Why are fillers done?
Fillers are an option, mostly, for aesthetic purposes. We, as human beings, desire healthy-looking and youthful skin, especially as we age. For many, the longer we can retain a semblance of youthfulness to our physical appearance, the better.
The cosmetic market has seen an ever-increasing desire for this youthfulness, as well as an increase in the demand for ‘lunch-time procedures’ (those that take next to no time at all). It is one of the fastest growing segments of cosmetic treatments. Plastic surgeons and specialists now have an increasing number of options to meet the demands of the cosmetic patient visiting their aesthetic clinics.
Skin is normally held by three vital components: collagen (which makes up approximately 80% of the skin’s deeper layer, the dermis), hyaluronic acid and elastin. These three components ensure the tight and smooth texture of the skin by combining to form a firm, spongy meshwork beneath the surface.
As we age, the meshwork gradually loses its integrity and the underlying support structure weakens. The skin surface begins to lose its youthful ‘baby-skin’ smoothness.
An injectable filler helps to fill out the thinning meshwork, plumping up the tissue beneath the surface of the skin. As the filler shrinks wrinkles (folds, ridges or creases), the texture of the skin improves to look firmer, smoother and younger-looking.