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.

Both Botox and facial fillers are office procedures or injectables that are done during an office visit or consultation. These procedures are usually done without any type of sedation, but occasionally a topical numbing cream may be used. Botox is a neuromodulator. It absorbs to the muscles and causes the muscles to weaken. When the muscles weaken, the overlying skin or wrinkles seem to smooth out. Botox is the
most common cosmetic procedure performed across the country. It has been approved for use 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 for aesthetic facial issues.

Soft tissue fillers are a completely different category. These are an inert compound that is injected in the deep layer of skin or underneath the skin to essentially build up or plump out those tissues. The fillers that are used in the office are all temporary fillers, in that they do slowly dissolve over time. The specific fillers that are used vary, depending on the area that is to be injected. The fillers could last anywhere from six months to about two years. 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, comers of the mouth or to improve the overall volume of the lips. Oftentimes these are done in one procedure setting.