Cheek fillers are the newest must-have in the world of cosmetic surgery.

The problem is this: you may have a slim, toned body but you may find you have a very gaunt looking face, particularly as you get older. The chances are that if you diet and have a svelte figure, your cheeks may be slightly sunken with your skin starting to be a little loose and baggy with some wrinkles. However, if you put on a little weight, your face plumps up slightly, making you look younger.

In today’s world, women don’t have to make a choice between butt and face thanks to cosmetic surgery, they can have the super-svelte body along with the plump looking face thanks to the latest trend in facial fillers.

Facial fillers tend to be gel-like substances that have several uses. Firstly, they can be injected into wrinkles to help smooth the face out. They can also be used to rebuild or re-contour the face, particularly if the cheeks are a little sunken.

Slightly plumper faces are now being favoured over the stretched skin look because it gives an aura of rejuvenation and looks more natural than some face lifts. Gaunt faces tend to be a turn-off and can make the woman look slightly ill, therefore facial fillers are a good option because they plump up the face, making the woman look younger in a natural looking way. Facial fillers are also not as invasive as the full on face lift, making it an attractive option to many. Facial fillers are also not so dramatic the look can be achieved over a longer period of time and the fillers can be used incrementally to keep the face looking young.

The History of Facial Fillers

Like so many cosmetic surgery techniques, facial fillers started off in traditional medicine. A common side effect of HIV is the wasting away of fat in the face. To help HIV sufferers, dermatologists started to use fillers to help fill the face out.

Originally, fat from the own patient was used. Normally the fat was harvested fm the stomach or hips and then injected into the relevant areas of the face. Over time, different filling agents have come to the fore as they are longer-lasting, more malleable, and more reliable.

Facial Fillers Today

There are two main kinds of facial filler on the market at the moment the replacement filler and the stimulatory filler. The replacement filler is a filler that that fills a hole or space. The stimulatory, as it’s name suggests, encourages the body to produce more collagen. As a rule of thumb, stimulatory fillers are used on younger clients with replacement fillers used on older patients who have started to lose muscle and bone density and therefore need more work done.

For the most natural results from face fillers, temporary fillers are often the best way to go. Permanent fillers may cause problems later in life as the face starts to age naturally, the fillers may start to look odd and disjointed.

Facial Filler Products

There are plenty of different types of filler on the market with Sculptra and Radiesse arguably being the two current most popular types. Sculptra is a stimulatory works well for those who are looking to plump out gaunt looking cheeks. Sculptra aims to increase the body’s collagen output through the use of Poly-L-acid. Sculptra has been on the market for over 20 years therefore has a good track record. Each treatment will last about 12-18 months.

Radiesse has good results in re-inflating minor depressions and wrinkles in the skins as well as giving better definition in the cheekbones and cheeks if you are looking for a mini-facelift, Radiesse can often achieve the same sorts of results without the need for invasive surgery. Radiesses is a small implant containing a bio-material housed in a gel casing. Once injected, the biomaterial disappears causing soft tissue regrowth and long-term volume. Again, treatments tend to last around 12-18 months.

Nufill is another stimulatory filler that also uses Poly-L-acid. Similar to Sculptra, it is ideal for smoothing the skin and giving a lift to sagging skin. Each treatment will last around 12-18 months.

Treatments using stem cells are the latest thing on the market. One of these is Intercytex which has shown some promising results. Stem cells called fibroblasts are harvested from a (young) donor. These cells are then suspended before being injected into the patient. The stem cells then work as a substitute for the patient’s own skin cells, producing greater quantities of collagen and therefore helping the renew, rebuild and plump out the face.