Restylane, Alloderm, bovine collagen, fat, Sculptra... the choices in injectable facial fillers appear endless. What's more, new products become available all the time, each one promising to complete more, last longer, as well as produce fewer unwanted effects. And with average treatment costs in the several-hundred-dollar variety, injectable fillers are increasingly popular with women from all avenues of life, from soccer moms to fashion versions. But, just how effective are fillers? Would be the results worth it? And what potential issues do you need to watch out for?
Understanding the Beast
Fillers are substances injected underneath the skin to fill in lines, plump upward skin, and remove wrinkles. Some fillers include natural ingredients - including your own fat harvested from somewhere else on your body. Some additives are made of synthetic elements. And others are a mixture of natural substances based on animals combined with synthetic ingredients.
Typically, fillers are injected in the doctor's office, as out-patient procedures that allow you to go back to work and regular activities immediately after the actual appointment. The results are usually immediate, and the appointment usually takes less than an hour or so. There is often a few slight discomfort or itching after the procedure, but that should clear up within a day or 2. While some bruising may occur, side effects are rare and generally moderate. So what's the capture?
Thanks Ma'am, We'll Help you in Six Weeks
Just like Botox (an injectable, but not a filler), one of the greatest downsides is that fillers are temporary. Unfortunately, but the easier as well as safer the injectable, the more temporary it seems to be. You can even use your own fat as a for filler injections, but the results will probably fade within weeks. There is no risk of allergic reaction with this procedure, because the filler is gathered from your own body, but chances are you'll return at your doctor's within practically no time at all - although a small number of patients have documented terrific results that have lasted for up to annually.
Collagen is an old filler (which, for this hypochondriac, means that it may be "safer" as well as "better tested") that has a relatively brief life span. In fact, a few women arrange to have new injections each and every six weeks - and many report that it's a common. Restylane is perhaps the most popular filler around - and also reported to be the most painful.
Fillers that contains hyaluronic acid usually last much longer; Juvederm is one such brand, and is recommended to last up to one year, although there is speak that it doesn't meet its claims. ArteFill is another "permanent" filler, while the manufacturers of Radiesse and Sculptra claim semi-permanence. Of course, the longer-lasting the actual filler is, the greater possibility there is for side effects or botched treatments that cannot be cured. This may be an especially challenging problem in the case of Artefill, because it contains bovine bovine collagen, an ingredient with a pretty high rate associated with allergic reactions.
Watch Out for That one!
Liquid silicone (Silikon 1000) has also been known to be utilized as an injectable filler even though it is not sold for this function. Because it is permanent, it's advantages. However, recognized complications with fluid silicone include migration as well as lumpiness that can develop many years after treatment. There've even been reports of silicone finding its way into blood vessels and forming the clot! It's so risky, in fact, it's been likened to injecting a period bomb - or even, the Russian roulette of cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery.
Therefore since Silikon 1000 is approved for use in one the main body, certain loopholes within FDA regulations permit docs to use this off-label as an injectable filler. But because of the dangers related to silicone injections into the face and mouth, the FDA has banned doctors through advertising it. What's more, there have been so many lawsuits related to this use of silicone that many plastic surgery medical malpractice insurance contracts now carry a terms that prohibits physicians from using it and refuse liability coverage with regard to complications resulting from silicon injections.
Risks Consist of...
One widely recognized issue is that the longer-lasting fillers may also cause lumps to create under your skin to begin of the injection. Sometimes the lumps are visible. And, even when they're not, they can be felt. Who wants to be kissed through lumpy lips? Artecol and Dermalive are two brand names that have been frequently associated with this problem. And yet, to be fair, it can happen with any of them.
The state statement from the American Society of Cosmetic surgeons is that the risks involved with injectable fillers include: allergic reactions, infection, abscesses, open sores, skin peeling, skin damage and lumpiness. They neglect to mention the horrible side effect mentioned through one medical research -- necrosis. That's dead tissue. Call me squeamish, however the thought of my lips turning into dead flesh is pretty scary. I realize that every medical procedure consists of inherent risks. But I wonder: may be the potential gain worth the risks that come together with injectable fillers?
Woman Overboard-Your Greatest Enemy May be You
Take it from a woman who over-plucked her eyebrows when she was fifteen-and they never increased back: making changes to your appearance can be intoxicating. I was so entranced by how large my eyes looked that I kept on going. The same thing can happen along with facial fillers. An excessive amount of a good thing is -- too much. No one wants plastic material fish lips - but it's easy to see what sort of little filler turns into more next time, and then a longer-lasting one, and one more time, and suddenly you've gone too much.
One way to ease to the world of fillers would be to ask your doctor to try a temporary injectable like collagen the first few times. This will give you an idea of such a longer-lasting product like Juvederm is going to do for you. And that method, you can live with a filler for some time before you commit to the new look.
This provides me to a final issue related to injectable additives. Is it just me, or are we in the midst of a trend toward unnaturally shaped, large lips? I've reviewed about six dozen plastic surgeons' before and after pictures of "lip enhancements" on the Internet, and that i have to say: at least half of them looked quite unnatural and unappealing to me. So bad, in fact, that the "before" pictures often looked much better.
What's up with this? I've not notice plastic surgeons posting photos of nose jobs that look worse than what the patient needed to begin with. Or breast implants gone wrong. Why all these oddly shaped lips and over-plumped creases? While the information freeway appears to be in full blossom, the web, in many ways, makes it all the more difficult to get a qualified practioner. My advice: stay away from strip malls and nail salons and spas that offer injectable treatments, and read our Beginner's Help guide to Choosing a Surgeon.
Pursuing Perfection
Perfection may be the name of the game in plastic surgery. Doctors are trying to provide us with the perfect facial fillers, and also the rest of us are crossing our fingers as well as hoping for that perfect, smooth, wrinkle-free skin. It looks to me like injectable additives do not yet live up to the hype. However with new products coming out every single day, the perfect filler might be just around the corner.
Article Source: articlemotron . org