#2: Dermal Fillers – What are they and what Brands we use

Dermal fillers such as Restylane, Perlane and Juvederm are used to soften wrinkles and other facial lines. Aurora’s nurse specialist Libby Stewart describes how the gels are made and discussed the benefits of individual brands.

Hello I’m Libby Stewart one of the Nurse Practitioners here at Aurora Clinics. People have heard of dermal fillers but they’re not quite sure what they are perhaps. So what are dermal fillers and what choices do you have when choosing a dermal filler?

A dermal filler is an injectable treatment of a gel which is placed underneath a static line or wrinkle to either improve the appearance of the wrinkle or perhaps to replace volume that has been lost in the aging face.

There are many types of fillers on the market, but here at Aurora we prefer to use the fillers from the Allergan range, you may have seen some advertisements in the press recently for the Juvéderm range which is the latest in the range, or the very dependable Hydrafil range that was the forerunner to Juvéderm. These fillers are made from something called hyaluronic acid. They’re a natural based substance which is common to all tissue types. Trees, plants, animals, humans all have hyaluronic acid and it is this hyaluronic acid that is responsible for the hydration and soft moving of our skin, our eyes, our joints, so it is something that is essential to us but its production does decrease as we age. Its natural life is very short-lived in the body so even if we were to inject pure hyaluronic acid it wouldn’t last for very long, so it has to be stabilised in a gel, and the basic choice between products comes between the carrier gels that hold the hyaluronic acid. The Allergan range is a smooth homogenous gel which goes underneath. Other companies have gels which are based on particular products which hold their shape and give their longevity, but the Allergan range has formulated a matrix approach which helps to maintain the volume underneath the line once it has been corrected. So that is the main choices between whether we would use one brand or another, but that would be assessed according to your needs and your desired outcome at your consultation with your practitioner.

If you have any questions on dermal fillers please contact us here at the clinic, we’re on 01844 214 362 and we can also be contacted via the website. Thank you.