Beyond cheek fillers and lip fillers: Where can you inject in the face?
It used to be all about cheek fillers and lip fillers. Nowadays many people want to know if fillers can be injected in basically all parts of the face, and they spend hours searching on Google for information. Commonly, they have been standing in front of the mirror, have found a detail they want to change and wonder if a filler can be injected there. Now, filler treatments have come a long way over the last decades and experts have learnt a lot. Sometimes you’ll actually get a better result by injecting the filler in a different area of the face than you first thought. Continue reading to find out what the experts know today.
Lessons learnt about where and how to use fillers
Here’s an example: in the early days, fillers were often used to fill wrinkles, for example wrinkles around the mouth. Wrinkles around the mouth appear with age, but what also often happens with age is that people lose volume in the cheeks.
A young woman will typically have a heart shaped face, with quite a lot of volume in the cheeks. With age, some of that cheek volume is lost, and facial fat pads tend to descend towards the lower part of the face and jawline. Imagine now that you don’t compensate for the volume loss in the cheeks but add even more volume in the lower part of the face by filling wrinkles around the mouth. Will that give the best possible result?
Using cheek fillers instead
Over the years, experts have expanded their knowledge on how fillers can be used. Another way to create a younger look in the example above could be to add volume in the cheeks with cheek fillers. That may actually decrease the wrinkles around the mouth too. So, a treatment with cheek fillers could – sometimes – be a better choice for those who want a younger look AND to make wrinkles around the mouth less prominent.
A filler that may be used in this case is Restylane® LYFT™. It’s a firm filler with a high lifting capacity. Cheek fillers like Restylane® LYFT™ can also be used by younger women who want to sculpt their face and have more projection of their cheeks.1,2
Treatment options must be assessed in each individual case. That’s why you should tell your healthcare practitioner what result you desire and discuss how it can be achieved.
Can you inject a filler anywhere in the face?
Almost all fillers today are based on hyaluronic acid, a water-binding molecule that is found in many tissues in our bodies, such as in the skin and joints.
Natural hyaluronic acid is quickly broken down by the body and reformed. The hyaluronic acid used in fillers has therefore been stabilized to last longer, by cross-linking the hyaluronic acid molecules. Small amounts of a crosslinking synthetic compound are used – BDDE (1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether).
Scientists have investigated what happens when the filler, including BDDE, is broken down by the body. They have found that harmless byproducts, or byproducts that are identical to substances found in the skin, are formed.3
So, the filler itself isn’t toxic. However, that doesn’t mean you can inject it anywhere in the face. Among other things, there are nerves and arteries that must be avoided. For this reason, fillers shouldn’t be used in some areas, for example between the eyes. Also, you can get side effects from fillers. That’s why you should always discuss potential side effects with your healthcare practitioner before the treatment.
Fillers in the eye area
Over the years, experts have started using fillers in new areas. However, not everyone can have the same type of treatment.
Recently, tear trough fillers have become popular. They are used to fill the hollows below the eyes that can make us look tired or aged. Hollow eyes or sunken eyes are not just typical for older people. Young people can have these issues as well.
The eye area is a sensitive area so the healthcare practitioner must have training and experience of treating this area. Also, the treatment won’t have great results for all types of tired eyes so a careful assessment must be made in each individual case.
A filler that has been tested for tear trough treatments is Restylane® EYELIGHT™.4 Like Restylane® LYFT™, it’s a firm filler that has a high lifting capacity.2
Lip fillers that don’t look fake
Some people think that lip fillers create unnatural results and shouldn’t be used. However, they often have more extreme treatments with lip fillers in mind. Most treatments with lip fillers aren’t really noticeable for those who don’t know that a person has had treatment with lip fillers.
Healthcare practitioners have learnt over the years to avoid injecting too much when using lip fillers, since that can lead to the filler migrating into surrounding tissues. If you want a significant change to the size of your lips, you’ll be recommended to do it step by step and to have patience.
Used correctly, lip fillers can have satisfying results. The lip filler Restylane® KYSSE™ was tested in a “kissability” study some time ago. After the treatment, 96% of participants thought the lips had a natural look, 94% percent thought the lips had a smooth, sensuous feel, and 98% were satisfied with the “kissability” of their lips. A fun thing with the study was that the participants’ partners were also asked what they thought. 100% of the partners said they were equally or more attracted to their partner after the treatment.5
Fillers do’s and don’ts
If you are considering a filler treatment, learn more about fillers. Consult a qualified healthcare practitioner, listen to what he or she has to say about expected results and potential side effects. Follow all the advice that you get from the healthcare practitioner. And have patience. Some want to have a top up treatment or adjust a small detail shortly after the treatment. However, it can be better to wait a few weeks, when all possible swelling has disappeared, and you can see the final result.
Read more about fillers, how long they will last and if the treatment is painful in this article.
References
1. Restylane® LYFT™ for chin, cheeks: Data on file MA-40091
2. Restylane® LYFT™, Restylane® EYELIGHT™, firm gel, high lifting capacity: MA-33947
3. De Boulle K et al., A Review of the Metabolism of 1,4-Butanediol Diglycidyl Ether–Crosslinked Hyaluronic Acid Dermal Fillers, Dermatol Surg. 2013 Dec; 39(12): 1758–1766.
4. A.Nikolis et al. A Randomized, Crossover-Controlled Evaluator-Blinded Trial Evaluating Cannula- Vs Needle-Assisted Hyaluronic Acid Injections for Infraorbital Deformities. ASJ 7-2021
5. Nikolis A., Bertucci V., Solish N.; Post-marketing study to evaluate lip enhancement, naturalness and both partner and subject satisfaction after treatment with RK; Poster presented at IMCAS, France, Feb 2020.