Vobella |

You’ve heard about new facial fillers such as Juvederm Volbella® or Restylane Refyne^®. Your doctor or nurse injector has many fillers in their tool box. How do they know which ones to use? What fillers are the longest lasting and what should you know about each facial filler. When you’re planning on getting fillers for your lips, smile lines, temples or cheek area its important to be well informed.

The most common fillers are Hyaluronic acid, HA is a natural substance found in your body. These fillers are easily dissolved with Hyaluronidase if you are overfilled, have complications or don’t like the way it looks. However, it’s important your injector knows how to use this product, as too much can dissolve your natural tissue, this is not permanent.

I’ve tried all the Hyaluronic acid fillers on the market today. I’ve been injected by the most skilled plastic surgeons, dermatologists and nurse injectors. I still experience swelling, bruising and have had fillers dissolved. Recently, I tried newer fillers like Juvederm Vollure ®, Juvederm Volbella® as well as Restylane Refyne^®and Restylane Defyne^®. My body breaks down fillers rapidly, therefore some fillers have a shorter duration. Due to different technologies and your body’s chemistry some fillers may cause more swelling and bruising than other fillers. Expect swelling and bruising especially with lip and under the eye fillers.

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Deep hollows under your eyes can make you look tired and dull.

HA fillers can fill your hollows for a refreshed and more youthful look.

Filling eye hollows is a delicate business and there are risks. The biggest risk is bruising, lumps, overfilling and swelling. In some cases if not done properly it can actually make your lower eye area look worse. Today there are more hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers in the aesthetic tool box and techniques for treating this delicate area have improved.

I’ve read many posts online about patients who have had fillers and are experiencing puffiness, lumps, bruising, swelling and a baggy look after the injections. Others have good results. I’ve also experienced good and bad results. Please choose your injector wisely. This is a very difficult area to treat.

Performing “tear trough” treatments to the hollow area under the eyes requires meticulous technique. When done correctly the results are very satisfying. The most important factor is to go to an injector who is has a lot of experience in this area.

Below are some guidelines to consider before you jump into filling your eye hollows (tear trough).

Parts of this post was originally written in 20o9 when I had my tear troughs treated for the first time.

A business colleague had her tear trough area filled by a local plastic surgeon in San Francisco, CA . I was very impressed with her results and decided to fill my eye hollows, for a more youthful look. At the time there were only two HA fillers on the market Juvederm and Restylane. Although both fillers were very similar Juvederm tends to create more puffiness in the eye area than Restylane, as it absorbs more water. My surgeon choose Juvederm which surprised me because Restylane was the preferred filler for this area. However, I trusted his judgement.

Afterwards I very bruised, swollen and lumpy. I waited patiently a couple of weeks hoping it would resolve. The bruising diminished but the puffiness persisted. I looked like I had been punched in the face and knew that OI needed a correction. Fortunately HA fillers can easily be dissolved with hyaluronidase. (more…)