Houston Plastic Surgery Blog

Injectable skin care treatments have exploded onto the scene in recent years. Following the appearance of Botox and collagen injections, everyone saw the potential of this type of procedure, and soon the market became crowded with new injectable compounds designed to achieve better, longer-lasting results with fewer side effects. The good news is that you can now get better and longer-lasting results from injectable treatments than ever before. The bad news is that it can be hard to figure out which treatment is right for you.

Here's a brief guide to help you decide which treatment is the best for your situation.

Botox Cosmetic is the original injectable treatment and still the best for its particular application. Botox works on wrinkles caused by habitual muscle contractions, such as crow's feet, glabellar lines (lines between the eyebrows), and deep forehead wrinkles.

Restylane is a hyaluronic acid-based filler that can fill in facial wrinkles due to skin folding or loss or displacement of facial fat. Its nodular texture is ideal for applications where greater lifting power is necessary or the filler will be put under stress from constant motion, such as the smile lines around the mouth and nose.

Juvéderm is another hyaluronic acid-based filler that can fill in wrinkles and facial voids. Because of its smooth texture Juvéderm is ideal for use in people with thin skin and for lip augmentation. It also has less incidence of swelling at the injection site.

Radiesse is a composite injectable filler composed of calcium hydroxylapatite microspheres in a carrier gel. It allows for long-lasting (up to three years) correction of facial wrinkles or depressions, such as acne scars.

Sculptra is a unique product because although it gives results like a filler, it is not a filler. Instead, it is a chemical that stimulates your body to produce its own filler. It is ideal to correct wrinkles and to fill in facial depressions, especially cheeks that have become sunken as a side effect of general weight loss.

If you would like to learn more about your options for wrinkle correction and facial fillers, schedule an injectable treatment consultation with Dr. Lapuerta at the Plastic Surgery Institute of Southeast Texas.