Dermal fillers
Enhance your facial features, restore your youth
Similar to treatments with muscle relaxants (Botulinum Toxin), the use of dermal fillers in the face or other body parts has become an integral part of my daily practice. Most people think that a dermal filler can only be used in the face, such as the lips or cheekbones. However, other areas of the body, such as the hands and neck, can also benefit from this type of treatment. Whether it is to accentuate specific features, to treat the volume loss due to ageing, or to get healthier and better hydrated skin, a treatment with a filler can give you both instant results and improved skin quality over time, all with minimal downtime. You often see the effects directly after the treatment and can enjoy it for several months to sometimes a year or more.
The essentials
Dermal fillers are used to enhance specific facial features, treat volume loss due to ageing or improve skin quality and tone.
The most used products are Hyaluronic Acid (HA), Calciumhydroxy-apatite (CaOH), and Skin Boosters.
Popular treatment zones for volume enhancement in the face are the lips, cheekbones, mandibular angle, jawline, and chin.
Areas that are prone to volume loss and can profit from dermal fillers are the cheekbones, under-eye groove, temples, and nasolabial folds.
Skin rejuvenation by dermal fillers works very well for the skin around the mouth, the cheek, the neck, the cleavage, the hands, and arms.
Every region requires a specific product and injection technique to ensure an optimal effect.
Depending on the used product, the area treated, and your own anatomy, the effects from a filler treatment may last between 6 and 18 months.
Knowledge of the human anatomy is necessary to avoid serious complications. Don’t visit an injector without the proper education and training.
What are dermal fillers ?
Depending on the use case and the goal of the treatment, a filler product can contain one of the following main active substances:
Hyaluronic Acid (HA): most filler treatments use the power of HA combined with specific proteins to generate both a volumising and hydrating effect of a specific area.
Typical aesthetic goals of a treatment with an HA-filler are:Fuller lips
Accentuated cheekbones
Improved chin projection
More defined jawline
Improved nose aesthetics
Shallower nasolabial folds
Less visible wrinkles
Improved skin hydration and elasticity (skin booster)
Calciumhydroxy-apatite (CaHO): this is a very special filler product with specific properties that both has a filling capacity as well skin rejuvenating effects. I mostly use it for:
Improved jawline definition
Skin rejuvenation and hydration of the neck and cleavage
Skin rejuvenation and hydration of the back of the hands
Improved tone and skin rejuvenation of the cheeks
Hairfiller: a hairfiller is an amazing product for patients who suffer from hairloss or would like to boost their hair growth. It can be indicated for every patient who wants to obtain a fuller set of hair, also if you already had previous hair transplanation surgery. The hair filler gets injected into the skin and has several beneficial effects on hair growth:
Activation of hair cells
Blocking of molecules that cause hair loss
Anti-oxidant effect to block free radicals that cause hair loss
Stimulate the blood flow to the scalp and hair follicles
Depending on your wishes and expectations, one or a combination of certain products can be used. A pure filling product, gives you an immediate effect. If we aim for skin hydration and rejuvenation, a few weeks are needed to benefit from the treatment. Depending on the used product and the treated area, the effects may last anywhere between 6 and 18 months.
A treatment with a filler is very patient specific and needs to be performed by someone with a thorough knowledge of the human anatomy. Otherwise, mistakes and complications may happen. Furthermore, every patient has a different anatomy, skin texture, skin quality, and expectations. The technique, type of product and needed volume to reach an optimal effect can therefor differ between you and your friend. It is clear that, to get the best results, I apply a very patient-tailored approach for this type of treatment as everybody has a different anatomy and different expectations as well. During the consultation, I will explain to you the procedure in more detail, as well as which effect to expect. The procedure can be performed during the consultation with minimal downtime afterwards.
Several areas of the face can benefit from a dermal filler treatment. Choosing the right product and using the most precise technique will give you the best results.
Each filler products differs in strength, tightness, plasticity, and cohesivity. Choosing the right product is very important to ensure an optimal result.
A dermal filler treatment may result in a volumizing and skin rejuvenating effect, through stimulation of the collagen and elastin production.
CaHO gives an immediate and lifting effect to soften your wrinkles, firm sagging skin, restore volume to your cheeks and improve your facial contours.
Over the weeks following the treatment, microspheres stimulate the skin to produce new collagen for a softer and natural look.
A hairfiller stimulates new hair growth by improving the blood flow, activating hair cells, and blocking molecules and free radicals that cause hair loss.
How often are dermal filler treatments needed ?
The beauty about filler treatments, is that it can be used for any adult person at any given age. There is absolutely no age requirement or ideal age to use specific filler products. Whether you are coming in for the accentuation of specific facial features, to rejuvenate your face or make your skin look fresh and healthier, there is always a treatment that we can offer to answer to your wishes. It is clear that expectations need to be realistic and that certain treatments will give slightly different results between different people and also between different ages. Furthermore, if your expectations are unrealistic or in case that a filler treatment may not give you the result you would hope for, I will clearly explain why another treatment may be more suitable for your needs.
My goal is not to sell you any product or give you the feeling that you need to use specific fillers. My ultimate goal is that you walk out of my consultation with the feeling that I understood your needs and wishes and that you feel a happier and fresher than when you came into the consultation.
When should you start with dermal fillers ?
There are no strict guidelines or "rules" that need to be followed when it comes to how often a filler treatment is needed.
You may be happy with the resulting effect for 6 months, a year, or sometimes longer. The most important factors that influence the duration of the effect after a filler treatment are:
The type of product that is used
The volume of a product that is used
The area that is treated
The initial condition of your skin and/or specific anatomic feature
In most cases, the average frequency to repeat a filler treatment is once per year. However, in very mobile zones (for example the lips), a filler product may lose its effect more quickly and a treatment may be helpful after 6 to 9 months already. Regarding skin rejuvenation and skin hydration, you may profit from the effects for 12 to 18 months on average. A hairfiller treatment is typically organised in 4 sessions every 2 weeks, followed by 1 maintenance session every 4 months.
If you feel ready to have your first (or follow-up) filler treatment, I recommend you to plan a consultation in order to see how we can improve any of the concerns above and bring a positive impact to your life.