If you want to plump up sunken cheekbones, fill in stubborn facial lines, or create more supple lips, you may want to consider fat injections.

Cosmetic fillers are not all alike. Injectables and fillers include a variety of materials, which last for different lengths of time and have different effects and uses. These articles explain each type, plus what makes a good candidate for treatment, recovery tips, and cost.

With so many products on the market, finding the injectable filler most suitable for your condition can be confusing. This article provides an overview of the various types of injectable fillers and their uses.
Learn more about injectable fillers

One of ArteFill's main appeals is its permanency. ArteFill consists of synthetic microspheres suspended in bovine (cow) collagen. It is an FDA-approved injectable wrinkle filler for smile lines but is also used off-label for lip augmentation, acne scars, and more.

What causes wrinkles? Some are caused by muscle contraction. Botox disrupts the process and essentially paralyzes the muscle; the contraction is stopped, and the wrinkles disappear for about three months.

Collagen is a protein complex that supports skin, bone, cartilage, and blood vessels. Collagen filler temporarily treats wrinkles, scars, thin lips, frown lines, and folds around the nose and mouth. The benefits are immediate and last about three months.

Fat fillers can improve the appearance of an aging forehead and eyes, and reduce scars. Fat fillers can also plump up hollow cheeks, fill in stubborn facial lines, or change your lips from thin to supple. The filler consists of fat taken from one part of your body and moved into the area of your body to be treated.

A gel implant containing hyaluronic acid, Juvederm is used for facial wrinkles and folds. The substance is biocompatible, and the body naturally absorbs it after about six to nine months.

Whether with facial fillers or lip implants, full lips are within reach of people who want to look younger or achieve better balance in their facial features. Our article discusses methods and materials, as well as cost.

For filling wrinkles and folds, especially around the mouth and nose, Radiesse is a biocompatible treatment and lasts two years or more. It can also be used to fill certain scars.

Restylane is a clear liquid gel and a natural sugar compound that reduces facial wrinkles, particularly around the mouth and nose. Treatments can last six months or more.

Sculptra is a biocompatible injection that increases the thickness of the skin to treat skin folds and hollow or sunken areas of the face. It lasts about two years. This treatment was recently introduced in the United States.

Fat injections are a popular short-term solution to temporarily improve the appearance of hollow cheeks, thin lips, an aging forehead, eyes, and scars. There is no need for concern about a foreign substance in your body, the fat used in the injection is taken directly from another area of your body.

People who use fat injections may be any age. The best candidates for fat injections are well educated about the procedure and fully able to comply with aftercare instructions. Repeated treatments may be necessary — good candidates are prepared for multiple sessions in order to achieve their desired results. In order to be a candidate for fat injections, patients must have excess fat in another part of the body to harvest the fat injection from.

The procedure is performed in the doctor's office under local anesthesia. Patients may experience minimal discomfort from the needle injection. Depending on the extent of treatment, the procedure can take from 30 to 90 minutes. Patients return home shortly after the procedure is finished.

First, an antiseptic is applied to two areas: the location of the fat to be removed from your body, and the target areas that will receive the fat injection.
Fat cells are then removed from the buttocks, stomach, or thighs with a syringe or cannula (a thin hollow tube) that is connected to a vacuum device.
After the fat cells are suctioned, they are processed and purified by the doctor. The fat is then injected beneath the skin into the target area. A bandage may be applied at this time.

Results are fully evident within one week. Fat fillers never result in 100 percent improvement of wrinkles, scars, hollow cheeks, or thinned lips; nor are the results permanent. Results can last as little as a few weeks or as long as one year.

Transplanted fat cells will die without blood supply within three to four days at body temperature. It takes three to four days until the first capillaries are reaching the injected fat cells. Therefore, the "take" of fat cells is always a gamble; some survive forever, while most of them don't take and are reabsorbed in the body.

After the procedure, patients may experience rather strong swelling and some bruising. The swelling may last for several weeks or months. The treated area may appear reddish in colour within the first 48 hours. Scabs may form as well. Most often, normal activities can be resumed immediately. Patients are advised to stay out of the sun. Unmanageable pain or symptoms that are progressive or abnormal should be reported to the doctor immediately.

Complications are possible with any medical procedure; however, complications from fat injections are typically minimal. Complications may include uneven texture of the skin, infection, abscess, and scarring. In some cases, the area may be overfilled or underfilled.

There may be alternative treatment options, depending on your condition. Other minimally invasive procedures include Botox and Restylane. For severe signs of aging, surgical procedures may be more appropriate, such as a facelift, forehead lift and eyelid surgery.

Your doctor may recommend additional skin-surface treatments, which might include chemical peel, laser skin resurfacing or microdermabrasion.

The extent of the procedure may involve one or several areas of the body. The appropriate dosage for each area and the thickness of the filler required for each area can differ, making it difficult to provide a meaningful cost estimate until you are examined by a doctor.

The cost for fat injections can range from a minimum of $350 to more than $5,000 if the entire face is treated.

Since the treatment is unpredictable, you will need to consider the possible lifetime expense in order to evaluate the true impact on your budget.