Some people have naturally smooth skin and well-defined jawlines, but the rest of us need a little boost to achieve the appearance we’re looking for. That’s what dermal fillers are for.
Dermal fillers allow you to create a natural-looking change in nearly any part of your face without surgery, as long as the fillers are injected correctly. These injections lift the skin in the face, filling in fine lines and giving you extra volume where you want it. Best of all, fillers involve minimal risk: if you don’t like your final appearance, it’s easy to change.
Where Can Dermal Fillers Help Most?
Dermal fillers allow you to plump up your lips, add shape to your jawline, fill in facial hollows, and create almost any other change you want to see in your facial appearance. Here are some of the places where fillers tend to be most effective:
Jawline Fillers
A sharper jawline can restore a more youthful appearance and slim the face. Jawline fillers allow you to reshape the edge of the face without undergoing surgery or taking on excessive risk. Patients often use jaw fillers to reverse signs of aging, reduce jowls or sagging skin from recent weight loss, or simply to add more definition to their chins.
We generally use Juvederm® Voluma as a jawline filler because it is FDA-approved and can be used strategically to create a well-defined jawline. In some cases, providers may recommend contouring with other fillers such as Restylane® Lyft or Sculptra®. By using fillers, you can create a smoother facial contour between the ear and chin.
Chin Fillers
At Beauty Boost, many patients come to us seeking to change a weak or undefined chin. By enhancing the chin with fillers like Voluma, you can create a stronger facial appearance that matches the image you want to project into the world.
Chin fillers can also be used for a less intuitive purpose: to reduce the appearance of a large nose. While fillers cannot directly reduce your nose size, they can add volume in the lower area of the face which will offset and balance an overbearing nose projection. The final effect is the appearance of a smaller nose.
Lip Fillers
People have found plump, pillowy lips to be extremely attractive for centuries. While you may be able to plump up your lips temporarily with a sugar scrub or a mixture of cayenne pepper and olive oil, those results won’t last more than a few hours. Lip fillers are a nonsurgical option for patients who would like to achieve a lasting plush lip appearance without undergoing a somewhat risky surgical procedure.
There are many hyaluronic acid fillers designed for lips, including Juvederm® Ultra, Ultra Plus, Vollure, and the Restylane® lip filler family, the newest being Restylane Kysse, that can create slightly different appearances. Restylane® fillers tend to build up more volume, but Juvederm® creates a smoother lip. The best filler depends on your face and aesthetic goals.
Lip fillers wear off safely and naturally over time, usually in 6 months to a year. Unlike with surgery, you will not be stuck with your results if you do not like them. Your medspa can dissolve some of the filler material or add more if needed.
When you are making changes to your lip shape, it is vital that you work with an experienced medical professional. Proper injection technique is very important to avoid the infamous “duck lips” appearance. The final result should be plump and natural-looking, just with more volume. Most medical professionals also use specialized techniques to ensure the lips are filled as symmetrically as possible.
Cheek Fillers
Younger and older patients alike often enjoy an enhanced cheek appearance. For aging patients who have lost substantial volume in the cheeks, injecting dermal fillers such as Voluma into the midface and cheek region can restore that lost volume and recreate a more youthful appearance. For younger patients, cheek contouring can create the perfect cheek appearance with no need for bronzer.
However, poorly administered cheek fillers can lead to an overly forward-projecting face, sometimes described as a money-like appearance. This is another area where it’s worthwhile to be extra careful when you choose your provider! For best results, we recommend getting cheek fillers done by a highly qualified and experienced medical provider such as a physician assistant or nurse practitioner.
Nose Fillers
It wasn’t that long ago when surgery was the only way to reshape a nose. Fortunately, patients have more options today. Many patients who would like to avoid going under the knife or test out their results before committing choose to use dermal fillers in the nose.
Nose fillers, also sometimes called “liquid rhinoplasty,” allow you to change the appearance of your nose without surgery. You can smooth out a dorsal hump, reduce unwanted depressions, change the shape of the tip, and more.
A limitation of nose fillers is that you can only add, not decrease, volume. If you want to reduce the impact of a larger nose, you may want to consider a chin filler to balance out the face or a reduction rhinoplasty to reduce the nose size. As with any cosmetic procedure, you will get the best results when you work with an experienced cosmetic injector.
Temple Fillers
If you are unhappy with your face but aren’t sure why, there’s a good chance that the temples are at fault. The temples are a frequently overlooked but important factor in the overall appearance of your face. Providers often identify this skin region as a source of dissatisfaction during facial analysis consultations.
Dermal injections in the temples can reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in the forehead region. After getting temple fillers, you may notice a smoother visual transition between the eyes, cheeks, and hairline. Temple filler can also help to support the brows to give the appearance of a lift.
Under Eye Boost
Many people have persistent dark circles or deep hollows under the eyes. These under-eye circles can create a tired or older appearance. While under-eye concealers and a little mascara can go a long way on some people, others may want to find a longer-lasting solution to completely get rid of your dark hollows.
Not all patients are candidates for or desire lower lid surgery, which is often the first suggestion for patients who want to get rid of dark circles. Fortunately, under eye hollowness can also be decreased with dermal injections, which replace the missing volume in the under-eye area. The under-eye filler injection procedure often takes less than 30 minutes.
Neck Line Fillers
In addition to being safe for facial regions, dermal fillers can also be injected into the neck to reduce wrinkles and other unwanted skin characteristics. A simple injection allows patients to achieve a more elegant, youthful neck. We sometimes recommend neckline fillers to patients who want to remove acne scars or decrease the visual effects of dry skin in this region.
Neckline fillers can also be good for patients with “tech neck.” Hyaluronic acid fillers can quickly dissolve deeply-etched horizontal lines in the skin.
Are Dermal Fillers Safe?
Injecting a dermal filler is generally considered safe, although it depends on the injector and product. Different filler substances are better suited to different aesthetic goals and areas of the face.
Be wary of providers who do not bring strong medical qualifications, training, and experience to the table. If dermal fillers are not injected correctly, they can increase the face’s forward projection and create an unnatural-looking appearance. However, unlike surgery, fillers can be dissolved by a special solution if there is an unwanted outcome.
For best results, consult with an experienced medical professional who has a thorough understanding of facial anatomy. Well-selected and placed injections will lift the face up and out in line with the patient’s goals.
Properly injected filler should leave you refreshed and create a younger-looking, natural appearance. People should notice you look great, but not be able to pinpoint what you had done. If the filler is obvious, it is usually incorrectly injected or too much.
Expertly Injected Dermal Fillers in Orange County
At Beauty Boost Med Spa, every treatment is carried out by our highly qualified nurse practitioner and physician assistant at our Newport Beach location. Our DNP, Anisa Munshi, previously delivered specialized aesthetic procedures and provided high-level clinical and surgical support for eight plastic surgeons at UC Irvine for years before opening up her own medical spa. Her colleague, Heather Witt, PA-C, also provided aesthetic procedures and surgical support for a facial plastic surgeon in Madison, Wisconsin for 8 years before moving to California and joining the Beauty Boost team.
We begin each treatment with an initial consultation in which the provider examines your face and asks detailed questions about your goals. Afterward, we administer a personalized treatment to help you achieve your desired results. Request a complimentary consultation today to find out if dermal fillers are right for you!
