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Dermal Fillers for Lost Collagen

Add Volume to Address Signs of Aging in St. Petersburg, South Pasadena, and all of Tampa Bay

As we age, we all lose a bit of the hyaluronic acid and collagen that give our face its youthful volume and shape. This loss results in contour changes and the development of deeper wrinkles and folds. To counter the inevitable drop in hyaluronic acid and collagen, Tampa Bay's Nelson Dermatology offers dermal fillers.

Dermal fillers are injectable substances designed to provide the same benefits as natural collagen (volume and structure) and hyaluronic acid (hydration) in the skin. While facial wrinkles and folds are a natural part of life, they no longer have to be your defining feature.

What Do Dermal Fillers Treat?

While all fillers are designed to add volume, there are different brands and formulations, each with a specific function.

Juvéderm^® Ultra and Ultra Plus are ideal for smoothing the parentheses lines— those unwanted deep lines that extend from the nose to the corner of the mouth and which are known professionally as the nasolabial fold. As we lose collagen and other volume in our face, particularly the cheeks, these lines become deeper and more defined. Unfortunately, that means they are also one of the first obvious signs that we are aging. Luckily, Juvéderm^® products can easily and rapidly fill these lines, reversing the appearance of collagen loss and aging.

Juvéderm^® Ultra XC and Ultra Plus XC can also be used in many other places on the face. Many patients notice that they always look like they are frowning, because the corners of the mouth appear to turn down. This is an extremely common problem, known as marionette lines, and develops as we lose collagen from the corners of the mouth until there is not enough volume and support to hold the mouth up. By filling this area with Juvéderm^® products, it is possible to re-create this structure and support, helping to literally turn that frown upside down.

Hyaluronic acid treatments, such as Juvéderm^® and Restylane^®, can also be used to help recreate beautiful, youthful lips. As we age, our lips lose not only collagen and other volume, becoming smaller, but they also lose their overall shape. At Nelson Dermatology, we utilize fillers and lasers to reverse these collagen-related changes. And don't worry—the specialists at Nelson Dermatology have extensive experience to help you achieve your goal of beautiful lips without creating the dreaded "duck lip" look. Rather than just injecting a large volume of filler in one to two spots in the lips, which results in some of the terrible outcomes you have probably seen in the past, we use our extensive training and experience to re-create the shape and structure of beautiful lips that have abundant collagen. We aim for full lips with good definition and structure, with an ideal "Cupid's bow" upper lip and a defined lower lip. Trust us when we say that bigger is not always better for lip rejuvenation. Our goal is to help you achieve full, well defined, beautiful lips that still look natural—just improved.

Recently, hyaluronic acid filler products have been developed to help restore lost volume due to collagen depletion in the cheeks and mid face. Juvéderm Voluma^® is a more robust hyaluronic acid gel, designed for injection in the mid-face to address age-related flattened areas and hollows. This product is not only thicker and more dense, but it also lasts longer (up to 18 to 24 months) in clinical practice. Voluma^® can be used to not only restore the youthful roundness of the "apple" of the cheeks, but it also reinforces the support necessary to prevent facial tissues from sagging and creating jowls and other lines around the mouth.

Who Performs Dermal Filler Injections at Florida's Nelson Dermatology?

Our physicians handle every dermal filler injection at Nelson Dermatology. There are no injectors, nurses, PAs, or anyone else injecting your filler—just your board-certified dermatologist. Drawing on years of skin-focused education and experience, our team of dermatologists is experienced at not just using filler products to restore your lost volume, soften your deep lines, enhance your lips, and refresh your skin, but also making the results look natural. In other words— and perhaps most importantly—our physicians excel at helping you to achieve amazing improvements without "looking like you had something done."

What Can I Expect from a Dermal Filler Session?

Every injection session starts with a thorough cleaning. You and your physician will then develop a plan of where to inject the fillers to achieve your ultimate goals. To help make your experience as painless as possible, we will then blow cold air over the areas to be treated. The filler products we inject also have anesthetic incorporated into them, further helping to make the treatment as painless as possible. The strategic injection of dermal fillers to replace lost collagen in the skin typically only takes a few minutes, and the improvement can be seen almost right away. The entire process can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on your exact cosmetic goals.

Right after the treatment, some people notice minor swelling in the area. In fact, sometimes the treated areas will appear over-filled at first, looking even fuller than they did before the collagen loss. The intended results will become increasingly apparent as the swelling subsides over the following days. Minor bruising can also occur, depending on the areas to be treated. Overall, though, the treatments are very well tolerated.

The duration of the results depends on the specific filler, with collagen-replacing volume lasting anywhere from months to years. Your physician injector will discuss the details with you at your initial consultation so you know what to expect during your treatment appointment.

How Do Dermal Fillers Work?

Early dermal fillers were made out of collagen, with the simple idea being that since the signs of aging appear from collagen loss, the best way to fix them were to put collagen back in. Unfortunately, collagen derived from animal products— such as cow skin (bovine collagen) or pig skin (porcine collagen)—is known for causing allergic reactions and other adverse effects, as well as being harder to produce. In fact, there are no longer any commercially available animal collagen products on the market that are FDA approved for cosmetic rejuvenation of the skin. So when someone says they want collagen injections, our team takes the time to educate the patient on the more modern and improved filler products.

Modern dermal fillers, such as Juvéderm^® and Restylane^®, are made by crosslinking hyaluronic acid molecules to create a gel that readily holds onto water molecules—no collagen needed. The consistency allows it to hold its shape under the skin's surface, literally "filling in" gaps where the skin sinks into folds and wrinkles, as it simultaneously encourages hydration. Since hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring component of your skin, it is much less likely to cause allergic reactions and other adverse events compared to collagen. So not only do you get a safer product, you also get a better dermal filler product.

What Other Treatments Are Available?

Many facial lines that appear due to collagen loss are known as "static wrinkles," because they are always visible. Lines that develop in relation to muscle activity are known as "dynamic wrinkles," because they become visible or more pronounced when muscles contract to make facial expressions. These signs of aging are best addressed with BOTOX^®, which keeps the muscles in question at rest for a span of months.

Other cosmetic rejuvenation options at Nelson Dermatology include devices such as Lumecca Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) to improve discoloration on the skin, pulse dye laser (PDL) to improve the appearance of blood vessels, and Fractora fractional ablative skin resurfacing to reduce deeper lines, stimulate collagen production, and improve skin texture. We can choose the ideal approach for your specific skin condition and goals, focusing on a single issue or creating a combination plan. No matter the specifics, our goal is always the same: to provide care that safely benefits your whole face while achieving beautiful, natural-looking results.