Our normal ageing process will result in a gradual loss of our skin’s structural support including collagen, elastic fibers and hyaluronic acid. This will result in the skin loosing its elasticity causing skin drooping, thinning and wrinkle formation.  Loss of subcutaneous fat and bony resorption also a consequence of the ageing process further exacerbates the gaunt look with more pronounced wrinkles along the nose and around the eyes. Dermal fillers are a non-surgical treatment used to help correct deep wrinkles, skin depressions or localized scars and also to add volume where volume is lost. Selective injections of filler material can also cause a subtle lifting effect of the facial skin hence the term given “ non-surgical face lift”.

There are different types of filler material available under different brands in the market. Hyaluronic acid is one of the building blocks of the body. It not only occurs in the skin, but also in our connective tissue, nerve tissue, and epithelial tissue. It is a sugar, which means it also falls under glucose building blocks.

Hyaluronic acid potently binds to water and, when injected into the skin, volumizes, softens, and hydrates the skin. It also stabilizes intercellular structures and produces the viscoelastic network for collagen and elastin fibers to bind together restoring the youthful elastic nature or the skin. These benefits make hyaluronic acid an excellent dermal filling agent.

The fillers are injected just above the bone for volumization and lifting or in the subcutaneous and dermis of the skin for contouring and treating fine wrinkles and to give the skin a more youthful hydrated look. Most commercially available fillers come ready in syringe and very fine hypodermic needle. Some of them contain local anaesthesia (lidocaine) to make it more comfortable.