One of the first signs of aging in our face is that we lose some of the soft facial volume. Volume loss is not always negative – it can give you a more mature kind of beauty. But it can also lead to a worn and haggard look. Cheek fillers can be used to restore some of that soft volume. They can also be used for facial contouring to accentuate the cheeks for improved facial balance. Facial contouring and cheek augmentation with cheek fillers can give you a natural, youthful look, without making you look “done”.
Facial contouring with cheek fillers can be so natural you won’t notice
A considerable number of people are hesitant when it comes to filler treatments as they believe they will look “done” or that they will not get the natural look they desire. Perhaps you have seen people in social media that clearly have been treated – overtreated – especially in the lips and cheeks. However, this does not mean that you will get an overtreated look. The result of a cheek augmentation could look so natural that you will not notice that people have had work done at all. Instead, you will perhaps think they look really fresh, with a youthful look, and you wonder what kind of products they use. Do they use some kind of miracle cream…or what?
It could actually be that they have had treatments with fillers, not least cheek fillers, for facial contouring to enhance their own natural features or to restore volume and definition that have been lost with age. A cheek augmentation can give a little “lift” and add soft volume and will thereby result in a more youthful appearance.
Look natural with cheek fillers, also when you smile and talk
By now, fillers have been used for more than 25 years to beautify the face and to enhance facial features and definition. 25 years is a long period and, understandably, today we know much more about how to use fillers to create natural-looking results that are tailored to everyone’s preferences. Specially developed cheek fillers are an important part of the toolbox, as they are used for facial contouring in a part of the face that is very animated.
Your cheeks move a lot, and you need special kinds of cheek fillers to make the treatment result look natural when you smile and talk. Most likely, you do not want the cheek fillers to sit like a stiff implant in your face but want them to follow the movements of your face, just like your skin does.
Used correctly, cheek fillers can make wonders for your face. Expertly performed facial contouring, with the right products, will restore definition to the cheeks and provide a little bit of volume that will give you a naturally refreshed and youthful look. This is why you should always consult qualified healthcare practitioners who use high-quality products in their practice.
What are cheek fillers made of?
Most fillers on the market are based on hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a substance that is found more or less everywhere in our bodies, in our skin, joints, eyes, etc. The hyaluronic acid molecules form a viscous fluid that binds water and thereby lubricates different tissues.
Natural hyaluronic acid forms and degrades fast, in a couple of days or so. The hyaluronic acid gel used in fillers has therefore been “cross-linked”, using a special technology. By cross-linking the molecules, they will form a 3-dimensional matrix that the body’s enzymes cannot break down so fast. This means that the filler gel will last longer, for several months or up to a year or more, depending on the filler in question.
The good thing about this is that your cheek augmentation will last for a long time but will not be permanent. You will be able to fine-tune and adjust the cheek fillers treatment according to your liking, together with your (qualified) healthcare practitioner. Another good thing is that these kinds of cheek fillers are based on hyaluronic acid, that is natural to your body.
The characteristics of cheek fillers that you should be looking for
As mentioned above, cheek fillers are used in a part of your face that is very animated. You want your cheek augmentation to look natural not only when your face it at rest, but also when you smile and talk. What this means is that you cannot just put any filler in your cheeks.
So, what characteristics should cheek fillers have for creating a natural-looking cheek augmentation that enhances your facial beauty?
Certainly, you do not want a cheek augmentation that could give the impression of a stiff implant in your cheeks. Fillers with a harder gel texture are an excellent choice when it comes to building structure for example in the chin, jawline and nose. A firm filler can also be used to lift the cheeks for those who have saggy cheeks or have lost definition due to bone resorption. In these cases, you want the gel to “sit” and not move around in pace with your facial expressions.
If you want to add soft volume in the cheeks, it is the opposite. Cheek fillers used for facial contouring, to restore a bit of volume and softness, should be more flexible. The filler should integrate in the tissue to follow the animation of your face.
A filler gel with the optimal characteristics for cheek augmentation
A filler that has been specifically designed to augment facial tissue and that is recommended for the correction of facial volume is Restylane® VOLYME™.1 The hyaluronic acid gel in this filler has been cross-linked using a technology called Optimal Balance Technology™, in some markets also called XpresHAn Technology™. This cross-linking technology creates gels that are more flexible, with a distributed integration in the tissue for facial contouring and volume.2-4
These specific characteristics, that the filler gel is flexible and integrates in the tissue to follow your facial expressions, is precisely what you should be looking for in cheek fillers if you want to add soft volume. In addition, Restylane® VOLYME™ has a large particle size (if you would look at the gel in a microscope and compare it to other RESTYLANE® gels produced with the same cross-linking technology). The large particle size, in combination with the flexibility of the gel, makes it ideal for the cheeks, if you want soft and natural-looking volume.
Low volumes needed for a natural result
Restylane® VOLYME™ comes in packages of 1mL syringes. Although you might need more than one syringe, the volumes used are very small, quite the opposite of the impression you might get from photos of overtreated people on social media. The purpose is to give you a naturally refreshed and youthful look, and not to make you look “done”. Also, a clinical study has showed that you need less volume of Restylane® VOLYME™ than a competitor product to achieve the same volumizing effect.5
High satisfaction and long-lasting results with Restylane® VOLYME™
The same study showed that 95% of the participants rated the result as “very much improved”, “much improved” or “improved” 12 weeks after their treatment with Restylane® VOLYME™. At week 48 after treatment, that is after almost a year, 77% of participants still rated the result as “very much improved”, “much improved” or “improved”. Consequently, a treatment with Restylane® VOLYME™ has a very high patient satisfaction and the results last for a long time.
Always consult a qualified healthcare practitioner
A natural-looking cheek augmentation does not only depend on the products used but also on the person performing the treatment. Remember to always consult a qualified healthcare practitioner. The combination of a high-quality product, in the hands of an expert, will ensure that you will get the result you desire.
References
- Restylane® VOLYME™ Instructions for Use, EU
- Segura S et al. J Drugs Dermatol 2012;11(1 Suppl:s5–8).
- Tezel A and Fredrickson GH. J Cosmet Laser Ther 2008;10:35–42.
- Data on File (MA-33947).
- 43USV1704 Pivotal Study – GAL1704 for Cheek Augmentation and Correction of Midface Contour Deficiencies