Filler Procedures
Dermal fillers are synthetic hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is a glycosaminoglycan, which is polysaccharide (essentially a very large sugar!). It is naturally occurring in connective tissue throughout our bodies, with 50% of it being found in our skin.
It is one of the major components of our extracellular matrix (the framework in which our skin cells sit) and it also has an important role in retaining moisture, as one molecule alone can hold up to 1000 times its own weight in water. However, as we age, our body’s natural production of hyaluronic acid slows down leading to loss of volume and skin laxity and development of lines and folds.
Fillers are popular treatments used for softening wrinkles, laughter lines, facial lines and wrinkles caused naturally by ageing or sun exposure. Combined with a local anaesthetic, dermal fillers are injected into the skin to give your face a natural volume, leaving your skin completely hydrated and youthful.
Popular areas to add volume and fullness include the lips, cheeks and bridge of the nose. For smoothing and plumping lines and wrinkles, popular treatment areas include around the forehead, eyes, mouth, chin, neck, décolletage and hands.
Lips
This is the most popular dermal filler procedure in the UK. There are different styles and objectives. Lip fillers are googled every 20 minutes in the UK.
Why are lip fillers popular?
They can enhance our beauty and self-esteem.
We might not have the volume or shape we want for our lips or the lip line or our Cupid’s bow is not as well defined as we’d like. Lip fillers can help achieve these goals.
We might notice the following in our lips when we look in the mirror:
- Not enough lip volume, not as full or plump as we desire
- Thin lips due to low volume
- An unclear border on the outside of the lips (the vermillion border) which we try to correct with the lip liner
- Poorly developed vermillion border and philtrum which makes the ridge between the upper lip and nose
- Smoker’s lines
What can I have done for my lips?
i) Volumisation:
This is where we inject the soft filler into your lip increasing the volume and making a soft pout in the centre if desired.
ii) Definition (shaping):
This is when we inject at the outer border of the lip line (vermillion border) giving the lip good definition, making it sharper and more distinguished which is much better than the effect of a make-up liner. We can also do the Cupid’s bow and philtrum which will make the lip very defined, stand out and enhance the effect of lipstick.
iii) Volumisation and shaping:
By doing both volume enhancement and shaping.
iv) Smoker’s lines treatment:
This can be combined with Botox.
Useful information:
Procedure time: 30 minutes
Back to work: immediately
Onset of results: 14 days. You might start seeing results in 7 days
Duration: 6 – 9 months
Side effects: mild swelling and bruising
Pain: numbing cream applied
High street clinic price: £280 – £375
Aesthetics Training Courses model price: £150
Before
After
Cheeks
This is the second most popular filler procedure after lip fillers. It is done for various reasons, such as:
i) Enhancing cheek appearance
To make the face more beautiful. Common in females aged between 18 and 36 as it makes the face more of a heart or V-shape as the cheekbones become more prominent.
ii) Replacing volume
With age, we lose fat volume from our cheeks which makes them flat and due to the effect of gravity we develop folds, such as nose to mouth lines (nasolabial lines) and mouth to chin lines (marionette lines).
All of these can be treated with dermal fillers.
iii) Improving the contours of the face and cheeks
This is both anti-ageing and improves the contours of the cheeks and face to smooth out any mid irregularities, lines and shadows making a smoother and more beautifully-shaped cheek.
Useful information:
Procedure time: 30 minutes
Back to work: immediately
Onset of results: immediately
Duration: 18 – 24 months
Side effects: mild swelling and bruising
Pain: numbing cream applied
High street clinic price: £280 – £375
Aesthetics Training Courses model price: £150
Before
After
Nasolabial folds
What are the nasolabial folds?
They are the deep folds that run from the side of the nose at an angle to the mouth.
They develop as a natural process of ageing as we lose fat and volume from our cheeks and due to the effect of gravity deep folds appear in the area. This gives us an ageing appearance.
How do you treat them?
With dermal fillers injected into this area, we restore volume and improve these folds giving us a more youthful and attractive face and smile.
Useful information:
Procedure time: 30 minutes
Back to work: immediately
Onset of results: immediately
Duration: 12 – 18 months
Side effects: mild swelling and bruising
Pain: numbing cream applied
High street clinic price: £280 – £375
Aesthetics Training Courses model price: £150
Before
After
Marionette lines
What are marionette lines?
They are the deep lines that run from the angle of the mouth to the chin and often give us a sad, grumpy appearance.
These lines develop as part of the ageing process, smoking and tend to help develop and worsen the jowls too.
How are the treated?
With dermal fillers injected at the side of the mouth after applying numbing cream, the appearance of the mouth is greatly improved.
Useful information:
Procedure time: 30 minutes
Back to work: immediately
Onset of results: immediately
Duration: 12 – 18 months
Side effects: mild swelling and bruising
Pain: numbing cream applied
High street clinic price: £280 – £375
Aesthetics Training Courses model price: £150
Before
After
Hands
What do you mean by ageing hands?
Our hands are exposed to all sorts of environmental factors and chemicals and we use them all the time over many years, often meaning they look much older than our face, which enjoys the most procedures and products to treat the effects of ageing.
How do you treat them?
Special dermal fillers for the hands can restore the volume to cover the pronounced veins and muscle wasting that has occurred on the back of our hands, making them look younger and healthier.
Useful information:
Procedure time: 30 minutes
Back to work: immediately
Onset of results: immediately
Duration: 12 – 18 months
Side effects: mild swelling and bruising
Pain: numbing cream applied
High street clinic price: £400 – £600
Aesthetics Training Courses model price: £150
Before
After
Smoker’s lines
What are smoker’s lines and how are they treated?
They are the lines between the nose and upper lip that give us an ageing appearance.
We have a muscle around our mouth called the orbicularis oris which we use to move the mouth when drinking from a cup or bottle, smoking or applying lipstick.
All of these movements make the muscle stronger and, combined with the natural ageing process, make these lines appear even when we are resting, becoming deeper and more prominent when we use our mouth.
I don’t smoke so why do I have smoker’s lines?
Because we use our mouth to drink, talk, apply lipstick, use a straw and whistle, we get these lines. They are called smoker’s lines because they are more prominent in smokers.
How are they treated?
A combination of Botox and filler can treat these lines making them appear softer and less pronounced.
Useful information:
Procedure time: 10 minutes
Back to work: immediately
Onset of results: 14 days. You might start seeing results in 7 days
Duration: 3 – 4 months
Side effects: minimal bruising may appear that resolves within 1 – 2 days and can be easily covered with make-up
Pain: hardly noticeable
High street clinic price: £140 – £220
Aesthetics Training Courses model price: £85
Before
After
