Why Do Fillers Look Different Over Time?

Your face has four major structural components: skin, muscle, bone, and fat. As you age, all of these structures start to lose their integrity, resulting in visible signs of aging such as sunken cheekbones, wrinkles, and skin that’s thin and saggy. 

While some may choose to embrace these changes in appearance, others choose to minimize signs of growing older with cosmetic procedures. And over 1 million people each year seek to achieve a younger and more voluminous complexion with injections of dermal fillers, or simply fillers. 

Because fillers are a foreign substance being injected into your body, there’s always a risk of unwanted side effects or unnatural results. Plus, fillers aren’t a permanent or even long-term solution, so how they look initially won’t last. 

At Thomas Dermatology, located in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada, and Lake Havasu City, Kingman, and Bullhead City, Arizona, our team of dermatologists offers fillers to rejuvenate your appearance and help you achieve your cosmetic goals. 

In this month’s blog, we discuss how to get the best results from your fillers, including how to make them look natural and last as long as possible. 

Understanding fillers

Fillers are cosmetic injections that consist of substances that add volume and fullness to areas that have lost (or never had) those factors. Some contain gel-like substances to imitate your skin’s structures, while others encourage your body to make more collagen to restore original youthful structures.

At Thomas Dermatology, we offer fillers with different ingredients to address varying concerns, including hyaluronic acid (Juvéderm®, Restylane®), calcium hydroxylapatite (Radiesse®), and poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra®).

Popular concerns addressed with fillers include:

• Wrinkles such as smile lines, lip lines, and forehead lines
• Sunken cheekbones
• Loss of jawbone definition
• Hollow eyes or deep under-eye circles

Fillers can also soften your appearance and add volume to areas like your cheeks, lips, and hands.

What to expect from your filler results

A huge perk of fillers is you get to see your results instantly. While you may have some minor swelling for a couple of days after getting the injections, you don’t have to wait several weeks for the results to develop. 

However, it’s important to know that fillers don’t last forever or slow down your body’s aging process. Over time, your body metabolizes the substances that are injected. And as your body absorbs the fillers, you’ll slowly see your results fade. 

There certainly isn’t a limit to how many times you can get fillers, so as soon as your body fully metabolizes your fillers, you can get repeat injections. 

How to care for your fillers

To get the best-looking and most long-lasting results from your fillers, we recommend following these guidelines: 

Always get them from a licensed professional

It can be tempting to go the cheap route and get fillers from an unlicensed professional or even buy them online and do them yourself. However, that’s also the quickest route to disaster. Not only might you experience some seriously unnatural results, but it can also pose some serious risks to your health. 

Our Thomas Dermatology team has the training and experience needed to precisely and expertly place the right amount of filler in the proper place for beautiful and natural results. 

Never skip aftercare instructions

Your fillers will look unnatural quickly if you don’t carefully follow aftercare guidelines, especially within the first 48 hours. Doing so also mitigates your risk of adverse side effects such as excessive bruising and swelling. Do your best to avoid rubbing or massaging the treatment area for a few days, and avoid vigorous exercise and undue sun exposure. 

Follow a healthy lifestyle

Your skin (and fillers) will thank you if you continue to prioritize caring for your skin by keeping it moisturized and protected from the sun. In addition, caring for your physical health through a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and good sleep will ensure your fillers stay in tip-top shape.

To learn more about how to make fillers look natural and last longer, or to schedule your next injection session, call your nearest office location, or use our online booking feature today.