Explain the difference between Botox and a facial filler

Heartland Plastic and Hand Surgery offers a variety of facial fillers and injectables to men and women living in Perryville, Poplar Bluff and nearby communities, including Marion/Carbondale, Illinois.

FDA-approved injectable treatments, like soft tissue filler and botox injection, are well-known cosmetic procedures that continue to increase in popularity for their natural-looking results and minimal downtime. Botox and other treatments are a great way to combat facial lines, smile lines, and frown lines.

Botox and dermal fillers are procedures or injectables done during an office visit or consultation. These procedures are usually done without any sedation, but occasionally, a topical numbing cream may be used. Botox is a neuromodulator. It absorbs the muscles and causes the muscles to weaken. When the facial muscles weaken, Botox can smooth wrinkles. Botox cosmetic is the most common cosmetic procedure performed across the country. It has been approved for the corrugator creases, or lines between the eyebrows, along the forehead wrinkles and crow’s lines. Occasionally, Botox may be used in some other areas to address aesthetic facial issues.

Soft tissue fillers are a completely different category. These dermal fillers are an inert compound injected in the deep layer of skin or underneath the skin to build up or plump out those tissues. The injectable dermal fillers used in the office are all temporary and slowly dissolve over time. The specific injectable fillers used vary, depending on the area to be injected. The hyaluronic acid fillers could last anywhere from six months to about two years. Clinical trials have shown Botox lasts an average of 3 – 4 months. It is very common to do Botox injections for wrinkles around the forehead and crow’s lines and then do soft tissue fillers along the cheeks, nasolabial folds, comes off the mouth, or to improve the overall volume of the lips. Often, hyaluronic acid dermal filler procedures and botulinum toxin are performed simultaneously.