What is Dermal Filler?

Most fillers used in medical clinics are made of a substance called Hyaluronic Acid (HA). This is not to be confused with the "acid" that you would associate with the ability to melt things or exfoliate dead cells, such as with chemical peels.

HA is a naturally occurring type of sugar that is present throughout your entire body. It helps to lubricate and moisturize our skin, joints and cartilage among other areas. It does so by having the incredible ability to to hold 1000x its weight in water. This is why it is so effective as a dermal filler in improving wrinkles, dryness and loss of hydration. Small amounts of filler can do wonders in creating a plump and healthy appearance over time.

Fillers vary in their chemical makeup to determine how "soft" or dense they are - the denser the product, the longer it lasts in the body. Every person metabolizes or uses up their filler differently depending on anatomy, activity, diet and other lifestyle factors. This is why we cannot use the same product to hydrate lips as we would to replace volume in cheek bones, for example. Fillers come in 1ml syringes, which is a tiny amount of product. I hear many people saying they don't want an "overdone" or "plastic" look, but these looks are achieved by numerous syringes over a long period of time, so there is nothing to be worried about when first getting a procedure done.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, just because fillers are natural in their chemistry, they can still be injected incorrectly and cause side effects/risks such as occluded arteries, tissues necrosis (death), blindness and other potential issues depending on the area treated.

Choose your injector very carefully!