As you age, you will notice changes to your face’s shape and volume. Lips are likely to become thinner, lines will appear, and wrinkles can deepen. This could leave you self-conscious or unhappy with your appearance, which is natural, and it’s something that many people deal with. Thankfully, this is where dermal fillers can help turn back the clock.
If you’re unhappy about how you look or want to combat the visible signs of ageing, dermal fillers are a fantastic cosmetic solution. Dermal fillers can also create more defined features and dimensions, which is ideal if you are not completely happy with the shape of your face. For example, if you have thin lips. Whether your face has lost definition due to ageing or you aren’t happy with a particular aspect of your appearance, dermal fillers are worth considering.
How Do Dermal Fillers Work?
Dermal fillers work in several ways, which is why they are so popular in aesthetic treatments. Not only are dermal fillers fantastic for combatting the signs of ageing, but they are ideal for adding volume and dimension to the face. This works, thanks to hyaluronic acid; the body naturally produces a certain amount of hyaluronic acid, and dermal fillers work by boosting this.
Hyaluronic acid is found throughout the body, in almost all of the body’s cells, and it’s something that everyone produces naturally. It helps create a youthful and fresh appearance by ensuring the body has enough collagen and moisture. This keeps fine lines and wrinkles from appearing, preventing areas of the face from looking hollow or thin. Hyaluronic acid is what ensures the face is voluminous and full. As you age, the amount of hyaluronic acid your body produces begins to dwindle, which leads to the appearance of ageing. Cheeks can appear sunken, wrinkles become more apparent, and the overall shape of your face could change. Using hyaluronic acid, dermal fillers correct this by ensuring the body has everything it needs to look youthful.
A little goes a long way with hyaluronic acid, which is why dermal fillers are only administered in very small amounts. It might not seem like a small amount of hyaluronic acid will make a big difference, but it does. Once the hyaluronic acid has entered the skin, the dermal filler helps to keep you looking young by restoring volume, fullness and elasticity. When you have dermal filler treatment, you can expect the treatment to add definition to your lips and increase the volume, creating a ‘plumper’ and younger look. Dermal fillers also reduce fine lines and wrinkles around your eyes, lips, forehead and eyebrows by increasing the volume and ‘filling them in’ and even give you a non-surgical nose job.
Can Vegans Use Dermal Fillers?
Many people mistakenly assume vegans can’t use dermal fillers, wrongly assuming that all dermal fillers use animal products in one way or another. However, this is not the case; it’s far from it. However, there are certainly some types of dermal filler that do use animal products, but many of them do not. For example, Juvederm – a type of dermal filler offered here at The Body Work Clinic – and Restylane are suitable for vegans. Most fillers, including lip and dermal fillers, are made from non-animal hyaluronic acid. This makes them suitable for vegans and free of any animal products.
As a vegan, you can have dermal fillers and improve your appearance, knowing that you are not using a treatment involving animal products. The hyaluronic acid is created without using animals in the dermal fillers we use. However, though the products are considered entirely vegan, they are likely to have been tested on animals. This is because fillers are medical products required by law to be tested on animals. If a medical product is not tested on animals, it cannot be used on humans. Of course, being tested on animals doesn’t make the product any less vegan, and the dermal fillers are still suitable for vegans, but it is something to bear in mind if you are cautious about this.
Are All Types of Dermal Fillers Vegan?
Unfortunately, not all dermal fillers are vegan. Though many dermal fillers are made without using animal products, some are. For example, Alloderm, CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast are all made using animal tissue. These dermal fillers are commonly used to fill lips, as they create effective and impressive results, but they are not suitable for anyone who wishes to avoid using animal products. Zyplast and Zyderm should also be avoided if you are vegan, as these are both made using bovine collagen. Though effective, especially at filling deep lines and wrinkles, Zyplast and Zyderm use animal products.
Luckily, there are some types of dermal fillers that vegans can use without worrying about the involvement of animals. Juvederm is a popular type of dermal filler and is known for being vegan-friendly. It’s made using hyaluronic acid, which does not come from animals, and it doesn’t use any other ingredients that do. Restylane is another dermal filler option for vegans; it’s also created using non-animal-based hyaluronic acid called NASHA. NASHA – non-animal stabilised hyaluronic acid – is completely natural, biodegradable and biocompatible with human hyaluronic acid.
Professional Dermal Filler Treatment
At The Body Work Clinic, we pride ourselves on offering a wide range of treatments to suit all patients, including those that follow a vegan lifestyle. This is why we offer vegan-friendly dermal filler options. There is no need to miss out on dermal filler treatment if you are vegan. When you choose The Body Work Clinic, you are choosing a team of aesthetic experts. To find out more about dermal fillers, book a consultation today and speak to one of our specialists.