At Spa Black in San Antonio, TX, we know that everyone loves options, which is why we offer several different brands of dermal fillers. Everyone’s face ages differently, so it’s important to have a selection of fillers that can meet each patient’s aesthetic goals. Whether you want to address your face, lips, or eye area, we have a filler that can help meet all of your aesthetic needs.
What Are Dermal Fillers?
Dermal fillers are cosmetic injectables designed to restore volume to the face to combat the signs of aging and enhance the features to help create the most aesthetic-looking appearance. Dermal fillers can help restore volume to the face, enhance the lips, and address volume loss and hollow areas beneath the eyes.
There are two types of dermal fillers: those that contain a synthetic form of hyaluronic acid to plump the skin and those that contain a collagen-stimulating ingredient that helps your body create more natural collagen in the treatment area. Both provide a solution to aging but address the signs of aging in different ways. Some patients are better suited for HA fillers; others find their needs met with a collagen-stimulating filler. It all depends on the patient’s ultimate goals.
Hyaluronic Acid Fillers
Hyaluronic acid fillers are made with a synthetic form of hyaluronic acid. Your body produces hyaluronic acid to help keep your skin youthful and hydrated, but as your age, your body makes less hyaluronic acid, and your skin suffers. With the loss of volume in the face comes sagging or drooping skin and facial folds, and wrinkles.
Hollow areas also form, but there is a solution, and that’s where hyaluronic acid fillers come in. These fillers inject a gel substance made of a synthetic form of hyaluronic acid that matches what the body creates naturally to help combat aging and deliver natural, long-lasting results. Many contain lidocaine, which helps create a painless injection experience.
Collagen Stimulating Fillers
Collagen-stimulating fillers contain a primary ingredient that stimulates collagen production below the skin. While it does deliver that immediate plumping effect, it also works not only to improve your problem areas in the short term but also in the long term.
Within a few months, your body will begin to make more collagen, so even as the filler wears off and your body metabolizes the main ingredient, you’ll still have some amazing results. These fillers are known for their longevity since they increase collagen production and can deliver results for up to five years.
The Different Fillers
Fillers for the Face
Dermal fillers designed to treat the face can significantly improve facial folds, lines and wrinkles, hollow areas, and sagging cheeks that all result from volume loss as you age. These fillers can contour, lift, and define your face to restore youth and create the best facial proportions.
At San Antonio, we offer both hyaluronic acid-based fillers for the face and collagen-stimulating fillers. Each of these can help restore your youth in different ways and make you feel more like your younger self again. We offer:
- Bellafill
- Radiesse
- Voluma
- Versa
Fillers for the Eye Area
As you age, your eye area can begin to suffer as changes in your facial fat distribution occur and hollow areas form below your eyes. Fillers can improve your appearance by adding volume to the eyes to give you that fresh-faced look, so you won’t always have to rely on concealer to look or feel your best. These fillers can help you look more awake and alive, more like your younger self, and sometimes even better.
At San Antonio, we offer two different hyaluronic acid-based fillers that can help target and treat concerns around the under-eye area: Belotero Balance and Volbella. When you come in for your initial consultation, one of our experts can help determine which of these fillers can best target and treat your under-eye area concerns so that you can live concealer-free if you want to.
Fillers for the Lips
Lip fillers have grown in popularity because everyone wants bigger lips. Whether your lips have thinned as a result of the aging process and collagen loss or your genetics have naturally predetermined your smaller lips, there are dermal fillers that can help restore or add volume to your lips to help you create the best facial proportions. These fillers can also help correct imperfections in the lips, including symmetry and volume issues, or redefine your lip border.
They can also help smooth wrinkles that form around the mouth, known as perioral lines. Perioral lines are difficult to treat with products, but fillers help restore volume below the skin’s surface to smooth those lines restore youth to the area around the mouth. At San Antonio, we offer two different fillers from the Juvederm brand that can help augment and perfect the appearance of the lips: Volbella and Juvederm Ultra XC.
What Can I Expect From the Treatment Process?
An initial consultation is a critical step in this process because it helps us confirm that you are a good filler candidate and helps us choose which one is right for you. Once we determine that you are a good candidate for one of these fillers, we can schedule your injection appointment.
These appointments are virtually painless and only take 10 to 20 minutes to complete. You can treat one or more areas during your appointment and still be back to work without exceeding your lunch hour.
The Injection Process
An injector will prepare your skin for treatment and then make a series of injections in your planned treatment area. These injections are quick and virtually painless as many of these products contain lidocaine.
This mild numbing medication can soothe the area and ensure your comfort during and after the injection process. The needle used to administer the treatment is very thin, making the whole process completely comfortable.
The Aftercare
You can get right back to your daily activities after your appointment, but you want to be mindful of the following directives to ensure that you get the best results. You should:
- Avoid environments that caused an increase in your body temperature
- Avoid hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga, and even laying out in the sun
- Avoid touching or putting pressure on the treatment site after your appointment
- Avoid excess sun exposure and use an SPF when exposed to the sun
- Avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours
Your Results: What to Expect
One of the reasons that patients love dermal fillers so much is because the results are immediate. As soon as you’re injected, you’ll get an immediate plumping effect, and your results will keep getting better for the next week as the filler settles within your skin.
How Long Do They Last?
Different fillers last for different amounts of time. Some last for six months at a time, others last one to two years. Some of the collagen-stimulating fillers can last up to five years. It depends on the products, the injection sites, the formulation, and the brand.
When you come in for your initial consultation, we will review the different fillers with you and discuss the longevity of each. Then, we’ll help you choose which one will help you meet your goals. Whichever filler you choose, you can expect long-lasting results.
Your Follow Up Treatments
Eventually, your body will metabolize your dermal filler, and your face will resume its pre-injection appearance. If you choose a collagen-stimulating filler, you’ll have the benefits of increased collagen, but since the aging process cannot be stopped, you will need to schedule a follow-up treatment to help maintain the best results.
Since all of these fillers deliver such long-lasting results, you can expect to schedule follow-up treatments once a year or longer. We can provide you with a better idea of how to best schedule your treatments when you come in for your appointment.
Restore Youthful Volume and Enhance Your Features
Fillers provide patients with a way to temporarily reverse the aging process. If you want to restore volume to your face or enhance different facial features, there is a filler that can meet your aesthetic needs. Contact us today at San Antonio in San Antonio, TX, to schedule your initial consultation so we can choose the right filler for your needs.