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Dermal Fillers FAQ Answered
Which Dermal Filler Will Help Me Augment My Lips?
There are a couple of dermal fillers designed to augment the lips. However, the best dermal filler to augment the lips is Juvederm Volbella XC. This hyaluronic acid-based injectable is designed to add a significant amount of volume to the lips and correct perioral lines around the mouth.
Which Dermal Filler Will Help Me Smooth the Lines Around My Nose?
The perfect dermal filler to help you smooth nasolabial folds and other deep lines around your nose, eyes, and mouth is Juvederm XC. This durable dermal filler typically lasts two years. However, the results of treatment can last up to three years if you take excellent care of your skin.
Which Dermal Filler Will Help Me Augment and Re-Contour My Cheeks?
If you want to augment your cheeks and lift and tighten sagging cheek skin, Juvederm Vollure XC is the ideal dermal filler for you. This versatile filler can be used as a natural alternative to cheek augmentation or fill in and smooth the deepest wrinkles and folds. If you have a problem with volume loss, there’s an excellent chance that this filler can address the problem.
What if I Have Several Concerns to Address?
If you have several cosmetic volume loss-related concerns to address, you can mix and match fillers to address every concern you have. For example, if you want to non-invasively augment both your cheeks and lips, the right fillers for you are Juvederm Vollure XC and Juvederm Voluma XC.
Am I a Good Candidate for Dermal Fillers?
The only way to know definitively if you’re a good candidate for dermal fillers is to come in for an initial consultation with Dr. James B. DeStephens. Generally, you’re a good candidate if you’re trying to correct moderate-to-severe lines, wrinkles and folds caused by volume loss or augment part of your face, you’ll be a good candidate.
Can I Be Too Young for Injectables?
According to extensive research conducted by third parties in clinical trials and reviewed by the FDA, Juvederm is safe and effective for individuals who are at least 21 years of age. If you’re concerned about a lack of volume in your face and are at least 21, you’re not too young for injectables.
Can I Be Too Old for Injectables?
Most people receive injectables between the ages of 21 and 64 because the results of treatment last longer the healthier your skin is. However, you can still receive treatment when you are 65 and older. You’ll just have to pay special attention to your lifestyle choices to ensure the longest-lasting results.
How Long Do the Results of Treatment Last?
The results of treatment usually last between 18 and 24 months depending on the health of your skin, your overall health, your lifestyle choices, and the particular filler that you choose. For example, Juvederm XC is the original formulation and usually lasts between 12 and 18 months. Contrastingly, Juvederm Volbella XC is a newer formulation and usually lasts between 18 and 24 months.
How Does Treatment Work?
Fillers work because they encourage your skin to produce more collagen, smoothing wrinkles and folds, serving as the primary support structure of your skin and helping you achieve youthful contours you haven’t had in years.
The hyaluronic acid instantly lifts, tightens, and volumizes your skin, acting temporarily like collagen. However, this is fairly temporary. Over the course of four to six weeks, your body breaks down the hyaluronic acid (HA). However, collagen growth is occurring during this time. By the time the HA is broken down, collagen plays a supporting role for your skin and keeps you looking young.
How Can My Lifestyle Choices Extend the Durability of My Treatment Results?
There are several lifestyle choices you can make to extend the durability of your treatment results. At the end of the day, it all comes down to keeping your collagen as strong and healthy as possible. Things you should minimize to protect your collagen include UV ray damage, nicotine consumption, alcohol consumption, and stress.
What Kind of Sun Protection Do I Need?
To protect your skin from the sun adequately, opt for a broad-spectrum sunscreen. Only broad-spectrum sunscreens will protect your collagen and skin from the sun’s damaging UVC rays. The sun protection factor you should look for depends on how much melanin is in your skin. If you have a lot of melanin in your skin, you will only need an SPF of 35.
Less melanin necessitates a sun protection factor of at least 55. Reapply the sunscreen every four hours or as directed by the bottle. If possible, purchase a waterproof sunscreen so you don’t have to worry about reapplying it if you sweat or get caught in the rain. To further minimize your risk of UV damage, avoid tanning beds, and minimize your time outdoors between 10 AM and 4 PM.
How Does Nicotine Consumption Damage Collagen?
