Dermal fillers have been getting a lot of attention lately in the world of cosmetic dermatology and anti aging. And all for a good reason. Dermal fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm can make a dramatic difference in the appearance of a person's skin, all with minimal time, a fairly reasonable cost, and minimal invasiveness and pain.

There is little difference between the two big competitors, Juvederm and Restylane, as they are both comprised of a substance that is naturally found in the body called hyaluronic acid, which naturally diminishes as we age.

The result of collagen's diminishment is that our skin starts to slacken, since collagen and hyaluronic acid, a component of collagen, is the plumping force under our skin that makes our skin look "filled out" and youthful.

Cosmetic dermatologists and other qualified dermal filler specialists have harnessed this "filling" power in the form of a very fine needle that injects the fillers underneath the skin so that it may fill out folds, lines and wrinkles and make them look plump again, reducing their appearance.

Not only that, but both fillers may be used to plump the lips to give them a naturally fuller look. This is the procedure I had performed, and I chose to go with Juvederm over Restylane for reasons I will explain later in this article.

Another big plus of dermal fillers is their relatively long life. Both Restylane and Juvederm typically last in the body for about 4-6 months, and at the time that they are diminished and fully absorbed (harmlessly) into the body, another treatment will be necessary.

This "second generation" of fillers comes in at a few months longer than the previously popular straight collagen injections, which only lasted about three months due to the high absorption rate and instability.

Typical treatments that are administered with both fillers, which are in a gel formula, are injections into the nasolobial folds that get deeper and more noticeable with age. These are the lines that extend on either side of your mouth from the outside corners of your nose to the tips of the top lip.

I didn't think that this was a noticeable part of aging on a person's face until I looked at before and after pictures of people who had gotten this area filled with Juvederm or Restylane, and boy, it really did make a difference in how young and rejuvenated they looked.

Other areas that are great candidates for dermal filling are deeper wrinkles around the eyes, and on the forehead. They do have to be a significant depth to be treated with dermal fillers though, so be aware that those finer lines are probably not suitable for Restylane or Juvederm fillers.

Another popular part of the face that is injected with dermal fillers is the lips, which is what I had done. I chose to go with Juvederm after I talked to the doctor that performed the treatment on me, only because he said personally he felt he could work with Juvederm better on the lips because he felt it was a bit finer than the Restylane and he could work more easily with it and observed slightly better results on the lip area.

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