You and your best girlfriends are having coffee. Everyone has already given an update about their spouse, children, and work, so the conversation has moved to the best places to shop, schools, gyms, and beauty products.
At this point, one of your friends asks all of you to lean in and whispers that just the other day, she got a Restylane filler from her doctor. This, then, leads to a barrage of questions — questions that this write-up aims to answer.
If you’re ready to learn more about Restylane fillers, read on.
What Are Restylane Fillers?
Restylane is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved brand of dermal fillers from Galderma Laboratories.
Dermal fillers are injected just under the skin. Restylane fillers, therefore, are facial injection treatments. They serve various purposes, including plumping up the skin to smoothen out wrinkles and lines.
Restylane fillers, in particular, are made up of hyaluronic acid, a transparent substance that the human body naturally produces. It is most abundant in the skin and is one of the primary reasons young skin looks so plump, smooth, and hydrated.
Hyaluronic acid is particularly outstanding as a humectant (i.e., moisturizer) because it can bind one thousand times its own weight in water. In other words, it draws water in and helps slow down the rate at which your skin loses water or moisture.
How Do They Work?
The production of the substances (i.e., hyaluronic acid, elastin, and collagen) vital in ensuring the skin remains smooth, supple, and firm decreases as the body ages. As such, the skin gradually sags, wrinkles, and loses its elasticity over time.
Restylane fillers help mitigate this by replenishing the level of hyaluronic acid in the skin. This way, even if the body no longer produces as much hyaluronic acid as it used to, the skin will continue to receive an adequate supply of the substance to keep it looking plump, smooth, and youthful.
However, with hyaluronic acid dermal fillers, the hyaluronic acid molecules are crosslinked with 1,4-Butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE) to form a chain or network of hyaluronic acid. This crosslinking method gives the Restylane hyaluronic acid hydrogel filler its staying power.
Can You Use Them Under Your Eyes?
There are Restylane variants that may be used as under-eye dermal fillers. Specifically, dermal fillers are typically injected into the tear trough.
The tear trough is the semi-circular area that starts from the inner corner of the eye, bounded by the lower eyelid and the upper portion of the cheek. This area loses volume as the skin ages. Consequently, it hollows out, and the skin on the surface sags.
Where Else Can You Use Them?
Restylane has a family of products, each with its own indicated uses. Your doctor can recommend the right line of Restylane filler for your specific use-case scenario.
For your information, however, some of the different Restylane variants are indicated below.
- Restylane KYSSE
- Restylane VOLYME
- Restylane DEFYNE
- Restylane REFYNE
- Restylane LYFT
- Restylane Lidocaine
Every variant has an ideal purpose, but it’s best to leave the discussion of which variant is best for you with your dermatologist or skin care clinic. That said, hyaluronic acid filler products are typically used in the following areas:
- Lips (to increase volume, improve definition, contour)
- Temples (to add volume)
- Cheeks (to add volume)
- Cheekbones (to lift, contour)
- Nose (to lift, contour)
- Jawline (to contour)
- Chin (for definition and projection enhancement)
- Hands (to add volume, lift)
- Wrinkles (to add volume and smoothen)
- Nasolabial folds (to add volume and smoothen)
- Perioral lines (to add volume and smoothen)
What Do Restylane Fillers Do?
As mentioned earlier, different types of fillers serve distinct purposes.
For instance, REFYNE, designed to provide the softest effect, is ideal if you need contouring without much volume. This particular variant facilitates the most natural-looking facial expressions.
Meanwhile, LYFT does just as its name suggests: provide lift. This hydrogel is designed to stay in place instead of volumizing the skin. Thus, it is ideal for targeted contouring applications. For instance, you can use it to define your cheekbones, jawline, chin, and nose.
You should tell your doctor about your goal to find which product best suits your objective.
How Long Do They Last?
Filler variants last differently, and their staying power depends on their purpose and application. However, the cross-linked composition of Restylane dermal fillers ensures they will last for months.
Generally speaking, when used to smooth out wrinkles, like the nasolabial folds and perioral lines, Restylane hyaluronic acid dermal fillers provide six months of benefits.
When used to give volume and plumpness — say, on the cheeks — the benefits can last between two and twelve months. Furthermore, when the dermal filler is injected into the back of the hand, the lifting effect can last approximately six months.
In some cases, touch-ups may be provided to make the volumizing, smoothening, lifting, or defining effect last longer.
Smoothen, Plump, and Contour
Restylane fillers are injectable dermal gels made of hyaluronic acid.
You can use them to minimize the appearance of lines and folds, fill hollowed-out and saggy skin, or enhance definition and contour.
