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Dermal Fillers
in San Francisco & Marin county

What Are Dermal Fillers?

As we age, our face naturally starts to lose subcutaneous fat. As our facial tissues begin to thin out, certain areas of our face including around the nose, mouth, and cheeks appear thinner. Although smile lines and crow’s feet are more noticeable and apparent, dermal fillers can combat this natural phenomenon. Dermal fillers can replace the lost volume in the face, leaving you with smooth wrinkles, plumper lips, and a more youthful appearance.

Dermal Fillers San Francisco

What Can Dermal Fillers Help Restore?

  • Plump the lips
  • Add volume to shallow contours
  • Reduce facial creases and wrinkles
  • Reduce the appearance of recessed scars

Who is a Good Candidate for Dermal Fillers?

If you are concerned about your skin and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, dermal fillers could be right for you. You may be a good candidate if you relate to any of the following:

  • Good physical health
  • Don’t smoke
  • Realistic goals in desiring to improve your appearance
  • Currently maintaining a good skin care regiment

“I love bay area laser, went to see edna rn, for my skin pigmentations, then after I saw dr. Armen serebrakian for my botox treatment and could not be happier.”

- Ella

Which Filler Do I Need?

Since there are so many fillers on the market, it is best to come in for a consultation so that Dr. Serekrakian can assess your skin and choose the right filler for your needs and desires. Each product is uniquely formulated to target specific areas, focusing on the right texture, density, and injection depth for optimal results. Provided below is a list of the dermal fillers we offer in office.

  • Juvéderm®
  • Restylane®
  • Radiesse®

Juvéderm®

JUVÉDERM® injectable gel is a U.S. FDA-approved dermal filler that is designed to temporarily treat moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds, in people older than 21. Results can last 6 to 9 months, and, in some cases, up to year.

juvederm logo

The Juvederm family includes many different fillers specific to different areas of the face. These fillers include the following:

  • Juvéderm XC
  • Voluma XC
  • Volbella
  • Juvéderm Vollure XC

Restylane®

Restylane® is an FDA-approved cosmetic “filler” that adds volume and elasticity to the skin. This is the trade name for a specific formulation of non-animal sourced hyaluronic acid (HA).

restylane logo

HA is a natural substance that is found in the body. As the body ages, HA levels decrease, resulting in loose skin and wrinkling. Just as Juvéderm injectables, Restylane® is a family of dermal fillers targeting different areas as well. These fillers include the following:

  • Restylane Lyft®
  • Restylane Silk®
  • Refyne®
  • Defyne®

Radiesse®

RADIESSE® is a safe and effective dermal filler that is used to fill and correct smile lines, nasolabial folds, and wrinkles around the nose and mouth.

radiesselogo

How Are Dermal Fillers Different from Neuromodulators?

Dermal fillers such as the Juvéderm® and Restylane® lines and neuromodulators such as Botox® work in entirely different ways. As their name implies, when injected beneath a wrinkle, crease, or area of volume loss dermal fillers simply add instant volume. They “fill” in the space and push the skin back upward. This only works when the wrinkle is known as a “static” wrinkle. These are wrinkles caused by sun damage, declining collagen production, personal habits, and other factors. Static wrinkles show themselves at all times.

Botox® and the other neuromodulators work in a completely different fashion. They are made from the botulinum toxin type A, the same bacteria that cause botulism. When the botulinum toxin is injected into a muscle, it stops the muscle from contracting for a period. Certain wrinkles on the upper third of the face form above muscle contractions under the surface skin. These are known as “dynamic” wrinkles. These are crow’s feet at the outside of the eyes, glabellar/frown lines between the brows, and forehead lines. When Botox® is injected into the muscles that create these wrinkles when they contract, the botulinum toxin stops the muscle contraction. The muscle stays at rest and the wrinkle that forms on the surface skin is erased for a period of around four months.

Bottom line — neuromodulators only work on dynamic wrinkles on the upper third of the face, and dermal fillers only work on static wrinkles and areas of volume loss on the mid to lower areas of the face.

Are Dermal Fillers Safe?

Dermal fillers such as Juvéderm® and Restylane® have been injected tens of millions of times around the globe, and they have proven to be very effective and very popular.

The typical after-effects with these products are slight redness and swelling at your injection sites, just as you could experience with any injection. This passes in just a few hours.

Occasionally, lumps can form, but hyaluronic acid fillers (the Juvéderm® and Restylane® lines) have an interesting characteristic that can address that occasional problem. If a lump develops, or if you don’t like the look of the area where Restylane® or Juvéderm® was injected, the hyaluronic acid can be instantly neutralized by the injection of an enzyme called hyaluronidase. This enzyme instantly breaks down the hyaluronic acid in these fillers.

All the fillers we offer at Bay Area Laser Cosmetic Surgery Center have been approved for use by the FDA. To gain that approval, each filler had to prove its safety and effectiveness in clinical trials.

How Long Can I Expect the Results from My Dermal Filler Injections to Last?

Hyaluronic acid fillers provide results for different lengths of time based on where they are injected. Generally, a filler breaks down more quickly when used in areas with lots of movement. For instance, an area such as around the mouth will break down the filler faster than an area such as the cheeks that doesn’t move much. For that reason, dermal fillers provide results from 6 months (Restylane® Silk for lip enhancement) up to 18 months (Juvéderm® Voluma for cheek volume replacement). Those differences in duration are simply due to the contrast in movement between the lips and the cheeks.

Will dermal fillers ruin my face?

Dermal Fillers in San Francisco

None of the various dermal fillers we offer at Bay Area is permanent; each filler has a duration it will provide results. With hyaluronic acid fillers such as Juvéderm®, the body eventually absorbs the hyaluronic acid, and the filler effects wear off. And, as discussed above, if you don’t like the look of an area after we have injected any of the Juvéderm® or Restylane® fillers, we can instantly reverse the effect with an injection of hyaluronidase, an enzyme that neutralizes the hyaluronic acid.

The FDA has approved all the injectables we offer at Bay Area Laser Cosmetic Surgery and each of them has proven to be effective and very popular the world over. In fact, since Botox® received FDA approval for aesthetic use in 2002, injectables have been the most popular cosmetic treatments every year. Dermal filler injections have been the second most popular treatment (after Botox injections) since their debut in 2006.

After Having a Dermal Filler Injected, Will My Face Look Natural?

These treatments are not something to have done at a nail salon or a dentist’s office.

It’s important to have any dermal filler or neuromodulator injected by a highly trained injector with extensive experience with each of the injectables he or she uses.

At Bay Area Laser Cosmetic Surgery our extensively trained nurse practitioners handle our dermal filler injections. Our injectors have received training with each filler we offer at our two locations. After your injections, your face will look younger, but completely natural. You’ll love your results.

How Often Should I Have Dermal Filler Injections?

The Juvéderm® and Restylane® filler lines, along with Radiesse®, all have a duration that they will provide the volume increase to remove lines, creases, and to fill areas of volume decrease. Eventually, the body will absorb the hyaluronic acid and the results will decrease. When this happens, another dermal filler injection session will maintain your results. The question of how often this needs to occur depends on the filler and where it has been injected.

You can expect your results to last anywhere from 6 months to 18 months. There’s no need to have injections more frequently.

Schedule a Consultation

At Bay Area Cosmetic Laser Surgery Center, we look forward to helping you diminish the signs of aging and restore a youthful and rejuvenated appearance to your face. To schedule a consultation, please call our Pinole office at 510-724-8282 or our Larkspur office at 415-461-5755 Dr. Armen Serebrakian serves San Francisco, Larkspur, Pinole CA and surrounding areas.

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