What Are Facial Fillers?

What Are Facial Fillers?

As we age, our facial volume decreases, the tissue beneath the skin thins, and deep wrinkles begin to form — facial fillers are another method we use to address these changes. Fillers are classified into different categories according to how long their effects last or the substances they contain. In terms of duration, they fall into three classes: short-term, long-term, and permanent.

What we call short-acting fillers are made with hyaluronic acid, a protein that already occurs naturally between the tissues in our body. This protein is manufactured in a laboratory setting and placed into ready-to-use injectors. The effect of these fillers typically lasts between 6 months and 2 years.

Long-acting filler substances, on the other hand, contain hydroxyapatite or poly-L-lactic acid, proteins also found in hard tissues such as teeth and bone. These too are manufactured in a laboratory and placed into ready-to-use injectors. Their effect typically lasts around 2 to 4 years.

Permanent fillers, by contrast, are made from materials not normally found in the body, such as plastic, silicone, or methyl methacrylate. Because they can trigger reactions in the body and do not dissolve over time, the treatment cannot be reversed once it has been applied — for these reasons, permanent fillers are neither preferred nor recommended.

Filler treatments are extremely popular and, along with Botox, are among the first procedures that come to mind when non-surgical aesthetics are mentioned. Their biggest advantage is that they require no surgery and can be performed in the office in as little as 5 minutes. With this treatment, patients can come in on their lunch break, leave looking refreshed, and go straight back to work in the afternoon.

So what can dermal fillers actually do? They can make the face look fuller and more youthful, define the cheekbones, enlarge the lips, add volume to the tip of the nose, smooth out facial wrinkles, and enlarge the breasts or hips. Any unwanted hollows in the body can also be filled in.