What can injectable fillers do for you? A lot, as it turns out. Injectables, including fillers and Botox, help to temporarily reduce the signs of aging on your face so you look younger. How they work and what areas they treat depends on the type of injection and on your specific needs.
Botox Reduces Frown Lines
Although Botox has a lot of uses, from calming muscle spasms to reducing excessive sweating, the use it’s commonly associated with is anti-aging. One of the first areas Botox was approved to treat was the frown lines. Also called the “11’s,” the frown lines are the vertical wrinkles that people develop between their eyebrows. The lines usually form after a few decades of squinting or frowning.
Botox works by keeping certain nerves from signaling certain muscles. So, when the treatment is given near the forehead and eyebrows, you’re prevented from making the subtle movement that causes the frown lines to get etched into the skin. As a result, your skin looks smooth and you look less angry, tired or old. In many cases, the results last about three months. If you’re happy with the results, you can repeat the treatment to keep up your look.
Injectable Fillers Plump Up the Cheeks
As you get older, you lose fat. That might sound like a great thing, but the fat you lose tends to be the fat you want to keep – namely, the fat in your cheeks. A loss of cheek volume can mean that your face looks thin, drawn and gaunt. Fortunately, there’s a way to instantly restore volume to the cheeks without having surgery. Juvederm Voluma is a type of injectable filler. It’s made from a specially formulated type of hyaluronic acid that is thick enough to add lift and volume to the face. Although results can vary from person to person, often Voluma provides results that last for as long as two years.
Botox Combats Crow’s Feet
The eye area is so delicate that it’s often one of the first parts of the face to show signs of aging. Those signs can range from the development of dark circles to droopy lids. Another common sign of aging by the eyes is the formation of crow’s feet. Typically appearing at the corner of the eyes, the lines develop after years of squinting, laughing and crying.
You can avoid crow’s feet by not ever showing expression or emotion. But, an easier way to deal with them is with Botox. Since the lines are created by movement, Botox helps them fade away for a few months at a time. As when it’s used in the eyebrow and forehead area, Botox can help minimize the appearance of crow’s feet for about three months.
Injectable Fillers Add Volume to the Lips
You don’t just lose volume from your cheeks as you get older. Thin lips are also a common sign of aging. While the fillers of yesterday left a lot to be desired (think of those duck-lipped celebrities from the early 2000’s), today’s injectable fillers create a natural, soft look. Fillers made from hyaluronic acid, such as Restylane and Juvederm are commonly used in the lips. The results from the fillers are temporary and typically last for about six months. You can repeat the injections if you want to maintain the results, try a different filler, or decide that fuller lips aren’t your thing.
One of the many benefits of hyaluronic acid fillers is that they can be reversed before the six months is up, if you really don’t like the results. A special enzyme dissolves the substance.
Fillers Banish Under Eye Circles
Hyaluronic acid fillers also work well when used under the eyes to reduce hollowness and to correct dark under eye circles. When used to treat the under eye area, injectable fillers can cause bumps, so it’s important not only to choose the right filler but also to see an injector with lots of experience treating the under eye area. Thinner fillers are ideal for the under eye area as they are less likely to create lumps or an uneven texture. Ideally, the filler will be injected into the tear trough, not above or below it.
Fillers Reduce Wrinkles
Like Botox, injectable fillers can also be used to minimize the appearance of wrinkles and lines. But, fillers treat different types of wrinkles than Botox. While Botox works on the lines created by movements, fillers work best on those lines that form thanks to the effects of gravity and a loss of volume. Hyaluronic acid fillers are commonly used to minimize the nasolabial folds, those two lines that form between the mouth and nose.
The deeper the wrinkles are, the heavier you want your injectable to be. Radiesse is commonly used to treat deeper creases and wrinkles. It’s made from a calcium based gel, so it’s heavier than hyaluronic acid. Like its hyaluronic acid cousins, Radiesse provides instant results. It then goes a step beyond, and actually stimulates the production of collagen beneath the skin. Once the initial effects of Radiesse wear away, the results as still visible, thanks to the revitalized collagen.
With so many fillers and injectables available, you might be unsure which to choose. That’s where the staff at Mirror Mirror Beauty Boutique in Houston comes in. We can help you pick the injectable that will best treat your main concern, or recommend combining certain treatments to achieve a more youthful look all over. To learn more, give us a call today to schedule a consultation: (281) 810-9083.