If you’ve seen our article on Juvederm: 7 Reasons Why You Should, you’ll already know that there are a lot of psychological and life benefits to be gained from facial fillers. And if you haven’t read it, you should. You’ll be surprised at what the research shows. Restylane is another very popular filler. It’s not that one is better than the other. Each of us is different. What works well for one person may not work as well for another. Restylane, Juvederm and Revanesse give us a variety of filler options to work with, and we’re certain we can find the one that’s right for you. While our article on Juvederm focused on the psychological benefits of a more youthful appearance, we’re going to focus here on specific treatment areas and how Restylane and other fillers can give positive, and often dramatic, results.
Fat transplants! That’s where it started. In 1893, a German plastic surgeon, Dr. Gustav Neuber, transplanted fat from a patient’s arm to around their eyes to correct scarring from a bone infection. The resulting smoothing of the area was very quickly seen as a way to not only correct scarring but fill the lines and wrinkles that come with age. Silicone injections soon followed. It seemed like a good idea at the time. No one suspected the health problems that might result, but these soon manifested. Clearly, safer treatments were required. All of this took almost a hundred years, though.
By the 1970s, animal collagens* were being used as fillers but of course, there were some health concerns around the idea of injecting people with animal tissues. The FDA did eventually approve these treatments. The most well-known trade names were Zyderm and Zyplast. By the early 21st century, synthetic fillers were being developed. Both Restylane and Juvederm were approved by the FDA in 2006, and the latest promising newcomer, Revanesse, in 2017. We can be sure that advances will continue to be made and we can all look forward to even more effective treatments in the years ahead.
*Collagen: The most abundant protein in the body, you can think of collagen as the ‘glue’ that holds our tissues together. A loss of collagen means a loss of firmness and smoothness, and unfortunately, we lose collagen naturally as we age.
It’s important to know that Restylane (and Juvederm) are not just one filler. Each is a family of fillers formulated to be most effective for different treatment areas. Restlyane Lyft, Refyne and Defyne all have slightly different formulas. When you come to see us for a consultation, we’ll be able to recommend the best filler for you and the areas to be treated.
Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers work by restoring HA to areas that naturally lose this vital compound as we age. Because HA binds to water, it can dramatically reduce or even erase lines and wrinkles by adding volume.
When we’re young our skin contains lots of an essential molecule called hyaluronic acid. The most important function of HA is to bind with water – up to 1,000 times its own weight in water, in fact. All that water plumps and smooths our skin. We lose HA as we age. Restylane, Juvederm and Revanesse all work by replacing the lost hyaluronic acid. You can learn more about hyaluronic acid and facial fillers in general here.
These lines between our eyes not only make us look older, but they also make us look stressed or even angry. Yikes! Who wants to walk around unintentionally glaring at everyone. Some patients benefit best from Botox in this area, but if that’s not a desired option for you, Restylane can fill these lines.
Most of us really hate these horizontal lines that appear on our forehead. They start showing up in our 30s when we make facial expressions, and for most of us, by our 40s or 50s, they’re always there. While Botox can relax the muscles in the area, smoothing the lines and preventing further deepening, it can’t erase the permanent lines that appear in our later years.
Most patients rank forehead wrinkles right up there with nasolabial folds and lip wrinkles as the number one thing that makes our faces look older. Restylane treatments can restore a seamless, smooth look for your forehead, completely erasing these lines.
As we age and lose collagen, elastin, and volume, our bone structure can end up showing more clearly. This is fine if nature gave you a beautiful, straight nose, but a lot of us have a noticeable bump or hook in the bridge or our nose. If the natura profile of your nose is making you feel that you could go out on Halloween as a witch without needing any makeup, we have good news. Restylane and other fillers aren’t just for filling lines and wrinkles. We can actually add back lost volume as well.
The desire for treatment doesn’t even have to be age-related. Maybe you were born with a nose shape you just don’t like? We can help by reshaping the area to get the profile you want.
This is a big one for most of us. Arguably there is no sign of aging on our faces that makes us look older or more worn out. Most of what’s happening here is due to a loss of volume. The micro-wrinkles (and not so micro-wrinkles) that form as we lose collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid from the area reduce the smoothness, so less light is being reflected. This area is also especially susceptible to aging from sun damage. If you think about the planes of your face, you’ll realize that the area directly under our eyes is mostly tilted up. This means every time we go out in the sun, that area is getting more solar radiation than the rest of our face. And this means faster aging. It’s not your imagination. The skin under your eyes really is ‘older’ than the rest of your face.
