Smooth Move

There was a time when the term “aging gracefully” meant not fighting it. Not so anymore. These days, aging gracefully has more to do with understanding the various products and procedures available to combat the visible signs of aging and using them to your best advantage. Among the products in the anti-aging arsenal are dermal fillers — injectable gels designed to add volume to the skin and help reduce wrinkles in a way that, done well, is less detectable than ever.

Dermal fillers are most commonly used on lips, smile lines, the temples, the hollows of the cheeks and horizontal lines in the chin.

Fillers mainly work by replacing lost collagen, hyaluronic acid (HA) and fat. Collagen is a natural protein that supports the skin, while HA is a natural sugar in the skin, forming the framework where all skin cells live, says Dr. Kristina Zakhary, a facial esthetic surgeon with practices in Calgary and Toronto.

While there are about 40 substances being used in soft-tissue fillers worldwide, the most common fillers contain collagen and HA derivatives, notes Dr. Jaggi Rao, dermatologist and associate clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Alberta.

There are both temporary and permanent fillers on the market, though the permanent ones aren’t really permanent, having a minimum longevity of two years. Temporary fillers, depending on their make up, last between three and 12 months. The temporary fillers are more popular because they’re less expensive and, as the face continues to age over time, it makes more sense to repeat the process to accommodate changes.

There are other things that can affect the length of time the fillers will last as well. “How long the improvement will last depends on the type of filler, the area treated and the ability of the person’s skin to absorb the filler,” Zakhary says.

Restylane, Teosyal and Juvederm are a few examples of the brand names of HA-based fillers. One of the most common uses for HA-based fillers is to soften the nasolabial folds — creases in the skin that run from the corners of the nose to the corners of the mouth, says Dr. Wendy Tink, medical director of Vive Rejuvenation. She says fillers are also effective for treating fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth and eyes, and facial scars.

Lip augmentation is another popular use for these fillers, adding volume and contour to the lips. And while there are many examples in Hollywood of lip augmentation gone awry, Tink says that, done properly, the results can be very subtle and specific.

“You have to be really clear about what you want your lips to look like,” she says. “One technique adds more volume, one enhances the Cupid’s bow and another turns the corners up. It all depends on where you put the filler.”

Another relatively new way in which HA-based fillers are being used is to add volume to the cheeks and build contour around the chin. According to Tink, it is these areas that are most affected by loss of fat due to aging. Adding filler helps restore youthfulness to the face.

While soft-tissue augmentation addresses some of the aspects of facial aging, “it doesn’t address all of the aspects,” says Zakhary, “so you may want to consider a combination of different treatments [such as Botox injections, laser treatments or cosmetic surgery] to achieve the best results.”  

Unlike the results of the other treatments Zakhary refers to, though, the effects of dermal fillers are immediately evident, so while the effects of aging take years to develop, they can be erased, or at least minimized, in mere minutes in the doctor’s chair.