Cosmetic Surgery Blog

I am not even going to pretend that I can write a single article that will cover all the injectable fillers available on the market today. There are TONS of fillers for facial injections you can choose from, but they all don’t measure up equally. I have tried my share of dermal fillers including Collagen, Restylane, Perlane, JuveDerm and Radiesse. They can be used for augmentation to contour, or simply to lessen the appearance of wrinkles. Wrinkle fillers abound in doctor’s offices everywhere, it’s a multimillion, if not billion, dollar market.

Facial Injections: Collagen, Restalyne and more

 My first go at injectable fillers was with bovine (cow) collagen injections. I felt like such a fish afterwards. They were HUGE during the saline-inflation period. Since collagen is suspended in saline, it takes a few hours for the saline to subside. Many of you experienced beauty mavens probably know this, and you newbies have probably only heard about it like a distant cousin who never comes to any family events. Who really gets collagen anymore?? Collagen is to injections like vinyl is to music. Next!

Restylane (hyaluronic acid) is probably one of my favorites. I remember when I was skeptical because of the cost, the frequency of injections needed to maintain the result. However, as I am sure you have heard, it is cumulative. Honest! I have noticed a serious increase in the longevity of my results. Up to a year, and in my upper lids, I have only had it one time and that was almost a year and a half ago (Aug 2006!). I have had facial injections with Restylane as well. I have had it injected above and below my eyes, as well the nasolabial area (the area which runs from the corner of your mouth to the side of your nose). When I need a touch up, I go right back to my doctor, Dr. Jonathan Hoenig, and get my undereyes, lips and philtrum augmented. That man can stick me with a hypodermic any day.

Perlane (also hyaluronic acid) is Restylane’s big brother. The particle size is larger and in theory lasts longer. I have had Perlane in my lips a few times and feel it lasts about as long as Restylane, however, for fine areas, Perlane cannot be used. Honestly, I just don’t see that much of a difference except for cost. But that’s just me.

Juvederm is one of my favorites! Juvederm is also a hyaluronic acid filler, although it is highly crosslinked and I honestly feel it does last longer. I usually get Restylane in the borders of my lips and philtrum to define them , and Juvederm in the fleshy area for augmentation. I love Juvederm!

Radiesse. Ahhhh, I’m not a good person to ask. I had a bad experience with Radiesse and as the say goes, “…hath no fury like a woman scorned”. But, you can chalk it up to poor injection if you wish, even though I still feel that it is not ideal for lips, I don’t care who you are. It reminds me of a longer-lasting collagen in the sense that it is white, blanches your skin, and is very firm and rock like when you squeeze it. I had to get the product excised twice, very painful!

Talk to your doctor for more information because not all doctors are going to offer, much less, even have experience with many fillers for facial injections. Doctors usually choose a small army of injectable fillers to combat wrinkles and augment the lips and face. Start with your research, try www.lipaugmentation.com for more information on the tons of fillers available all over the world. Then go in armed with your knowledge and ask what is available in your area.