At Boulder Plastic Surgery in Boulder, CO, one of our most frequently asked questions is how long do the results of dermal fillers last? We are also often asked specifically about Voluma or Radiesse. Today, we reveal everything you need to know about both of these treatments to help you determine which is right for you.
Radiesse or Voluma: Which Lasts Longer?
Voluma or Radiesse: for most people, the question is about which one lasts longer. The duration of results varies on a case-by-case basis depending on several factors. These include how quickly your body metabolizes the injections and how healthy your skin is. Generally, Radiesse lasts 15 months and Voluma lasts two years.
For many clients, considering the difference in longevity between Voluma or Radiesse isn’t quite good enough. Juvederm Voluma is only indicated for the treatment of the cheeks and chin. However, there are other parts of the face people often seek dermal treatment fillers for. Here’s what you need to know about the longevity of dermal fillers for various parts of the face:
Around the Eyes
When using hyaluronic acid (HA)-based fillers, treating the tear trough area beneath your eyes can last a full year. If you are treating this area, you will most likely need more frequent treatments because the skin beneath the eyes is so thin.
Around the Cheeks
When using an HA-based filler like Juvederm Voluma around the cheeks, you can enjoy youthful volume and attractive contours for two years. If you receive a touch-up treatment at the one-year mark, the results will be much more dramatic for far longer.
Similarly, Radiesse is a long-lasting dermal filler that contours, lifts, and volumizes the cheeks. The results of this injection last roughly 15 months. If you opt for this injection, we strongly recommend that you come in after seven months for a touch-up treatment.
Around the Nose
If you’re looking for a non-invasive alternative to rhinoplasty, you’re looking at a two-year aesthetic improvement. For the best results, you should come in for a maintenance treatment at six months.
Follow-up appointments should be scheduled between the nine and 12-month mark. Firm, thin fillers work the best to sculpt and shape the nasal skin. Therefore, thicker fillers are usually not recommended to treat this part of the face.
In the Lips
One of the most common signs of aging is thin lips. Luckily, using dermal fillers to achieve lip augmentation can last over 12 months if you receive multiple treatments. The filler used in the first two treatments sometimes gets compressed, so three treatments may be required to achieve the desired lip volume.
At the Corners of the Mouth
For the best anti-aging results with hyaluronic acid fillers injected into the corners of the mouth, you usually need a touch-up treatment at six months. The ideal results last up to a year.
In the Chin
When Radiesse is used to contour and “lift” the chin, you can expect the results to last 15 months. You should come in for a touch-up treatment at seven months. When you use Juvederm Voluma, you can expect the results of treatment to last 24 months.
How to Extend the Results of Radiesse and Voluma
Stop Smoking
One of the most important steps you can take in extending the duration of your anti-aging treatment results is to stop smoking. Nicotine constricts your blood vessels. This impedes circulation and prevents oxygen and essential nutrients from reaching your skin. As a result, your skin will look older than it is.
Even worse, cigarettes contain over 100 chemicals that wreak havoc on your body. If you smoke, your body will produce less collagen and elastin than someone your age who is a non-smoker. Collagen and elastin are the proteins and fibers essential for keeping your skin tight, hydrated, healthy and young.
Eat Your Fruits and Veggies
Your circulatory system could be in excellent condition. But it doesn’t matter if you are lacking the essential vitamins and minerals your skin needs to look young, healthy, and taut. Try to get your recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables every day in many colors of the rainbow.
Produce with different colors contain high levels of different nutrients. For instance, dark green produce, like kale, Brussel sprouts, and spinach, is high in iron. Orange produce, like carrots, is high in beta carotene. The best vitamins and minerals for keeping your skin looking young include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium. Try to include these nutrient-dense foods in your diet:
- Legumes
- Avocados
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Eggs
- Leafy dark greens
- Fatty fish
Drink Enough Water
Drinking enough water is critical for your overall health. However, if you want your skin to look healthy, young, and moisturized, staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do. When you are adequately hydrated, the results of Radiesse or Voluma will last a lot longer than if you were dehydrated.
But how much water is enough? To determine if you are hydrated enough, make sure your urine is very pale if it is not translucent. Generally, moderately active people who live in a climate similar to Boulder’s should drink around half of a gallon of water daily. If you can’t drink that much water daily, eat water-rich foods like melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots.
Don’t Drink Too Much Alcohol
The less alcohol you consume, the younger your skin will look. On the same vein, the less alcohol you drink, the longer the results of Juvederm or Radiesse will last. Like products containing nicotine, alcohol elevates your blood pressure and reduces the efficiency of your circulatory system. Therefore, your skin won’t get the nutrients it needs through your blood.
Even worse, alcohol is a diuretic. This means essential hydration, vitamins, and minerals are flushed out of your body. In fact, getting adequate nutrition is pretty tough when you consume alcohol. For the longest-lasting dermal filler results, limit your consumption of alcohol to the CDC guidelines. Women should stick to one alcoholic beverage daily. Men should have only two.
Get Touch-Up Treatments
During your initial consultation, we will help you decide which combination of dermal filler treatments is right for you. We will advise you on how many treatments you will need to achieve your ideal aesthetic and when you should come in for touch-up treatments.
There are several reasons why touch-up treatments are important for the quality of your results. Primarily, touch-up treatments with hyaluronic acid dermal fillers encourage your body to produce new, stronger, healthier collagen. Secondarily, the filler itself adds volume to support your skin structure while your body produces more collagen.
Am I a Good Candidate for Dermal Fillers?
