Many people ask me “What is a filler?” A dermal filler or facial filler is a gel that is placed in specific places, usually but not always, in the face in order to correct asymmetry, restore or enhance volume.
The ones I use are all made of hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a substance your body makes naturally. I like to think of it as a sort of glue that holds your skin cells together. It naturally exists in almost every tissue in your body where it promotes hydration, lubrication and tissue repair.
What is most important to me is safety and function. I know that it’s safe for two reasons: 1-because your body makes it, it will not promote a reaction in most people, and you do not have to have a skin test to check for allergic reactions. 2- because your body also makes an enzyme to break it down. That enzyme does two things for me in terms of aesthetics. First, it allows your body to slowly break down injected filler over 9 to 18 months. That means the filler will go away naturally over time. The second and more important reason is that I can stock that enzyme in my office in the rare case of an undesired result or complication we can remove the filler material.
In terms of function, we live in an amazing time for filler technology. We have an entire tool kit, if you will, full of different HA fillers. Some are best for deep structural support and volume enhancement, while others are really good for fine lines close to the surface of the skin. Regardless of what the problem is, we have come a long way towards a noninvasive solution.