If you’re like many of us, you hear the word “filler,” and overdone cheekbones & gigantor lips immediately come to mind. But the reality is that if done right, fillers—most of which are made of hyaluronic acid, that ultra-moisturizing element that’s already within our skin—are a minimally invasive, totally reversible way to restore lost volume in the face. And now, renowned NY/Chicago plastic surgeon Dr. Julius Few (whom both Karen & Madelene have worked along side!) explains, new versions are emerging that treat previously hard-to-address areas, from the crepiness in the cheeks known as “radial cheek lines” to the nasolabial folds (the lines that extend from the bottom of your nose down toward your mouth).
“What’s new is the texture of these fillers,” says Few, “They’re spongey—they move with your face, so it works in places where your muscles are constantly moving, like your lower cheeks when you smile, the nasolabial folds.”
You lose collagen—the structural fibers within skin—elastin, and hyaluronic acid as you age, so that your skin not only wrinkles and sags, it also loses some of its bounce. Think of the new fillers as restoring some of the smoothness, but also a bit of the bounce. (When wrinkles appear depends on your genetics, sun, diet, and smoking exposure among other factors, but most people don’t get significant smile lines until their forties.)
“Think of the new fillers as restoring some of the smoothness,
but also a bit of the bounce.”
Called Restylane Refyne (for medium-depth lines) and Defyne (for deep lines), the new formulas are transforming the way plastic surgeons like Few and nurses @ medical aesthetics practices like ours, work. “They address problems we really had difficulty with previously,” says Anolik of NYC-based Dr. Robert Anolik. “The classic Restylane Lyft restores structural elements like volume at the cheekbones, but neither it nor Botox works on very active areas of the face.”
“It was a huge unmet need,” says Few. “When we started trying this in Europe seven years ago (new cosmetic technologies are approved there faster than here), we realized: This is really a whole new way of looking at filler—as this flexible thing that can move with the muscles and skin, that can treat dynamic lines. It’s a more 360 approach.”
Who doesn't live a 360 lifestyle?? ....All of our beloved clients want a look that works from all angles, who wouldn't?
The bounciness—or lack of wrinkles and crepiness—can be addressed to some degree by building collagen within the skin with technologies like Ulthera, which uses ultrasound to stimulate it, or Fraxel, which uses heat, says Anolik, who uses both. At home, prescription retinoids like Retin A also stimulate collagen, but to a lesser degree.
“Refyne and Defyne address issues that nothing else treats so well.”
While Botox is the gold-standard in wrinkle-smoothing, practitioners prefer it as part of a more full-plan style regimen, rather than the be-all-end-all. You have to be judicious about Botox—it can make the skin look too smooth if it’s used too much—when you put it at the cheekbones, for instance, it pulls up some of the slackness in the cheeks and jawline.
The new fillers make lifting efforts look more natural; which at Alchemy is our supreme goal in ALL of our treatments; Refyne and Defyne address issues that nothing else treats so well! Book in today to hear more about it!
