When it comes to improving your skin and finding anti-aging treatments, medical spas these days can feel like a veritable treasure trove. There are so many awesome options to help you even out your skin tone, slim down stubborn fat deposits (without invasive procedures!), and fill in fine lines to give you a more youthful appearance. The hardest part? It’s not finding something that works, it’s finding the best option for your specific needs!
Injectables and fillers are one of the most bountiful medical spa treatments available. If you’re not sure where to start, sorting through the list can be daunting! Not to worry, though. The best way to choose the right injectable is to work with your licensed medical professional who is a trained cosmetic aesthetic injector. They know the options inside and out, so they are the best option to guide your decision. That’s right, all cosmetic injectable services should be performed by a licensed medical professional like an APN (Advanced Practice Nurse) or MD (Doctor of Medicine), not an aesthetician. A good rule of thumb is to verify that you’re working with someone who has the right training and experience to give you the benefits of their knowledge.
If you’re ready to dive into the world of neurotoxins and dermal fillers, start with this guide — or call your local medical spa!
NeuroToxins & Fillers: The Basics
When we talk about injectable fillers and neurotoxins, we’re referring to the range of anti-aging treatments available at many med spas. They include a variety of prescription products and treatments that are injected under the skin to provide long-lasting results. Options include treatments for fine lines and wrinkles, volume boosters, facial contouring, and more. Choosing the right cosmetic injectable will depend largely on what you hope to accomplish and which area or areas of the face you want to treat.
Fine Lines
When it comes to treating fine lines, it all depends on where they are located on your face. On your forehead and brow, muscle-relaxing neurotoxins like Botox and Dysport are the go to treatment to soften fine lines (more about that later!). A thin hyaluronic acid filler is often the most beneficial in the bottom half of the face, since they do not affect your facial muscles and the thin nature of the serum is better at getting into those smaller spaces and filling the tissue underneath. Options like Restylane® and Juvederm® are great for treating fine lines as well as moderate to severe wrinkles. This injectable is also a good choice in particular for treating the fine lines that form in the delicate skin around the mouth.
Wrinkles
From frown lines to crow’s feet, wrinkles are a concern for many of us. Fortunately, there are a few different injectables that were designed to treat the sorts of wrinkles that get a bit deeper than “fine lines.” At this point, you’ve probably heard of BOTOX® Cosmetic. Injectables like BOTOX® Cosmetic and Dysport work to improve the appearance of wrinkles by reducing the activity of the underlying muscles that have caused wrinkles through repeated contraction — actions like smiling, frowning, and squinting. Because these neurotoxins act as a muscle relaxer, they are only used around the crow’s feet, forehead, and brow areas of the face.
For the wrinkles on the bottom portion of your face, we use dermal fillers to correct those pesky wrinkles. Restylane® and Juvederm(R) hyaluronic acid based dermal fillers also work to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, but they do so by filling in the skin rather than targeting the muscles underneath. Though, because it’s a filler rather than a medication that targets the muscles underneath, Restylane® and Juvederm actually last much longer than BOTOX® Cosmetic or Dysport. Hyaluronic acid is a substance that is naturally occurring in the body, it is absorbed much more slowly than neurotoxin medications.
When it comes to choosing the best wrinkle treatment, your licensed injector will choose the correct product for the results you want to achieve.
Skin Plumping
Who doesn’t want fuller, more luscious lips? There’s an injectable for that! Or to always hit the light just right on your cheekbones without hours of make-up contouring and highlighting? There is an injectable for that too! Injectables like JUVÉDERM®, Volbella, and Voluma, or Restylane Refyne, Defyne and Lyft, are used to add volume to different areas of the face, including the lips. JUVÉDERM® can be used to lift the cheeks, smooth out parentheses lines around the mouth, and plump up lips. The skin naturally sags and loosens as we age because the body produces less collagen over time. Skin-plumping injectables like JUVÉDERM® or Resytlane bring a more youthful appearance by providing volume in the places around your face that need a boost. In some cases, injectables can even be combined — especially in areas of the face that need more volume, like the lower face — to provide a more natural result, or a combination of results like plumping and wrinkle treatment.
Contouring
If you have a soft, full-looking jaw or a double-chin, there are injectables that can help give you the slimmer facial profile you crave. Kybella® is a series of injections that actually work to destroy fat cells in the area under the chin. As the treatments do their job and fat cells are removed, the result is a slimmer, more contoured jawline. However, this injectable treatment may or may not be the most effective option, depending on your body and the look you want to achieve. An alternative to injectables, like Ultherapy or CoolSculpting, may be more effective, so work with your licensed medical aesthetic provider to determine the best options for your anatomy.
Sagging Skin
As the skin loses collagen, it loses that which gives it the elasticity that keeps your skin looking full and firm. Injectables like JUVÉDERM® Voluma and Restylane Lyft can be used to give your skin the appearance of some lift — without more invasive procedures. Work with your medical spa team to see if an injectable can be used in conjunction with other skin-tightening treatments to provide more well-rounded, lasting results.
No matter what you want to achieve, the best answer is to work with your local medical spa team. Whether it’s injectables for wrinkle-reduction or contouring, whether you want to tackle crow’s feet or plump your lips, the team at Senara Health and Healing Center & Spa can help. Contact our Peoria team today to schedule your consultation and get started on the results you want to see.