Looking to get rid of your wrinkles, crows feet or aging lines? Cosmetic fillers, such as Restylane®, are used to restore fullness to the skin to decrease facial wrinkles, targeting the lines surrounding the mouth and lips. Restylane® is a skin filling agent which consists of hyaluronic acid, a natural substance found in the human body, which was FDA approved in 2003. Restylane® treatments can be administered safely and comfortably in the office setting under topical or local anesthesia.
What Is Restylane?
Restylane is a facial filler made of a clear gel formulation of hyaluronic acid. It is used to replace volume loss in the face and can also decrease wrinkles and scars. Restylane is broken down naturally by the body and is biocompatible with the human body.
As we age, our skin loses collagen and elastin, and Restylane can be used to add volume to improve the consistency of the skin.
Treatments with Restylane are performed in the office and usually take from 5 to 15 minutes to perform based on the number of vials that are used. Prior to the treatment with Restylane, a topical anesthetic is placed on the areas that will be treated on the face, and just before the Restylane is administered, ice is applied to these areas as well. We find that patients do very well with this treatment protocol.
Restylane-L is the Restylane product mixed with lidocaine, which is a local anesthetic. As compared to the non-lidocaine Restylane, Restylane-L provides patients with even more comfort during the treatment. Restylane and Restylane-L also work very well to add fullness to the lips and also to define the lips and in fact are the only products in the United States that are FDA-approved for lip enhancement.
Restylane is a very popular treatment and has been used for more than a decade, treating over 15 million patients.
Who Is a Good Candidate for the Procedure?
Good candidates for treatment with Restylane are patients who have noticed loss of volume in their face, which could include marionette lines, corners of the lips, lip volume, and the nasolabial folds. Patients can receive treatment for all of the described areas, or they can just focus on a particular area of concern.
What Are Realistic Expectations?
For patients undergoing Restylane treatment, a realistic expectation would be to have volume improvement in areas where volume has been lost in the face. The most popular areas are the nasolabial folds, marionette lines, lips, and corners of the lips to achieve a natural appearance.
What Are the Common Reasons Why a Patient Wants Restylane?
Patients present to the Mack Center with complaints of loss of volume in their face, particularly in the nasolabial folds, lips, corners of the lips, and marionette lines below the mouth. We find that patients at the Mack Center want a rejuvenated, natural appearance, and the beauty of facial fillers is that the results can be appreciated immediately following the treatment.
How Long Does It Take a Patient to Recover?
Following treatment with Restylane, we place no restrictions upon our patients. In fact, they can return to work or return to their normal activities that day. We do apply ice immediately following the treatment in the office for a few minutes, and we’ll send ice packs home with the patient to be used that day.
Will I Look Natural?
At the Mack Center, our focus is always on achieving natural results with our patients, either with rejuvenation procedures such as Restylane or with surgical procedures. It is our goal to achieve natural results, and the advantage of in-office procedures such as Restylane treatments is that the patient can appreciate the outstanding results immediately following the procedure.
Erase your wrinkles today, contact our office. For more information on our facial fillers, visit our facial fillers frequently asked questions page.