Botox and Facial Fillers – The Fountain of Youth (Without The Knife)

What Is Botox?

Botox is an injectable used to lessen the movement of specific muscle of the face in an effort to target wrinkles created by the contraction of facial muscle groups. The areas that are treated most often include the forehead, the area between the eyebrows, and the crows feet (on the side of the eyes). The goal is to soften these tell-tale stigmata of aging without leaving the face looking flat and emotionless. This can be a difficult needle to thread. If done correctly, however, Botox can make the face look younger, raise the eyebrows, and make the eyes look more open.

Botox is injected using a very fine needle into the affected areas. Most patients experience little discomfort and by the time they return home or to the office any redness or swelling has disappeared. The affect begins to be noticed over the next week and lasts for about 3-6 months until the effect, again, slowly fades out.

Read: “Botox Basics”

What Are Fillers?

In contrast, fillers are another type of injectable used to replace or add volume to the face in an effort to make the face look fuller and, thus, younger. It is also used to camouflage wrinkles or depressions.

The most often treated areas are the nasolabial folds (between the nose and the corners of the mouth), the marionette lines (between the corner of the mouth and the chin), the cheeks, and the area around the eyes.

Hyaluronic Acid (HA) filler is a gel that is injected under the skin. The filler adds volume to the face directly and by recruiting water to the tissues.

Hyalaronic Acid comes in different formulations. Thinner fillers are used more superficially (closer to the surface of the skin) to fill fine lines and restore volume of tissue with thin skin. Thicker fillers are used to in the deep tissues (often close to the bone) to restore volume to the face and to provide a structural base on which thinner fillers can be layered. Depending on the formulation and location of treatment HA may last 6 months to 2 years.

There is some discomfort from the injection that is lessened with topical pain relievers, numbing injections, or by mixing the filler with a numbing medication. Swelling and bruising are common, however, Dr. Tauber lessens the occurrence of bruising with the use of his blunt cannula technique.

Both Botox and fillers such as Juvederm are low risk, high impact products that allow for non-surgical rejuvenation of the face. These products can be used alone or concert with more invasive surgical facial rejuvenation such as a facelift or blepharoplasty. Dr. David Tauber and DeLuca Plastic Surgery tailor all of these services to each individual patient.

Read: “Face and Neck Lift”