic needs.
Many plastic surgeons say that Juvederm and Restylane are the most durable and longest-lasting fillers available. Both contain hyaluronic acid and are good for smoothing wrinkles and lines. Hyaluronic acid carries 1,000 times its weight in water and makes the skin look young, supple, and soft.
Avoid itching, or picking around the injection site. Avoid applying intense heat to the treated area, that includes hot tubs, saunas, sunbathing or tanning. Don't drink alcohol the day of treatment, and try to avoid it for 2 days after. Avoid exercising for 2 days or until swelling subsides.
Cheeks. When doing filler injections for the cheeks, we typically recommend 2-6 syringes. Weight loss and illness can also negatively impact the fat pads in the cheeks, causing patients to need more filler to restore them to a youthful appearance.
There is a very common misconception that dermal fillers can make skin sag, however we can safely say that this is FALSE. People assume that once they have been fully absorbed by your body you will be left with loose, hanging skin leaving you looking even older than you did previously.
False: Fillers Make Your Skin Sag
The fact is, dermal fillers add such a subtle and healthy amount of volume to the skin, that any skin stretching will be minimal. In fact, if you already have sagging skin or wrinkles, these fillers will take up the space that was once occupied by natural fat.
Sun exposure speeds up the aging process on the skin and is one of the leading causes of wrinkles. Those UV rays can also cause certain fillers to break down faster and being absorbed by the body more quickly. To get the best results, use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 every day.
How long they last. Depending on the type that you choose, cheek fillers can last anywhere from 6 months to 2 years before results are no longer noticeable. The dermal filler material eventually dissolves and metabolizes into your skin tissue.
It's worth getting cheek fillers if you're looking to add more volume to your cheeks or if, over time, you've noticed some shadowing under your cheeks. Cheek fillers are a great way to replace volume or add more volume to give you a more youthful, more rested and overall softer look.
Can your face go back to normal after fillers? Many patients fear that when the filler wears off, they will look worse than before. Though fillers may stretch your skin, it is elastic enough to revert to its original form before your treatment. However, anything that's too much is also not good for you.
As well as stretching of the skin, excessive use of fillers can result in longer term damage including wrinkling of the lip and disturbance of the attachment of the facial fat pads and some degree of irregularity and ageing of the skin, he explains.
Answer: Time between lip filler top ups
2 weeks is the optimal time to wait for swelling to subside . There is no extra risk except another round of the usual swelling and bruising.
It is not uncommon to experience a small degree of asymmetry immediately post-treatment due to the potential for swelling and bruising. Juvederm can take up to 4 weeks to integrate, so it is best to wait and review in 2-4 weeks with your Injector at which point you will have a better idea of the final result.
In general, the amount of filler you will need for your treatment will depend on the severity of skin laxity in your cheeks and your aesthetic goals. Voluma syringes are typically one cc and many patients need between two and four syringes to complete the treatment, which can be one to two syringes per cheek.