Restylane Injections Collagen Injections Facial Lines Eyes Winchester Southampton Wessex Hampshire

Muscle Relaxing Injections, Dermal Fillers, Skin Rejuvenation, Skin Tightening
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Surgical

Surgery for Skin Cancers, Non-cancers and Photo-dynamic Therapy
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Dermal Filler Injections - Restylane® Injections

(Hyaluronic acid injections, collagen injections, Restylane®, Restylane Perlane®, Restylane Lipp®, Restylane Touch®, Hydrafill®, Evolence^TM, Radiesse^TM, Sculptra®)

Dermal Fillers Summary

Dermal Filler injections reduce lines and wrinkles, restoring a more youthful firmness to the skin.
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Dermal Filler injections work instantly and last 4-12 months.
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The most modern fillers contain local anaesthetic and so the injections are more comfortable.
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The injections may produce some localised swelling and redness that lasts for a few hours.

Introduction

Dermal fillers are mainly used to treat lines and folds on the lower half of the face. They "puff out" the skin, instantly softening or eliminating lines, furrows, folds and wrinkles.

How Do Dermal Fillers Work?

Nearly all modern dermal fillers are made of a chemical called hyaluronic acid that is a normal component of human skin. The hyaluronic acid is injected into the skin through a fine needle to provide a matrix that helps the skin resist the forces of gravity and facial movement that produce the lines on the lower half of the face to form. The hyaluronic acid is gradually broken down and eliminated from the body. If needed, this process can be speeded up so that most of the hyaluronic acid is removed within a few days.

What areas are treated?

The most common are the lines running from the nose to the mouth, followed by the lines around the lips and the folds running from the mouth to the chin. Dermal fillers are also used to increase the fullness of the lips and cheeks.

How long do they last?

In most people the improvement in the lines, furrows and folds lasts between four and twelve months. Occasionally it lasts much longer. After repeated treatments, some people find that their lines recur more slowly, are shallower and less numerous.

Dermal Fillers FAQs

How do Dermal Fillers work?
Are Dermal Fillers safe?

Which areas can Dermal Fillers treat?
Which Dermal Fillers work best?
What should I discuss with my Dermal Filler practitioner?
Do Dermal Fillers hurt?
How should I prepare for Dermal Filler injections?
What do injections with Dermal Filler involve?
How will I look immediately after Dermal Filler treatment?
Is there any important Dermal Filler aftercare?
How soon after the Dermal Filler injections will I notice an improvement?
How much does treatment with Dermal Fillers cost?
How many Dermal Filler treatments will I need?
How long do Dermal Fillers last?
What side-effects do Dermal Fillers produce?
Who shouldn't have Dermal Filler treatments?

How do Dermal Fillers work?

Dermal Fillers reduce lines and wrinkles by increasing the firmness and resilience of the skin, so that it is less easily creased into lines, wrinkles and folds caused by the pull of underlying muscles and the effects of gravity.

You can get a reasonable idea of the outcome of Dermal Filler injections by gently stretching the skin next to the line or wrinkle that you wish to reduce.

An experienced pratitioner will consider the whole face and take into account the texture and quality of the skin as a whole when deciding how best to treat an individual wrinkle. Simply injecting individual lines can make the skin feel lumpy and produce a less satisfactory result.

Are Dermal Fillers safe?

The well-established Dermal Fillers that are FDA approved and made of non-animal, stabilised hyaluronic acid (NASHA), have a low chance of producing serious side-effects. Side-effects can be treated and usually disappear as the product dissolves.

Serious side-effects from the semi-permanent fillers Radiesse^TM and Sculptra® are rare but will last longer.

Serious side-effects from the permanent filer Artefill® are difficult to treat and may last many years.

Which areas can Dermal Fillers treat?

Smile lines - running from the nose down to and around the mouth.
The corners of the mouth- can be lifted
Marionette lines - running from the mouth down to the chin
Lines around the mouth - on the upper and lower lip
Lip volume- can be increased
Cheek volume- can be increased - to lift the fold around the mouth and skin along the jaw-line
Frown lines
Lines around the eyes (‘crows feet')- produced by squinting and smiling
Lines on the forehead- caused by raising the eyebrows and other facial expressions
Lines in the décolletage

Dermal Fillers are usually used in combination with Botox® to treat frown lines, lines around the eyes (‘crows feet') and expression lines and wrinkles on the forehead.

Which Dermal Fillers work best?

Dermal Fillers made of hyaluronic acid last longer and are safer than collagen injections. Dermal Fillers made of non-animal, stabilised hyaluronic acid (NASHA), are the best choice currently available. Restylane® has been the most widely used Dermal Filler, (approximately 7 million injections have been administered worldwide), and therefore has the most comprehensive safety profile.

Radiesse^TM lasts around twice as long as Restylane®. It can be injected into the lines running from the nose down to and around the mouth, and also to increase volume in the cheeks. However, Radiesse^TM is often more uncomfortable to inject than Restylane® requiring prior injection of local anaesthetic and therefore a greater tendency to leave bruising.

