Popular Uses for Fillers

Injectable dermal fillers restore a youthfulness to your face, but did you know they’re also aesthetic multi-taskers that rejuvenate other parts of body parts? 

Dr. Sharon Gertzman has great expertise in skillfully administering fillers to her patients and appropriately matching specific treatments to a patient’s unique cosmetic goal, and she’s always happy to do a deep dive with you into the range of fillers offered here at Serenity Medical Spa. 

Dermal fillers explained

Dermal fillers are made of gel-like agents that, when injected under your skin, add volume, soften wrinkles, and enhance contours. It’s no surprise that fillers are incredibly popular — over a million men and women get filler treatments yearly. 

Different effective ingredients, both natural and synthetic, make fillers versatile as well. 

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is in many fillers, for good reason. HA occurs naturally in your body and is a “water magnet.” When an HA-infused filler is injected into a treatment area, it has an effect similar to that of a downpour on parched soil. 

Poly-L-lactic acid is present in other fillers. This safe synthetic is the same ingredient used in surgical stitches that dissolve on their own. These fillers boost collagen production, and its effects are long-lasting — up to two years or more. 

The undeniable advantages of dermal fillers include:

• Minimally invasive
• FDA-approved
• Brief treatments (usually complete in under half-an-hour) 
• Painless (most injections contain a numbing agent)
• No post-treatment downtime, minimal side effects
• Results are visible quickly, lasting from months to two years

Dermal fillers solve more challenges than you think

Many think that fillers only plump facial lines, but they do other impressive things — and not just for your face. Facial filler applications include:

• Plumping your lips, especially the vertical lines caused by years of puckering, chewing, and talking
• Erasing deep creases (like the marionette lines that extend down from the corners of your mouth)
• Adding volume to sunken areas of your face, like cheeks and temples
• Enhancing contours 
• Minimizing lower eyelid shadowing  
• Improving the appearance of recessed scarring

Fillers are a boon to other body parts as well: 

• Restore a youthful look to the hands and minimize vein appearance
• Smooth chest and décolletage wrinkles
• Add volume to earlobes that have lengthened, deflated, and developed creases with age
• Augment the cushioning to the balls of your feet 
• Soften wrinkles and tighten loose skin in your knees

These uses may surprise you, but the runaway popularity of fillers is, no doubt, related to the multiple ways that treatments transform your skin and looks. They also do so subtly, so your appearance remains natural and still like you. 

A wealth of filler choices

Dr. Gertzman proudly offers a range of filler options, depending on your needs and goals. All are administered with care and a very fine needle. 

Wherever you hope to add volume and minimize sagging, dermal fillers are more than up to the task.

1. Juvederm™ Voluma XC is ideal for wrinkles and sagging skin on your nose and mouth areas (nasolabial folds); you see the difference right away after treatment, and results last up to two years.

2. Restylane™ contains HA and plumps your treatment area because it absorbs about 1,000 times its molecular weight in water. This means that it’s fantastic at treating your nasolabial folds and marionette lines, enhancing your lips, adding shape to your cheeks, rejuvenating your hands, and smoothing your neck.

You may experience post-treatment mild tenderness, swelling, and redness, but it resolves quickly, and you don’t need to come in for a refresher session for 6-9 months.

3. Restylane™ Lyft contains larger than average HA particles to lift and plump marionette lines, nasolabial folds, and add volume to your cheeks. It’s also very good for your lips and hands. Facial treatments last up to a year-and-a-half, while lip enhancement lasts 3-4 months.

4. Restylane™ Silk has smaller HA particles, which are great for creating a full, pouty mouth and filling in the vertical lines that extend from the lips. 

Results are evident for 6-9 months, and Restylane Silk isn’t just for aging lips; it also reshapes naturally thin lips, even in younger people.

5. Radiesse™ is appropriate for your face, jowls, and hands, and lasts up to a year or more. It softens not just moderate wrinkles, but deeper ones, too, but shouldn’t be used on your lips. 

Calcium-based microspheres in water-based gel make this treatment unique. After helping your body build collagen, your body gradually absorbs the microspheres, but your collagen’s effects continue.

6. Sculptra™ contains Poly-L-lactic acid, which we talked about earlier. It’s great at adding volume where needed, like in your cheeks and under your eyes, to create contours. Results are impressive — up to two years. 

Call our office to learn how dermal fillers can make you look — and feel — renewed, or book an appointment online.