Botox vs. Fillers: Have You Booked the Right Treatment?

What’s the difference between BOTOX and fillers? Don’t they both just make you look… younger?

Well, yes. Both BOTOX and fillers can give you a more youthful look and more confidence.

But there are some key differences between these injectable treatments, and understanding these differences can help ensure you book the right appointment. 

So let’s discuss the differences between BOTOX and filler.

What Is BOTOX?

At this point, you’ve probably heard about BOTOX plenty. This classic injectable is a well-known, trusted product that has undergone many years of testing and studies.

So what exactly is it? BOTOX is the brand name for botulinum toxin—a naturally-occurring protein. In high doses, botulinum toxin can be toxic. But in low doses, it’s an extremely safe—and effective—anti-aging treatment. 

How BOTOX Works

When BOTOX is injected, it temporarily reduces the muscle activity in areas of the face that are particularly expressive—like the forehead, brow, or crow’s feet around the eyes. This reduction in muscle activity reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Reduced muscle activity also helps prevent wrinkles, so preventative BOTOX is a real thing.

BOTOX Can Be Used for:

• Lines between your eyebrows (nicknamed 11s)
• Forehead lines
• Upper lip lines
• Nasal lines
• Neck bands
• Chin dimpling

And its benefits aren’t just cosmetic. 

BOTOX for Migraines

BOTOX is also often used to treat migraines. For this treatment, it will be injected at specific “trigger points.”

Masseter BOTOX

BOTOX can be injected into the masseter muscle at the side of your face to treat TMJ and/or teeth grinding.

BOTOX for Sweating

Another use for BOTOX is to stop excessive sweating, known as hyperhidrosis. The BOTOX will be injected into the armpit to treat this condition.

What Does Dermal Filler Do?

As you age, you naturally lose collagen—the protein that keeps your skin plump, firm, and smooth. As a result, the skin will have a thin, sagging, or dry appearance. Collagen acts as the support structure for skin, so as you lose collagen, your skin will sag and fold. You will also have a hollow appearance throughout the face, particularly your under eyes and cheeks. This lack of collagen also emphasizes wrinkling and fine lines.

Fillers add volume to the face, which can restore firmness and plumpness and lift sagging skin while reducing the appearance of wrinkles and folds.

Filler isn’t only an anti-aging treatment. It can also augment facial features to change the symmetry or contours of the face. For example, it can be added to the chin to correct a weak jawline. Or it can be used on the lips to enlarge your pout.

Here are the dermal filler appointments to schedule at Esthetics Center:

1. Upper face filler:

• Can treat frown lines between the eyebrows and fill in hollow temples

2. Midface filler:

• Can correct nasolabial folds around the nose and hollowness under the eyes 
• Can add volume to sunken cheeks, which additionally lifts jowls 
• Can also be used in the nose as a “liquid rhinoplasty” 

3. Lower face filler:

• Can treat marionette lines around the mouth (also known as smile lines) and a dimpled chin 
• It can create more protrusion in a recessed chin and strengthen an undefined jawline 
• The most popular lower face filler treatment is lip filler.

4. Biostimulators: long-lasting fillers that stimulate your body’s natural collagen production

1. Bellafill:

• One of the longest-lasting fillers available on the market. Patients can expect results to last 5-7 years, with some patients reporting they enjoy results for 10-15 years. Bellafill uses a collagen base and contains tiny microspheres that stimulate your skin cells to make collagen in the injection site. Bellafill can be used in the cheeks, temples, nasolabial folds, marionette lines, and chin. It also reduces the appearance of acne scars.

2. Sculptra:

• Jumpstarts your body’s natural collagen and elastin production, gradually restoring lost volume for 2+ years. It can be used in the temples, cheeks, and jawline, around the nose to treat nasolabial folds, and around the mouth to correct marionette lines.

BOTOX or Fillers

When asking, “Should I get BOTOX or filler?” there’s no right or wrong answer. They are both the top esthetic treatments today for a reason—they deliver amazing results. Here are a couple of good questions to ask yourself to help you decide which treatment is right for you:

1. What are my esthetic goals? For example, do you have a facial feature that’s been bothering you? In that case, it may benefit from augmentation with dermal filler (like a weak chin that you wish would be more in balance with your face). Or do you have fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes or across your forehead that you'd like to smooth out? BOTOX (or Dysport, our other Wrinkle Relaxer) can get you to that goal. Your treatment goals will determine what treatments to pursue.
2. Where is my skin at? Are you dealing with just-developing fine lines and wrinkles, or is your skin developing deep folds? These are two different points on the spectrum of aging skin and will require different treatment plans. For example, filler will provide greater results for deep folds.

In many cases, the answer to “BOTOX or Fillers?” is BOTOX AND fillers. Sure, you can have a peanut butter sandwich or a jelly sandwich, but how much better is a PB&J? The way peanut butter and jelly complement each other, BOTOX and filler are complementary treatments. In some cases, we even recommend a liquid facelift, known as an EC Lift, which combines the effects of BOTOX and filler to lift, smooth, and sculpt ten years off of your appearance. 

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There are many pieces that factor into such a decision. We know that it can be confusing, and we’ve seen that confusion leads to decision paralysis in many people. 

That’s why we wanted to give you this bird’s-eye view of the topic. 

But everyone’s goals and skin are different.

So if you’d like a skilled Nurse Injector to look at your skin and help you decide the right treatment plan for your goals, book a free consultation at the link below or call (916) 941-9400. 

https://estheticscenter.zenoti.com/webstoreNew/services/949140b2-b561-428d-8cf2-1a0a3e5f75ac