Did you know that if you compared the skull of a 20-year-old to that of a 70-year-old, they would almost look like two separate species? The reason for that is a little surprising.
According to FACILE dermatology + boutique Co-Founder Nancy Samolitis, MD, FAAD, as we age, we not only lose tissue, collagen, and fat, we actually lose bone, too. As a result, the face gets flatter, cheeks lose their prominence, and eye sockets deepen. If you don’t like the sound of that, there is a solution: dermal filler.
In the old days, plastic surgeons used implants and fat grafts to aesthetically replace all of this lost matter. This obviously comes with the risks and anxiety of invasive surgery, plus the headache of downtime. Today, we have alternatives. Enter dermal fillers: gel-like products injected beneath the skin to create volume and fullness. Today, in this golden era of medical technology, dermal fillers are so robust that they’re almost akin in texture to fat.
“Fillers are a more desirable option than implants or surgical facelifts,” says Dr. Samolitis. Here’s the rundown of exactly what dermal filler can do.
Tear Troughs
“Tear troughs,’ aka the under eye area, can be easily filled in to account for tissue loss and the natural hollowing out of the eye sockets,” Dr. Samolitis explains. “Filler here also decreases shadows, which in turn very effectively alleviates dark circles.”
Crow’s Feet
“For crow’s feet, we inject a light filler to erase those lines,” Dr. Samolitis says. “Strong laser resurfacing and/or deep chemical peels were the only methods previously used for fine lines around the eyes.”
Lips
“Lips that are full and smooth appear more youthful. As lips age, they lose collagen and fat and become smaller and wrinkled,” explains Dr. Samolitis. “We place filler where fat compartments normally are located around the mouth to reduce Marionette lines and fine lines around lips.”
Cheeks
“As we age, fat oftentimes sinks down to the jowls and our faces become more rectangular,” says Dr. Samolitis. “With thinner fillers in the cheeks, we can reconcile for both changes with a gentle plumping.”
Jawline
“We can enhance the bone structure of the jawline with filler, which prevents sagging of the skin and formation of jowls,” Dr Samolitis says.
Temples
As we age, we tend to lose volume in our temples, says Dr. Samolitis. “When you round things out with filler, you get a more youthful look — it’s almost an optical illusion.”
Nose
“Issues with the nose that aren’t genetic are mostly due to bone loss. That can cause a droop that can be aesthetically altered by placing filler at the base to restore the bone support under the nose,” says Dr. Samolitis. “Of course, there’s also the more dangerous procedure of non-surgical rhinoplasty. In that case, a provider places filler at the bridge of the nose to even it out.”
