WE LOOK for evidence of the passage of time in clocks and calendars, but we really need look no further than at our own faces in the mirror. Every passing day is etched onto our faces, seen in fine lines and wrinkles. But while we cannot reverse time, as of yet, we can at least reverse its effects on our faces through the use of dermal fillers.
Earlier this month, Merz Pharma, the international health care company that deals in technologies used in aesthetics and dermatology, held a talk on dermal fillers. A panel made up of doctors Wilson Ho, Gio Dimayuga, Gerald Sy, and Gaile Robredo Vitas talked to dispel some myths about dermal fillers and to educate possible consumers on risks of the procedure.
At its core, the procedure is easy. Deficiencies on the face’s structure, such as gaunt, sagging cheeks, can be remedied by injecting a substance into them. Aside from filling in cavities, the procedure has been used to enhance features such as lips, the cheekbones, and the nose. Unfortunately, potential end-users have seen depictions in popular culture of people who have had too much work done, resulting in puffed-up, swollen features. Dr. Ho credits these botched jobs to the use of permanent fillers, that are sometimes made with unsafe substances such as paraffin, oil, or even cement.
The doctors on the panel collectively advocated the use of dermal fillers made of hyalauronic acid (HA) and calcium hydroxylapatite (CHA), which Merz produces. According to Dr. Ho, hyalauronic acid is naturally occuring within the body, found in tissues with one of its functions being to lock in water within the body. As for calcium hydroxylapatite, it is a naturally occuring mineral, found, for example, in bones and teeth.
Dr. Vitas said that different fillers are used for different purposes. “It depends on where you want to put it,” she said. Most of her patients, she said, elect to have fillers placed in their lips, chin, and nose, with some men opting to have them placed on their jawlines to create a more powerful and masculine jaw. For the lips, she said, “You don’t want a filler that’s too hard, or too bumpy, and lumpy.”
For other parts of the face, something more robust is needed. She then points out that she has fillers in her own face: on her temples and mid-cheeks. “Good fillers, when done correctly, on the right patient, by the right doctor, will look very natural.”
Dr. Ho then pointed out the same fillers in his own face; they were used on his temples, tear troughs, cheeks, and chin. He talked about how the procedure can be very simple, if done correctly. “Go run… go to kiss your boyfriend. No problem. Drink wine,” he said of the things that you can do after what he calls a “lunchtime” procedure.
But before you go rushing out to have your face filled, bear in mind that these procedures need to be done correctly, and by a professional.
CHA and HA fillers will last for about 12 to 18 months. The doctors say that the substances can also work as a collagen stimulant, so the next time one doesn’t need to fill the cavity with the same amount. It’s the excess filling that leads to the puffed-up face that becomes the butt of jokes about botched-up procedures.
Another thing one needs to watch out for is the promise of permanence. Earlier procedures — and by early, we mean the 1800s — promised users permanent effects with the injection of paraffin and silicone into the body, leading to complications in the long run. Such promises are outdated, and Dr. Ho reminds us: “Permanent filler, permanent problem.” In life and in the body, change is constant, and putting something hard, rigid, and potentially harmful into your face is perhaps tantamount to going through life with emotional baggage. Weight loss and weight gain would look awkward next to permanently puffed-up lips and cheeks, just like how a bad memory can alter otherwise good circumstances.
“The thing is — what kind of thing in your life is permanent?” Dr. Ho argued. “Nothing is permanent.” — Joseph L. Garcia

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