We regularly remind our clients that choosing a non-invasive cosmetic treatment is only the first part of the dilemma. The other part is selecting who will perform it.
Injectable dermal fillers are one of the most commonly performed procedures, but here’s why it’s worth paying particular attention to experience and medical qualifications when choosing who to perform your procedure.
Why Some Fillers May Stretch the Skin
Dermal fillers use injectable hyaluronic acid to fill in and adjust the contours of whatever areas of your face need correcting, but dermal fillers are not permanent solutions. Depending on which areas get treated, different products will last anywhere from 5 or 6 months to a year (sometimes even longer), but will eventually need to be reapplied.
Unless great attention is paid while injecting fillers, repeated filler applications in the same place can cause skin to loosen and stretch, resulting in the gradual need to use more filler product over time.
Another problem can occur when using dermal fillers in parts of the face where there is a lot of muscle movement, resulting in filler migrating away from the area it was applied.
Some filler products are specifically designed to minimize this problem, but your practitioner may also advise you to avoid using fillers in certain facial areas.
Is This Problem Likely?
Skin is inherently elastic, and in the vast majority of cases, after the body has fully absorbed the filler, the skin recovers and returns to its original state.
Many cosmetic treatments are also designed to stimulate the body’s natural production of collagen and hyaluronic acid. In these cases, your skin may end up in better condition than initially.
Skin stretching is less likely when fillers are used to expand sunken cheeks for those lacking prominent cheekbones – and conversely, more likely when repeatedly used to inflate cheeks when the cheekbones are well-developed.
Younger patients should be conservative when using fillers. Although their skin is naturally more resilient, they may be more likely to continue using fillers for many years in the future, and stretching is more likely to happen the longer dermal fillers are used.
In our experience, it is extremely unlikely that you’ll notice loosening of your skin as a result of long-term use of dermal fillers. However, if you are concerned, there are other ways to guard against skin loosening.
Minimizing the Problem
If you’re concerned if a recent treatment used more filler than necessary, in most cases, it’s possible to fully or partially reverse the effect by applying an enzyme (hyaluronidase) to dissolve the excess filler.
The best way to minimize your chances of stretching skin is to avoid using dermal fillers to over-inflate parts of your face. This can be a concern if you’re trying to enlarge your lips way beyond their natural size.
Using large amounts of filler to expand any part of the face significantly, can lead to other problems, such as creating unnatural looking imbalances between the chin and jawline areas.
Adding more filler to compensate for such aesthetic imbalances can exacerbate the problem. It’s the job of your practitioner not only to advise you on how to achieve your goals in the most natural-looking manner but also how to avoid long-term problems like this from developing.
Several skin-tightening procedures can be combined with the use of dermal fillers, such as laser skin tightening. This can contribute to long-term improvements to skin resiliency, thereby reducing your chance of developing dermal-filler related skin stretching.
Cosmetic Treatments from Your Laser Skin Care
Your Laser Skin Care can provide you with advice on the best ways to use dermal fillers, not only to achieve your short-term objectives but also to avoid longer-term problems.
We have extensive experience providing both dermal filler and skin tightening treatments. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation, or visit us online for more information.