There are several ways in which consuming nicotine damages collagen. Collagen is a protein shaped like a soccer net, and your skin remains taut and youthful as long as the structure of the collagen remains tight and strong. Nicotine is like a ball that gets caught in the soccer net of collagen and weakens it significantly. Nicotine also constricts your blood vessels, preventing nutrient flow.
It’s important to note that quitting smoking isn’t enough to keep you looking young for as long as possible. You can vape nicotine, chew tobacco, or use smoking cessation tools, like nicotine gum or nicotine patches, temporarily. However, these still have nicotine, and you need to quit all that as soon as possible if you want the longest-lasting results.
How Does Alcohol Consumption Prematurely Age My Skin?
Alcohol consumption prematurely ages your skin in several ways. First, it flushes out essential nutrients, like vitamins C, E, and K, that keep your skin looking healthy and young. Second, it flushes out enough water from your body to cause significant dehydration. Adequate hydration is crucial for keeping your skin looking young and healthy. Third, it causes severe oxidative stress.
If you can’t stop drinking completely, make sure you take steps to minimize the effects of alcohol on your skin. For example, you should drink an extra four ounces of water before and after drinking a unit of alcohol. You should also follow the CDC and AHA guidelines of women only drinking one unit of alcohol daily and men drinking no more than two units of alcohol daily.
What Can I Do to Minimize Emotional Stress and Protect My Skin Health?
The ideal methods for minimizing your emotional stress will depend on your personal preferences. Many people like to use the military breathing technique to ground them. Military breathing involves inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds, and exhaling for eight seconds. In the 19 seconds it takes to focus on your breathing, you should feel more grounded.
Meditation is another great way to minimize emotional stress. It’s ideal to have a room in your home dedicated to meditation. However, stress often occurs outside the home. You can meditate anywhere using any number of methods. If you’re just starting out, consider using guided meditation to help you. Once you feel more comfortable, you can use music or intentional breathing to help you.
What Should I Expect During Treatment?
Each treatment session only takes around 15 minutes. First, the targeted areas are cleansed with an alcohol-based antiseptic. Then, the injection points are marked and the medication is administered to the appropriate depths depending on the structure of your face and the goals you’re trying to achieve.
Will Treatment Hurt?
Treatment is neither painful nor uncomfortable. The filers we offer include a small amount of lidocaine in each dose. Lidocaine is an injectable local anesthetic that numbs the treatment area to prevent pain both during and after injection.
If you’re allergic to lidocaine, let Dr. James B DeStephens know during your initial consultation. He can accommodate your allergy by providing a dose without the anesthetic. The needle used to inject the medication is so fine that you won’t feel any pain. If you’re concerned about discomfort, he can numb the treatment area with ice or a topical anesthetic beforehand.
What Should I Expect After Treatment?
Immediately after treatment, you will notice that your skin feels tighter and smoother. Again, you won’t feel any pain or discomfort. While the HA will be processed by your body over the course of four to six weeks, your skin is producing collagen faster than it is breaking down the medicine.
Therefore, you can expect your results to improve continuously during this time. Once your skin is done producing collagen, you can expect to enjoy the final results of treatment for one to three years.
What Should I Do After Treatment?
After treatment, you should do everything you can to protect your existing collagen and support your skin’s ability to produce new collagen. To do this, minimize sun exposure, avoid tanning beds, don’t smoke or consume other tobacco products, don’t drink alcohol, and minimize stress as much as possible.
You should also focus on your hydration by drinking at least half a gallon of water daily. If your urine is still dark or cloudy after drinking half a gallon of water, add more sources of hydration to your diet, like fruits, vegetables, and soups.
Which Healthy Foods Should I Incorporate Into My Diet Moving Forward?
After treatment, you should focus on eating foods that are high in collagen. If you have no dietary restrictions, look at eating sources of protein from meats, fish, and poultry. Other good sources of collagen include some nuts and eggs.
While eating protein-dense foods is important, it’s also important that you minimize your consumption of unhealthy foods. Processed foods, like protein bars and protein shakes, are high in sugar and other quick carbs that get caught up in your collagen just like nicotine. It may take a little getting used to, but do your best to prepare and cook foods from the outside of the grocery store.
Learn More About the Best Injectables for You Today
If you’re looking to lift and tighten sagging skin, smooth lines, wrinkles, and folds or augment and re-contour parts of your face, there are dermal fillers for you. To learn more about which injectables are right for you, please contact us today at the office of James B DeStephens in Gainesville, FL to book an appointment.
