What are fillers for?

A filler is an injectable gel that we can use to provide structure, contour or shape to an area of the tissues. Modern fillers are made from a natural sugar molecule that we already have in our skin - so we're simply replacing what's been lost or augmenting what you already have.

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Most fillers come in a 1 millilitre (ml), pre-filled syringe - this is a standard amount of filler. How many ml's of filler you need is completely variable and you'll be guided in your consultation as to what volume of filler and budget you might require.

Why do we use fillers?

Facial ageing is characterised by predictable changes and as we age, our faces 'deflate'. These areas of the face tend to become flatter, hollower or saggier as a result and this is what injectors call 'volume loss'. Some areas of the face tend to age faster than others, leading to predictable changes and hollows.

By targeting these area with fillers and specialised techniques, we can:

- restore a more youthful facial shape

- revolumise areas that have become flatter or deflated

- soften hollows

- provide definition to specific areas like the lips

- lift certain areas of the face

- blend or camouflage particularly problematic issues like the jowls or eye bags

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Sometimes it's hard for patients to understand what's happening to their face. They see it every day and the changes are very slow and progressive. But we can all picture a baby's face - it's very plump with large firm cheeks and no signs of sagging or wrinkles at all.. In contrast, a 90 year old patient will always have hollows, sagging skin and volume loss to the entire face. So by definition we're all somewhere in the middle of these extremes with subtle changes that get more obvious over time.

What happens to our faces as we age?

Facial aging isn't random - there are predictable changes that happen sequentially to all of us including:

1) a decrease in the amount of fat that supports the face. This leads to a loss of contour, hollows and less definition of the face. Our cheeks deflate slowly, our lips become thinner and the lower face in particular becomes saggier

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2) the bony skeleton also changes, leading to deeper eye sockets, flatter cheeks, a less defined jaw and a chin that slowly receeds

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3) the overlying skin looses its firmness and thickness, leading to fine lines and increased sagging.

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With these basic facts in mind, fillers can help improve these features by restoring the anatomy of the face back to a more youth configuration. By restoring support to the fat compartments and bony structure of the face, we can lift and shape the facial areas to look naturally improved.