Dermal fillers are being used more and more to help reverse the changes associated with aging. Because the goal is to return the dermis to its original youthful state, dermal fillers can give a more natural appearance than surgical face lifts. Dermal fillers are being used to reduce or eliminate wrinkles, raise scar depressions, enhance lips, and replace soft-tissue volume loss.

Types of Dermal Fillers:

Several classes of dermal fillers are marketed in the United States today. They include: collagen based fillers (i.e. Evolence, Zyplast and Cosmoderm), hyaluronic acid based fillers (i.e. Restylane and Hylaform), and calcium hydroxyl apatite fillers such as Radiesse. Moreover, promising dermal fillers are in development that will offer superior capabilities in the future.

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The ideal dermal filler should be easy to administer, provide reproducible cosmetic results, remain in the dermis for a significant period of time, and have a superior safety profile. Injection of fillers usually requires the use of either a topical numbing cream or a local injection of numbing medication. Then, using a small needle, the dermal filler is injected into each wrinkle or scar that requires treatment. Some mild burning and stinging is normal and quickly resolves.

The results can last from three months to five years, depending on the filler being used and the location of the injections (fillers reabsorb much faster in the lips).  Collagen such as Cosmoderm and Cosmoplast provides the shortest duration with effects lasting anywhere from three to six months. A newer collagen, derived not from cows but pig hide, Evolence, may last up to ten months or more. Restylane and Juvederm, which are hyaluronic acids, tends to last a bit longer with effects lasting from six months to eight months, and occasionally up to a year. Radiesse may provide results that last ten months or more.