Facial fillers and Botox have become hot topics in the latest battle against facial wrinkles and facial volume loss. As people are tightenting their belts, they are also looking for the simplest, most inexpensive and short downtime method to look their best.

At the present time there are many products on the market, as well as many techniques being utilized to improve facial form in men, as well as in women. Although most people view facial fillers and Botox as tools to rejuvenate the aging face, these tools are frequently used on a younger population to balance facial form and to improve proportion and not only to provide a youthful boost to the aging face.

Facial fillers come in two major flavors:

1. The first are fillers which are biological in nature and are supplied by the animal industry (bovine collagen)

2. The second are those that are purely manufactured in a laboratory (hyaluronic acid, lactic acid)

At the present time the most popular facial fillers are Hyaluronic Acid (HA fillers), which are primarily utilized to fill fine and mild wrinkles around the mouth, the eyes and the forehead. This general class of fillers (Juvaderm, Radiesse, Perlane) are designed as a more superficial skin wrinkle filler and if utilized in sufficient quantities can produce a mild volumizing effect in the areas in which they are injected. There are other fillers (Radiesse, Sculptra) which are primarily used to volumize the face by injecting in the deep layer under the skin and producing a more sculpting effect to the facial form. This last group are not primarily used for fine lines or more superficial injection of the skin but to add volume to the aging face or to balance a disproportional face.

In many cases the best overall filler for permanent enhancement is the patient’s own fat. In the best candidates this will produce the most natural premanent improvement in facial form. This is a fantastic way of re-distributing fatty deposits from the lower extremity where they are usually not wanted and placing them in the face giving a beautiful improvement to the facial form and improving facial volume. When done properly, the fat is a permanent change as opposed the other fillers which have a shorter period in the facial skin until they disappear.

Botox, as well as Dysport are not fillers but are products which are injected into local nerve endings and muscles and provide softening of wrinkles by stopping motion and animation and thus smoothing the area that the muscles would normally crease and fold. These products, Botox/Dysport, have been utilized for many years for treating other muscle spasm disorder and are quite safe when used in the proper dosage.

So how do you decide what you need to improve your facial form? Don’t trust your face to just anyone. The best answer is to see a qualified aesthetic surgeon, preferably a plastic surgeon certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery who has had years of experience dealing with the three dimensions of the face and has an intimate knowledge of the anatomy and the aesthetics of facial form.

Andrew M. Wolin M.D.
Director: Aesthetic Enhancement Plastic Surgery Center
3301 N Miller Rd
Suite 140
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480.945.8440
www.awolin.com
www.smartlipocenterofscottsdale.com