Juvederm - a soft tissue filler for anti-aging procedures

What is Juvederm?

Juvederm is a type of soft tissue filler - it's made of hyaluronic acid. That's actually just a type of sugar that we all naturally have in our skin. It takes up lots of water, its composition is like a gel and it can help to smooth out and lift the skin of the face.

What problems could be addressed?

Juvederm can address three major types of problems. One is loss of volume in the aging face, so areas like the mid-cheek, and along the jaw can really sag over time, and Juvederm can be used to lift those areas up.

It can also be used to fill a fold or a wrinkle, for example folds around the smile lines and in between the eyes, the frown lines.

Finally, it can be used to enhance one of the features of the face. For example, it can change the contour of the nose, enhance the lips or even result in a more defined chin.

What are the different types of Juvederm?

There are different formulations of Juvederm on the market. Juvederm is a type of soft tissue filler made of a sugar called hyaluronic acid. The types we have available to us are Juvederm Ultra, Ultra Plus and Juvederm Voluma.

The formulations vary, so each of the different fillers have a different texture, a different hardness, ability to lift, and also a different duration on the skin.

Juvederm Ultra is the softest and Juvederm Voluma has the best lift, and is the longest lasting. You really need to talk your cosmetic dermatologist about which formulation is right for you.

What are the expected results?

So the results really depend on how much filler you're putting in and who is injecting. It's critical to choose an expert injector--someone who is a board certified physician who has special training in cosmetic procedures, and ideally they would have done a fellowship in cosmetic dermatology.

One of the nice things about fillers like Juvederm and other fillers like Juvederm is that you can see the results right away. So you can ask your physician injector to show you the mirror right after the treatment is done to make sure you're feeling satisfied. It's important to remember that the results are more dramatic when you put more filler in, so it's also possible to use a very small amount of filler for very subtle results depending on what you're looking for.

I like to reassure patients that if they're not completely satisfied with their results, I encourage them to come back into the office to let me have a look--we can work together to make sure things are how you as the patient were hoping they would turn out.

What does this procedure cost?

The cost of Juvederm as a treatment can really vary depending on how much filler you're putting in, what type exactly you choose and who's doing the treatment for you. It can range anywhere from around three hundred dollars to several thousand dollars if you're doing a full face re-volumization.