Sculptra® lasts around four times longer than Restylane® and can be used to increase volume in the cheeks. However, it requires three injection sessions spaced six weeks apart each of which can leave a variable amount of bruising and the full correction takes six months to appear.

What should I discuss with my Dermal Filler practitioner?

Dermal Fillers don't just fill in lines, they need to be injected to create a natural result that blends in with the rest of your face. Ask to be treated with a Dermal Filler that has FDA approval, i.e. is approved for injection in the USA, because it will have undergone more safety and efficacy testing that those that are only available in Europe.

Try not to base your decisions on the manufacturer's own "before and after" photographs of the effects of treatment. These photographs are designed to advertise their product and will often give you unrealistically high expectations. Rather ask to see "before and after" photographs of the practitioner's own work. These will give you a better idea of the likely improvement that you are likely to see after treatment.

The aesthetic market is full of hype and false promise and it is hard to ascertain the training, experience and expertise of many of the people who offer treatments in this sector. If you choose to be treated by an "accredited specialist" you can check their training on the General Medical Council website and, if they are registered there, be reassured that that person has completed at least four years of higher training in that speciality. Be aware, that that in the aesthetic market the words, "Specialist", "Medical", "Consultant", and "Cosmetic Dermatologist" have become advertising slogans and may not reflect the practitioner's true status. It is possible to set yourself up as a "Filler Expert" after only a half day's training.

Do Dermal Fillers hurt?

The injection of Dermal Fillers made of hyaluronic acid, collagen and Sculptra® is uncomfortable, but can often be tolerated if local anaesthetic cream is used to numb the skin prior to treatment. Radiesse^TM seems to sting more and many people require local anaesthetic injections to tolerate the procedure. Injections into the upper and lower lip are most easily tolerated if the lips are first numbed with injections of local anaesthetic.

How should I prepare for Dermal Filler injections?

Avoid taking aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, Vitamin E and Gingko Biloba for two weeks before treatment as they may increase bruising.

What do injections with Dermal Filler involve?

The skin is first numbed either with injections of local anaesthetic or with local anaesthetic cream. The injections of Dermal Filler are uncomfortable and, whenever possible, I would suggest the use of local anaesthetic injections to numb the skin.

Then a fine needle is carefully placed within the skin and the Dermal Filler is injected. The pattern and placement of the Dermal Filler within the skin is crucial to the success of the treatment. Immediately after the injection, the treated area is firmly massaged and then ice is held on the skin for around twenty minutes to reduce the swelling, redness and bruising to a minimum.

How will I look immediately after Dermal Filler treatment?

After skin has been injected with hyaluronic acid and collagen using local anaesthetic cream, it is usually a little red and swollen and some of the needle marks are visible. These effects fade over a few hours. Bruising, if it occurs, will last seven to fourteen days.

Some bruising almost always occurs after injections of local anaesthetic and Sculptra®.

Is there any important Dermal Filler aftercare?

It is important that the filler remains where your practitioner has injected it. Therefore you should avoid massaging the treated area and try to minimise excessive facial movements for two days after treatment as this may cause the filler to move from the site of injection.

Gently cleanse and moisturise the area four to six times a day to help any temporary side-effects to settle.

How soon after the Dermal Filler injections will I notice an improvement?

Dermal Fillers produce an instant result.

Top-up injections are sometimes needed during the first month to obtain the best results.

How much do Dermal Fillers cost?

Prices

How many Dermal Filler treatments will I need?

Younger people find that a single treatment with dermal filles will eliminate their lines. After a line has been there for some years, two initial injection sessions spaced six weeks apart can be needed to produce an optimal result. After that, six monthly top up treatments are all that is needed.

How long do Dermal Fillers last?

Treatment with Dermal Fillers containing hyaluronic acid or collagen may need to be repeated every six months. Regular injections produce better results. Radiesse^TM lasts aproximately twelve months and Sculptra® for approximately twenty four months.

What side-effects do Dermal Fillers produce?

The injection of hyaluronic acid or collagen can produce the following:

Redness, swelling, bleeding, puncture marks and itching for 12 to 48 hours
Bruising which may last up to 14 days
Visible lip swelling for 28 hours

Allergic reactions are the most serious complication of injecting hyaluronic acid or collagen and they include:

Localised redness lasting several weeks
Red lumps that can last until the filler dissolves

Both types of allergic reaction can be treated. Restylane®, the only filler for which there are reliable statistics, produces allergic reactions in fewer than 1/5000 people.

Radiesse and Sculptra® injections tend to produce more obvious temporary side-effects and small nodules that can be felt but not seen. Neither has been found to produce allergic responses.

Artefill®, which is a permanent filler, can produce red lumps that are very persistent and difficult to treat.

Who shouldn't have Dermal Filler injections

Dermal Filler treatment should be avoided during pregnancy, breast-feeding and in anyone who has had an allergic reaction to Dermal Fillers in the past.

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