One reason people love dermal fillers is that nearly everyone is a good candidate. There is no age restriction. There is no gender restriction. There is no restriction based on skin type, tone, or texture. If you do not smoke and have realistic expectations about the results, there is an excellent chance that you are a good candidate for this type of treatment.
During your initial consultation, we will review your medical history, current health, and aesthetic goals to determine which treatments will accomplish your goals. Let us know if you have had an invasive cosmetic procedure recently. If you have, you should hold off on treatment until your body has healed.
There are just a few other important considerations:
How Much Improvement Do You Want to See?
One of the reasons we review your aesthetic goals is to ensure a more extensive procedure is not required. For instance, dermal fillers are perfect for people who wish to fill in their nasolabial folds. However, if you struggle with sagging skin and wrinkles on your lower face, middle face, and upper face, a facelift combined with a brow lift and neck lift may be a better option for you.
Do You Have Any Allergies?
The best candidate for dermal fillers, including Radiesse and Voluma, has no allergies to anesthetics. Standard dermal filler formulations include lidocaine. If you are allergic to lidocaine, please let us know and we can accommodate this.
Are Invasive Procedures Not Right for You?
The best candidate for dermal filler anti-aging treatments wishes to address issues that aren’t easily corrected by an invasive procedure. For instance, sunken cheeks can be corrected with “permanent” cheek implants or fat transfer. However, if you suffer from sunken cheeks and severe, dark bags under your eyes, dermal fillers may meet your needs better.
What Are the Benefits of Dermal Fillers?
There are many benefits that come from incorporating dermal fillers into your anti-aging routine. The most popular benefit of this type of treatment is that there is absolutely no downtime. Treatment can be performed in around 10 to 20 minutes. This depends primarily on the size, number and location of areas being treated and the extent of the improvement desired.
The bottom line, however, is that there is no downtime. You can be in and out of our state-of-the-art office during your lunch break. Then you are free to return to work or whatever else you had scheduled for the day. Moreover, there are no risks associated with this type of treatment and no side effects you need to worry about.
How Should I Prepare for a Voluma or Radiesse Treatment?
What to Avoid
Before your Voluma or Radiesse treatment, there are a few things you should do to prepare. For instance, you should not take aspirin or NSAIDs for a week prior to your treatment.
You should also avoid fish oil, vitamin E and gingko biloba supplements for the week leading up to your treatment. Do not take garlic supplements or eat apples before treatment.
What to Do
To boost the amount of vitamin K in your blood, eat plenty of celery, kale, and spinach in the week leading up to your treatment. You should also apply arnica and vitamin K cream to the sites that will be treated.
You should also arrive at your appointment well hydrated after eating a full, well-balanced meal. You should also pack a snack to eat right before your injection.
What to Expect During Treatment
Immediately before your dermal filler treatment, the treatment sites will be sanitized. At your request, you may receive a topical anesthetic to numb the treatment sites so you won’t feel the injections. We offer this option to clients who are hesitant about injections. If you receive a topical numbing cream, you may need to wait between 15 and 60 minutes for the anesthetic to take effect.
However, clients rarely need a topical numbing cream because most of the formulations we offer include lidocaine. Regardless, once you’re comfortable, we will strategically inject you with the proper dose of filler in the precise depths needed to achieve your ideal aesthetic.
What Should I Do After My Radiesse or Voluma Treatment?
What to Avoid
After you receive your Voluma or Radiesse anti-aging treatment, you should avoid working out on the same day. You should also refrain from applying strong retinols or Retin-A on the same day as your treatment. Abstain from taking ibuprofen or aspirin within 36 hours of receiving your dermal filler.
Do not wear goggles or other forms of eye protection within two weeks of receiving eye or cheek filler, and do not lie face down for a massage for two weeks after your treatment. You don’t want to move the filler out of place inadvertently.
What to Do After
Immediately after treatment, apply a bag of ice or an ice pack to your face. Ice the treatment site for 20 minutes. Take oral arnica supplements and make sure you get plenty of vitamin K on the day of your treatment. You should also stay hydrated and get plenty of vitamin C.
How Else Can I Achieve My Anti-Aging Goals?
Besides dermal fillers, there are several other anti-aging treatments and procedures that may help you achieve your ideal aesthetic. The most common alternative treatment to hyaluronic acid dermal fillers is Botox. Regarding anti-aging procedures, the best procedure will depend on your aesthetic goals. However, one of our most popular procedures is a facelift combined with a neck lift.
Botox
Botox is the perfect complement to dermal filler treatments for anti-aging. This is because it addresses loose skin, fine lines, wrinkles, and folds that are not improved by HA-based fillers. Dermal fillers treat signs of aging caused by volume loss. Contrastingly, Botox is used to treat signs of aging caused by hyperactive muscles.
Botox is the most popular form of neuromodulator on the market and has been FDA-approved since the 1970s. This treatment can be completed in mere minutes. It is administered with needles so fine that you will not feel any pain or discomfort. The results of this treatment usually last between two and six months. You can see the effects after a week.
Find Your Right Dermal Filler Combination Today
Aging gracefully used to be hard. With the help of dermal fillers, it is now a lot easier. Are you confused regarding Voluma or Radiesse and which is right for you? Would you love to look years younger for months or even a year or more at a time?
If so, contact us at Boulder Plastic Surgery in Boulder, CO today to schedule your initial consultation. Regardless of your aesthetic concerns, we will work closely with you to develop the best anti-aging treatment plan for your unique needs.