Although BOTOX Cosmetic and dermal fillers improve different facial concerns, you can use them in tandem to restore your youthful look. BOTOX smooths expression lines, also known as dynamic wrinkles, while fillers work on static facial lines.
How exactly do BOTOX and dermal fillers work together, and what are the benefits of combining the two? Our experienced team at The Clinic for Dermatology & Wellness explains everything you need to know about pairing BOTOX and dermal fillers. The key is in how each type of injectable fights wrinkles.
How Does BOTOX Work?
Dynamic wrinkles form when you repeatedly make expressions like smiling, frowning, squinting, and more. That repetitive muscle movement forms creases in the skin, such as around the eyes (crow’s feet) and between the eyebrows (frown lines). Your skin also becomes less elastic as you age, and it loses its ability to bounce back into place after you stop making the expression. This process slowly etches those expression lines into your skin.
When BOTOX is injected into specific areas of the face, it blocks signals from the nerves to the muscle, temporarily immobilizing it. Since the muscle can’t move, the expression lines in that area smooth out. However, BOTOX is not a permanent fix, and you will have to discuss touch-ups with your injector if you want to maintain your results.
How Do Dermal Fillers Work?
Dermal fillers are gel-like substances injected beneath your skin’s surface to fill in lines and hollows.
Our skin cells produce less natural collagen and elastin as we age, and our natural facial fat begins to drift downward. This results in sunken areas on our faces, such as hollow temples and flattened cheeks. Dermal fillers replace some of that lost volume:
- Plumping thin lips
- Filling in tear troughs
- Softening facial creases and folds
- Contouring cheeks
Benefits of Combining BOTOX and Fillers
Pairing the two injectables offers a variety of advantages.
- You can rejuvenate your full face. Because BOTOX and fillers address different types of wrinkles and facial aging, they offer more dramatic rejuvenation together than each can alone. BOTOX and dermal fillers complement and enhance each other so well that a combined treatment is often called a “liquid facelift.”
- Your dermal fillers may last longer. A 2016 study showed that using BOTOX and dermal fillers extends the lifespan of the dermal filler. Researchers believe this is because dermal fillers degrade more quickly in areas of frequent movement (such as around the mouth). BOTOX and other neuromodulators prevent some of that movement, so the filler metabolizes more slowly.
- You enjoy greater convenience. By combining your treatments, you only need to take time out of your schedule for one appointment. And they’re each very quick treatments, so even combined, they’re easily done in a long lunchtime.
Using the right skincare products after your BOTOX and dermal filler treatments can help alleviate some of their aftereffects and boost your skin’s radiance. Learn more about skincare products that enhance your injectable results in our related blog post.
BOTOX, Dermal Fillers, Or Both?
Choosing whether to combine BOTOX and dermal fillers depends on the facial concerns you want to improve, but you won’t have to make this decision alone. Your injector will evaluate your facial concerns and advise if you are a good candidate to combine the injectables.
Our team is thrilled to be able to help many women and men look more youthful and feel more confident with nonsurgical treatments like BOTOX and facial fillers. To learn more about how we can rejuvenate your look with injectables, request a consultation online or call us at (541) 200-2444 to schedule an appointment.