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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – From the time you were born your face was full with volume in the cheeks and under the eyes. As you got a bit older the squeezable cheeks thinned out a bit, but still had a youthful quality about them. The skin was smooth and you looked well rested even in your teens and twenties after all-nighters. The thirties, forties, and fifties are less kind to face. Fine lines and creases form. The skin becomes duller and the jawline can lose definition. The areas of the face that once had the perfect amount of volume are now flat. You look tired and drawn, even on your best day.
Facial tissue sags for many reasons, including a loss of collagen and elastin. These two substances give your skin its structure and allow it to be stretched and still bounce back. Another reason for droopiness, which is often overlooked, is volume loss. Although there seems to be more of everything where you don’t want it – skin, fat, tissue – there is less of these things where you do want them, such as in the cheeks as you get older. Rather than undergoing a facelift to trim away the excess skin and migrated fat, there may be a more practical solution. Rejuvenate the face and receive a naturally subtle lift by adding back the volume with facial fillers or lipotransfer.
Learn Your Fillers
Patients seeking dermal filler injections or fat transfer in Columbus have many options. Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse, Sculptra, Belotero, Perlane, and Artefill are the main names you will hear in the filler market. Each offers its own benefits and is used by facial plastic surgeons to artfully sculpt the face as desired.
Most injectable treatments can be performed in less than 30 minutes. Of course, the time it takes does depend on the extent of volume loss and wrinkling in the area you would like corrected. Patients who choose dermal fillers can benefit from not having to take any time out for recovery. In fact, many patients return to work right after their appointment.
Juvederm – Juvederm is a gel filler composed of hyaluronic acid. It is injected just beneath the skin to smooth wrinkles and folds in the face, such as nasolabial folds and marionette lines, and to contour the jaw. It may also be used in lip augmentation and to reshape the cheeks. Most patients see results that last for 6 to 8 months.
Restylane – Another hyaluronic acid filler is Restylane. Restylane hydrates the skin while smoothing and plumping the lips, nasolabial folds, and other facial lines and wrinkles. The full results are seen after one week and will be visible for 6 to 9 months on average.
Radiesse – Composed of calcium hydroxylapatite suspended in gel, Radiesse is well suited for deep lines, such as marionette lines, and to contour the cheeks and jawline. It may also be used in the nasolabial folds and in depressed scars. The filler offers a volume increase that can be seen within one week, which is then followed by tissue regeneration. The combination promotes positive results for 1 to 2 years.
Sculptra – One of the longer lasting dermal fillers is Sculptra. It works by stimulating the body’s natural production of collagen. It is comprised of Poly-L-lactic acid and is ideal for the hollows under the eyes, flattened cheeks, chin depressions, and skin folds.
Belotero – Belotero is a hyaluronic acid based gel filler that offers smoother integration when used in fine lines, like crow’s feet, and thin skin. It is also used in nasolabial folds, frown lines, marionette lines, the décolletage, and the lips. Results typically last 6 to 9 months.
Perlane – Perlane is a gel hyaluronic acid facial filler with large particles that can be injected into the deeper layers of the skin. It is best for pronounced creases and wrinkles, facial depressions, and scars. Typically it lasts for 6 to 8 months.
Artefill – Artefill is made of PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) microspheres suspended in collagen gel. It is used on medium to deep wrinkles, folds, and furrows, as well as to augment the lips and raise scars. It is considered semi-permanent because it has been show to be effective for five year or longer. The microspheres are not absorbed by the body.
Juvederm cost, Artefill cost and the cost of other various fillers can vary greatly. Hyaluronic acid filler treatments cost an average of $538, according to American Society of Plastic Surgeons statistics. Poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra) is about $908. Calcium hydroxylapatite fillers (Radiesse) average around $631 for treatment, and Polymethylmethacrylate microspheres, like Artefill, cost the most at approximately $1,065 per session.
Lipotransfer
A longer lasting alternative to facial fillers is another kind of injectable – your own fat. Lipotransfer is an increasingly popular way to restore volume. You may have heard it called by a number of other names, such as fat transfer or fat grafting. No matter what the name, the effect is the same.
Fat transfer to the face involves first harvesting fat cells from other areas of the body. The hips, abdomen, and thighs are often great donor sites because the fat there is often more robust and resistant to diet and exercise. After being extracted through liposuction, the fat is then processed and injected into the face. The procedure only takes about 1 hour from start to finish and can be performed using local anesthesia and sedation.
You may be able to undergo lipotransfer if you have donor fat to spare and are in good health. Fat grafting to the face requires a few days of recovery, which does not compare to other dermal filler’s no-downtime reputation, but the results last for much longer than most fillers offer. In many cases the outcome, or at least a portion of the new volume, many be considered permanent.
You Consultation for Volumization
Women and men looking for fat graft or facial fillers in Columbus, Ohio, may contact Dr. Stephen Smith. Dr. Smith offers a wider variety of both surgical and non-surgical procedures that patients can choose from to improve their appearance. A consultation with the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship-trained surgeon will determine which techniques will best help you to achieve your aesthetic goals. Learn more about your options for facial rejuvenation at www.smithfacialplastics.com or by calling one his Gahanna (614-702-7342) or Columbus (614-678-7180) office.
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