When we need cracks in our walls filled, we might call a plasterer or just nip to the DIY store and try it ourselves. But the outside-to-in approach wouldn’t work with the wrinkles and folds in our skin, for a multitude of potentially ghastly reasons. When we need a little filling in our skin, we need to use an inside-to-out approach, and that’s dermal filling in a nutshell.

Dermal fillers are injections of substances into our aging and weathered bits (most commonly on our faces) to effectively inflate and tighten the affected areas, giving a more youthful and vibrant appearance.

Lips are a particularly popular target, as they play a massive part in the overall balance of our faces and they are known to thin as we age and produce less collagen. Humans have been trying to draw attention to their lips since time immemorial, and no stylish woman will leave the house without her favourite lipstick in her tiny bag. Applying lipstick will certainly accentuate our lips, but to make them fuller in three dimensions we need to take that extra step; and now it’s within most people’s budget, dermal fillers are proving a popular option.

There are a few words of warning, however. Without naming names, we’ve all seen some of the disastrous attempts at lip enhancement on the gossip pages, and the effects can be irreversible or extremely difficult to reverse. One mistake people often make, unfortunately with the full backing of their cosmetic surgeons, is to try and fill their lips or remove their wrinkles in one big leap. Responsible surgeries usually advise against this, and recommend taking it easy, making the reduction a gradual process, perhaps taking months or even years to achieve. A consensus is also developing that temporary dermal fillers, which need to be topped up every six months or so, are much safer than permanent ones, which can actually bind to the skin tissue and become extremely difficult to remove.

This cautious approach is sensible on many levels. First, it lets you effectively try out the procedure and the appearance and then decide if you want to continue with it or to let nature take its course. It also gives your skin time to adjust to the less drastic changes. And a subtler change will probably be less noticeable to friends, family and colleagues, which is important to some people. There are plenty of social reasons why we might want to appear younger, but taking perhaps a decade off our fifty years is much easier to pull off than trying to look twenty-one again.

Another important thing to consider is that dermal fillers are more or less unregulated in the UK. The substances sold to clinics by pharmaceutical companies will therefore owe as much to the skill of their salesmen as they do to their clinical effectiveness and safety, so before embarking on any treatment make sure you know exactly what substance is being used and do a little research into it. A very good guide is the American Food and Drug Administration, the FDA. The Americans seem to have a much more grown-up approach to cosmetic surgery than do Brits, and they have tested and approved a number of dermal fillers that is much smaller than the range available.

In summary, take dermal filling slowly and sensibly, follow all the best advice you can find, and seek out approved practitioners using authorised and tested fillers. Remember that botched work can be irreversible, so a little homework in advance can save many tears – as well as years.

Author Bio: James has written numerous articles about treatments like dermal fillers and other skin improvement techniques. He helps explain where they are appropriate and what is involved, as well as reviewing skin treatment clinics.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
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