Botox and Dermal Fillers

No one escapes the cruel process of aging. Tissues, muscles, and structural elements beneath the surface of your skin experience this process in different ways, which is what you see on the surface as the visible signs of aging. Though none of us possess the power to stop time from ticking forward, you don’t have to sit idly by and have no say in the way you look as you get older.

Botox® and dermal fillers are two types of cosmetic products plastic surgeons and aesthetic medical professionals use to help you age with the grace you desire and deserve. Used to treat the signs of aging in slightly different ways, these two injectable treatments with a robust record for safety offer some powerful and revolutionary options in the constant battle against wrinkles, deep lines, and changing facial contours. Here, we’ll describe some of the exciting aspects of Botox® and dermal fillers, their benefits, and what to expect if you’re considering a facial rejuvenation with injectables.

Widder Plastic Surgery is conveniently just west of the Capital Beltway metro area in Vienna, VA. It’s easy to get to us, whether you’re already in the area or traveling here. Contact our team of Botox® and dermal filler experts for a facial rejuvenation consultation today.

What Is Botox®?

Botox® is a powerful anti-aging product with a wide range of medical uses and a fascinating history. It first earned FDA approval in the late 1980s to treat issues with the alignment of patients’ eyes. Doctors who gave their patients Botox® as a therapeutic intervention started noticing changes in frown lines and other early signs of aging around their patients’ eyes. Doctors and scientists studied the possible uses of Botox® as a cosmetic treatment, and it received its first FDA approval for cosmetic use in 2002. The rest, as they say, is history.

 Today, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, patients in the U.S. receive approximately 7 million doses of Botox® each year.

Botox® works to treat the signs of aging, such as wrinkles and frown lines, by targeting the muscles in your face that cause them. Botox® is a neuromodulator, meaning it causes the muscles to temporarily stop contracting. This product can smooth out areas to give you a restored, youthful, and more vibrant facial appearance.

What Are Dermal Fillers?

Dermal fillers, sometimes referred to as soft tissue fillers, are a broad category of cosmetic products delivered by cannula to shape and sculpt areas of the face where you’ve lost volume or want to add more. They’re a minimally invasive method of smoothing out skin, plumping up sexy lips, and filling in depressions where the underlying structural proteins beneath the skin have started breaking down.

Like Botox®, dermal fillers have also received FDA approval. Many contain versions of naturally occurring substances found in the human body, including biosynthetic polymer, collagen, and hyaluronic acid. Depending on the dominant active ingredient, they may produce results that last anywhere from six months to several years. They’re safe, effective, and many products even contain mild anesthetics to make delivering them practically pain-free.

Here are some of the popular dermal filler products used by plastic surgeons and cosmetic medical professionals today.

• Juvéderm®: This dermal filler brand is one of the best-known products on the market, routinely popularized and mentioned by many of today’s celebrities and social media influencers. Juvéderm® relies on hyaluronic acid’s powerful properties to add volume to targeted areas on your face. The HA in Juvéderm® draws moisture in and retains it to add new contours and highlight your natural beauty.
• Restylane®: This dermal filler is also one making the rounds on Instagram and other corners of pop culture. Like Juvéderm®, Restylane® is also an HA-based soft tissue filler. It produces quick results and is exceptionally well suited for treating deeper wrinkles, nasolabial folds, and areas near the corners of your mouth.
• Sculptra®: Collagen is one of the essential elements in the human body that keep you looking young. It’s responsible for both volume and smooth, youthful skin. Over time, you produce less and less of it, but Sculptra® helps reverse that trend by using poly-L-lactic acid, an ingredient for promoting the natural production of more collagen.

These examples are a small sample of some of the dermal fillers in use today, and many of these popular brands have expansive filler families designed for treating specific concerns and areas. Providers often administer dermal fillers via a blunt-tip cannula, which increases patient safety by allowing a plastic surgeon to add volume to multiple nearby areas through one injection site.

Benefits

Cosmetically, Botox® facial injections can improve the appearance of:

• Lines on the forehead
• Wrinkles near the corners of your nose
• Crow’s feet
• Deep wrinkles
• Frown lines
• Smile lines
• Turkey neck
• Sagging brow areas

In addition to its aesthetic uses, doctors can use Botox® in medical settings for treating excessive sweating, chronic migraines, involuntary muscle spasms, and stroke symptoms.

Dermal fillers are a versatile tool for infusing your skin and its structural elements with moisture and nutrients. They offer a wide range of cosmetic benefits, including:

• Improving the appearance of parentheses and marionette lines
• Plumping up thin, flat lips
• Smoothing wrinkled skin
• Adding volume to areas affected by acne scarring
• Rounding out cheeks
• Filling in areas where elastin and collagen loss have caused depressions

You can safely combine dermal fillers and Botox® injections with many facial plastic surgery procedures to produce some dramatic, but natural-looking, results.

Candidate

The best candidates for Botox injections are in good health who show the following signs:

• Dynamic wrinkles
• Smile and/or frown lines
• Lines around the eyes (“crow’s feet”)

Both men and women can attain softer, natural looking results with Restylane. It is safe to use for any skin type and any ethnicity and works best for patients who have experienced a loss of volume around the mouth, under the eyes, and for those who have “cracks” to fill, such as the deep lines that can develop between the eyebrows. Women who desire to have fuller lips are also good candidates for this filler.

How Much Do Botox® and Dermal Fillers Cost?

Botox® typically has per-unit pricing, and there may be some extra fees associated with your treatment. The average cost per unit is about $10 to $15. Requirements and amounts of the product will vary widely depending on the treatment area and condition. To obtain a good idea of the cost to achieve your goals, it’s best to have a consultation.

Similarly, the cost for dermal filler brands and treatments will also vary greatly. Dermal fillers often get priced by the syringe, and some range from about $400 to $1,200. Again, to obtain a good idea of the cost of your overall treatment plan, it’s best to start with a consultation.

Other Considerations

Besides some swelling and redness for 3 – 4 hours, you should be able to return to your regular activities after the injection. We encourage all of our BOTOX patients to avoid exercise for 24 hours and to sleep upright the first night after the treatment. Complete results after BOTOX are visible (smoother forehead and diminished wrinkles) in about 5 – 7 days. Many patients feel that BOTOX treatments make their skin look radiant, they feel younger, and look well rested.

Contact Dr. Shlomo Widder and Our Team of Injectable Experts

Researching injectable treatments online can be confusing, and aesthetic medical practices use a wide range of options and approaches to deliver them. If you’d like to discuss all your options, especially if you’re considering a more comprehensive facial rejuvenation treatment plan, speak with a board-certified facial plastic surgeon to learn about all the surgical and non-surgical approaches for achieving your goals.

Dr. Shlomo Widder is an experienced and skilled architect for constructing safe treatment plans that combine one or more cosmetic procedures. To get the best, safest results from Botox® and dermal filler treatments, please contact Widder Plastic Surgery for a consultation today. Hablamos español!

We’ve served the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia metro area for more than 30 years. Schedule your Botox® or dermal filler consultation with our experts today. Call Widder Plastic Surgery at (703) 506-0300 or send us a message through our website.