Are dermal fillers really dermal fillers?

In a manner of speaking, no. This is a bit of an inaccurate name, as dermal fillers are not used to treat the dermis.

The dermis in the face is the lowest part of the skin. The upper layer of the skin is called the epidermis and the deeper layer the dermis.

In the face this skin measures approximately 3-4mm in depth depending on the area being slightly lowest and being thinner in the area such as the lower eyelid and thicker in areas such as the cheeks.

Dermal fillers are actually used to treat the area below the dermis. The thinner fillers such as Restylane touch are used most efficiently in the layer beneath the dermis and thicker fillers such as Perlane and Juvederm 3 for deeper injections beneath the dermis.

If dermal fillers are actively placed within the dermis it is possible to get a very unnatural long-lasting line which is visible from a distance.

It is therefore important for all doctors and other practitioners performing this treatment to understand that dermal fillers are not used to restore volume to the dermis, they are used to restore volume to the tissue beneath the dermis.