The medical stuff

Dermal fillers are products injected under the skin to improve the aesthetic appearance by increasing volume.

Most dermal fillers are made from Hyaluronic acid. This is because they have the best safety profile.

The skin naturally contains hyaluronic acid.

In the body our skin continuously makes and breaks down hyaluronic acid. It has a very short half life of about 24 to 36 hours, this is the time taken for half of it to be broken down. As we get older production slows, but the breakdown remains the the same, therefore over time we lose the total amount of hyaluronic acid.

The hyaluronic acid used in dermal fillers is bound to another molecule that slows the breakdown, meaning that dermal fillers can last anywhere between 6 to 18 months depending on the brand.

Hyaluronic acid fillers are great because they hold lots of water, they integrate into the skin’s natural collagen and elastin molecules and they themselves have a great amount of elasticity. All of these features make it an excellent product for its intended purpose. Different brands vary slightly in their properties, making them more or less suitable for different treatment areas.

One of the best ways I’ve heard the composition of different fillers explained is by a trainer at Skinviva. This was her description of how two different hyaluronic acid fillers by the same brand compared. One was like a jar of rice, the molecules are smaller and packed more tightly together, as they take on water they swell but remain snug. The other is more like pasta in a jar, it does fit together but not quite as neatly. On this occasion the ‘rice’ filler was more expensive but lasts longer than the ‘pasta’ filler. These are some of the filler properties that practitioners and patients have to make decisions about when choosing what to use.