Squinting into the sun, frowning at a computer, smiling at our children; they all leave a history of lines on our face. Help is at hand for those who want to smooth out lines for a more youthful complexion, as Dr Anita Soosay sets us straight on the differences between Botox and Fillers.
Table of Contents
Botox is best for:
- Treating the lines on your face that come about by excessive muscle movement caused by facial expressions
- Shaping the contour of your face if you have a squarish or roundish jawline
- Treating excessive sweating. Besides relaxing muscles, Botox is also able to block sweat glands.
Fillers are best for:
- Using on areas such as smile lines (nasolabial folds) and the angles of our mouth (marionette’s lines) to literally fill them up and give them a lift from beneath the skin
- Filling up volume loss of the cheeks and lips
- Reshaping the bridge of your nose.
Both can be used for:
- A complete facial rejuvenation. Botox can be used to treat the wrinkles on your upper face, which are due to excessive muscle movements (frown lines and crow’s feet, and fillers to plump up the lower face which have volume loss (nasolabial lines and lips).
The Facts
Botox
Botox is a muscle relaxant that is injected into the muscles to make them contract less tightly, which creates an overall smoother look. It lasts 4 to 6 months.
Fillers
As we age, collagen degenerates. This causes our skin to lose volume and become more lax over time. Fillers are a type of gel that is injected into or under the skin to “plump” it up, and last nine to 24 months depending on the type of fillers used.
—Published on expatLIVING BODY & MIND GUIDE 2012 Magazine
