The Injectable Revolution is Here: Botox and Fillers 2.0 and Beyond the Needle

We have seen a revolution in facial and body treatments since the introduction of toxin over 30 years ago in 1989 for the treatment of frown lines and lines around the eyes from squinting in the sun famously known as crow’s feet. This was followed by the next breakthrough in injectable facial rejuvenation with the game changing revolution of hyaluronic acid (HA) in 2003 for adding lost volume from the cheeks and softening the nasolabial folds, the lines running parallel to the nose to the corners of the mouth, commonly referred to as laugh or smile lines. Quickly to follow were the introduction of more permanent injectables which could stimulate your own cells to produce collagen and elastin in 2004 and were used initially as volume for hollowed out temple regions.

So for the last 20 years, there have been advances and refinements regarding neurotoxins and hyaluronic acids for greater precision and more options in the personalities of this products, also known as rheology, with focus specific HAs for the lips, cheeks, under the eyes and even for the finest of lines. These advances have helped improve facial rejuvenation results with injectables.

Now this is where things start to really get impressive, because recent focus has been on utilization of the longer lasting fillers such as PLLA (Sculptra) and CaHA (Radiesse) which also have the incredible properties of biostimulation for collagen and elastin production with increasing ratios of saline to product. It turns out that PLLA and CaHA at high dilution levels (hyperdilute) become incredibly good at stimulation of collagen production. The process and pathway that each of these products takes to create collage is different but the results are the same.

Hyperdilute PLLA and CaHa are now used for improvement in the quality of the skin of the face but also can be used in the hands, neck, arms, legs, abdomen as well as any part of the body where needed. The effects are impressive and improvements are not just limited to skin quality. For example, hyperdilute CaHA can be used for non-surgical gluteal enhancement (Brazilian Lift) or to smooth out irregularities of the abdomen after liposuction. Treatment can also be extended for zones of stubborn cellulite.

With this huge gain in momentum with HA filler products with enormous versatility and hyperdilute biostimulatory agents you can wonder if we should be on the lookout for anymore injectable advances?

In fact, the revolution in facial injectables continues with the combination of neurotoxin agents with HAs to improve results and prolong the longevity of results with greater periods of time between treatments. Sustainability of results is also the driving factor in blending biostimulation injection with HAs.

With all these advancements in facial injection technology there seems to be a never ending array of treatment options and the one size fits all approach to fillers and toxins has officially come to and end.

But despite all these advances, could we see an even newer approach take us beyond the needle to a less invasive approach for a healthier more youthful appearance? The answer is of course, Yes!

Dramatic innovations in the delivery of older products such as HA as well as a scientific revolution into the understanding of the ageing process has delivered us onto the stage of advanced cosmeceuticals. Today, you can deliver daily HA to your face and neck with topical applications through a cream for a fuller, smoother and healthier skin quality and even more impressive are the innovations with exosomes for topical delivery of bioactive molecules (proteins, growth factors, cytokins) that can send signals to influence the aging process and performance of your own cells to upregulate collagen and elastin production.

I don’t see injectables and topical exosomes and HA competing with one another but acting more like complementary therapies to maximize skin results. However, if you are just starting to explore facial rejuvenation perhaps the topical therapies can be a less intimidating entry point.

What the ultimate impact of cosmeceuticals are on skin health and the aging process in the long run remains to be seen but I’m looking forward to seeing not just the short term gains but also results over the years to come.

I look forward to guiding you on your facial rejuvenation journey through the many treatment options available. I am open to combining injection with the non-injectable approaches to maximize results for healthier and more youthful looking skin.