Filling this area with Restylane or another facial filler not only smooths out the wrinkles but plumps hollow areas. The end result is much more light being reflected, and this means no more dark circles under your eyes.
Restylane, Juvederm, and Revanesse can be used almost everywhere on your face, neck and hands to erase years by filling in lines and wrinkles and adding volume. We can even contour!
Similar to what happens under our eyes, our cheeks lose volume as we age. This is partly due to a loss of hyaluronic acid, but in the case of our cheeks, more so because of a loss of fat and muscle. We can’t really exercise our face. Some areas get a daily workout from facial expressions, but our cheeks are largely inert. Except when we’re making extreme expressions, they just sit there, framing our nose. As we age, we lose muscle from all areas of our body, unless we take steps through exercise to prevent it. But even if you’re a gym rat, you can’t really stop the loss of tissue from your cheeks.
To make matters worse, when we lose muscle in the area, one of two things happens to the fat. We all have fat mixed in with our muscle tissue. So, either we lose the fat along with the muscle, which results in sunken cheeks, or we keep the fat and lose the muscle, which results in sagging cheeks. Obviously neither of these outcomes is attractive.
Fortunately, Restylane can help with both of these issues by restoring fullness. We can even contour the area and give you back your cheekbones!
Men seem especially susceptible to nasolabial folds. We can completely erase or greatly reduce these deep wrinkles, giving you a much more youthful appearance.
Sounds sexy, doesn’t it? OK. Maybe not. Nasolabial folds are the lines from the corners of our nose to the corners of our mouth. Genetics and the frequency of facial expressions, especially smiling, will determine how soon they develop and how deep the get. Cruel, really. It’s like our face is punishing us for being happy.
Any way it happened, these lines can really make us look old. Fortunately, Restylane or other fillers can completely erase these folds and take years off our appearance. This treatment is very popular with men as well, who seem even more susceptible to it than us girls.
These are the wrinkles we get radiating out from our lips and tend to be most noticeable on the upper lip. Most of us won’t get these until our 50s but depending upon genetics and whether or not you tend to purse your lips a lot, you might see them much earlier than that. Because almost everyone gets these in old age, they can really make your face seem a lot older than it is. Even when other areas of your face still look relatively young, lipstick lines can add not just years, but decades.
Perioral lines can be smoothed away with Restylane, and when used in conjunction with Botox, the progression of the frequency and depth of these lines can be dramatically slowed.
We all lose volume in our lips as we age, and some of us just have genetically thin lips. You might want Kim Kardashian’s puffy lips, or maybe you’d just like to have a ‘normal’ volume. With Restylane, we can add volume and shape to your lips. You can get your youthful lips back, or get the lips you’ve always wanted that nature refused to give you.
The reflection of the nasolabial folds mentioned above, marionette lines run from the corners of our mouth to our chin. Just as with lipstick lines, these lines appear in most of us as we reach old age. Early appearance, then, can make us look much older than we are. Filling these lines can have dramatic results.
Bet you weren’t expecting that one! While we cover our body from the damaging effects of the sun and usually remember to put sunscreen on our face, we often forget about our hands. Unless you’re living in the 1950s and wearing gloves everywhere you go, your hands have been constantly exposed to the damaging effects of the sun. This shows up as a fine network of micro-wrinkles. Most of us don’t want ‘granny hands’ at all, let alone in our 40s! While you might not have considered it, Restylane can very effectively fill and plump our hands, removing many years of aging overnight. Got age spots too? We can help with that as well.
Just as with our hands, we often don’t think much about our neck, but deepening wrinkles and sags in our neck are a very recognizable sign of aging. While we can’t work miracles, in most cases we can greatly reduce the appearance of these, adding volume and smoothness that will restore years to your appearance.
While it’s not our official slogan, you’ll see this phrase a lot on our site. We believe that everyone should have the option to look as young as they feel. There is nothing that makes us look older than unwanted lines and wrinkles on our face, neck, and hands. With the Restylane family of facial fillers (as well as Juvederm and Revanesse) we have a wide range of treatment options that can remove or greatly reduce these signs of aging. Come see us for a free consultation.
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