Dermal Fillers in Facial Rejuvenation: Facial ageing is a complex process with simultaneous changes affecting many of the components including not only skin but the underlying bone and ligaments.
Dermal fillers replace lost volume and are particularly helpful for the replacement of volume loss, which is crucial in restoring a youthful appearance.
If you think of a face as being bone with skin/soft tissue overlaying it, an analogy could be a table and tablecloth. In youth, the tablecloth fits snugly over the table, but eventually the tablecloth enlarges, and the table becomes smaller.
This is due to parts of the skull shrinking predictably, allowing us to produce techniques that restore this facial volume loss. If done carefully and proportionally, then it can significantly improve the aesthetic appearance.
The main dermal filler used is hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring substance that provides volume and hydration of the skin, giving a healthy-looking appearance. Normally hyaluronic acid only lasts for a short time in the body, but laboratories have produced medical-grade cross-linked hyaluronic acid which can last for a much longer period. This is typically around 6-24 months dependent on the site that the filler is injected into. Into areas of the face that move more, such as the lips, the effect tends to be shorter, whereas parts with less movement such as the chin tend to be more durable. Regular maintenance treatment with layering of filler can lead to a longer duration.
We usually suggest an overall treatment plan, targeting sequential areas over months to ensure a natural-looking and radiant appearance without-looking “overdone”.
Dr. Owen Thomas has been a medical doctor for more than 20 years since qualifying from Cardiff in 1999, now specialising in aesthetics in London and Swansea. After a 2 year level-7 Master’s Degree course in injectable aesthetic treatments training at Harley Academy, and additional study with Empire Medical Training in the US and other experts renowned in their field, he won a scholarship in the prestigious Aesthetic Intelligence Fellowship run over 7 months in Kensington, London and Paris.
