What Does Filler Look Like?
Injectable fillers are rising in their popularity. Whether to seek volume and hydration or to create symmetry, there are many reasons why many go under the needle. I showcase a number of different case studies with the aid of Treatment Pad, a layout photography app.
There are a number of dermal fillers on the market, this article focusses on hyaluronic acid fillers which are often advertised as reversible or non-permanent. Depending on where these fillers are placed onto the face will determine which filler is used and the type. Broadly speaking, fillers can be thick, ideal for areas that require projection, such as the cheeks, or thinner, ideal for areas that require refinement or slight volume such as the lips.
Your cosmetic injector will hopefully be able to guide you to the best product to use and the volume injected. Most practitioners will opt to inject 1ml at a time, especially in areas such as the lips, where a little filler can go a long way. However, to a client who has not had any filler in the past, often a whole millilitre of filler can sound quite daunting and sometimes too much. With this in mind, I demonstrate how much 1ml of filler actually looks like in real life, and how that translates when injected into the lips in different case studies.
How Much Is 1ml?
Dermal fillers typically come pre-prepared in 1ml syringes. This can look like quite a large quantity to an unsuspecting patient. The syringes often look long and therefore seem like a lot to inject into a particular area. When 1ml of filler is decanted into a teaspoon, it actually fills up approximately a third of the teaspoon. So in reality, although it seems like a lot, its actually not.
Case Studies
Of course, injecting 1ml of filler into different people will have different outcomes. This depends on their anatomy, their baseline volume, whether they have had any filler in the past and what their desired outcome would be. Now we’ll explore different patients having their first 1ml of lip filler to see how varied the results appear.
Case Study 1: 50 years old
This is a patient who presented with a concern of volume depletion and lack of hydration to her lips. She had never had lip filler in the past and was unsure how much of an impact 1ml of filler would have.
Looking at the before and after picture, there is a clear difference in the volume of the lip and the hydration. The lips appear more youthful and have made a significant difference to the overall appearance of the face.
Case Study 2: Mid-20 year old
This patient wanted to improve the appearance of the upper lip. In cosmetics, there is a “golden ratio”, whereby the ratio of the lips should be 1:1.6, meaning the upper lip to be slightly small than the lower lip. However, there is an increasing trend to make both lips symmetrical, which was the desire of this patient. The injections were focussed on increasing the size of the upper lip, whilst maintaining the volume and symmetry of the lower.
Case Study 3: 40 year old
This patient’s main concern was to improve the appearance of both lips as she had felt that the volume had depleted over time, something which certainly can happen with increasing age.
By injecting a millilitre of filler to both lips, volume was restored and the lips appear more hydrated and youthful.
Case Study 4: 30 years old
Correcting volume and improving symmetry can also be done with strategic placement of lip filler as seen in this early 30 year old patient. She presented with a thinner upper lip, but had a good base to start with. Not having any filler in the past, the volume of the upper lip was increased whilst maintaining the appearance of the bottom lip with a few injection points.
Case Study 5: Mid 50 year old
The final case study was a patient in her mid 50’s who already had good volume of both of her lips, however, she felt hydration was lacking and the lips were more ‘wrinkled’ than previously. These complaints are often common in the later decades of life and certainly filler can be used to address these issues. By using the filler into her lips, they appear more hydrated and volumous.
Conclusion
As seen by the above case studies, 1ml of filler can look quite unique in different scenarios. The volume is still the same in each patient but the outcome can significantly vary. One commonality in all of these patients that have not had filler before, is, that they do not look overdone or have ‘duck lips’ which is always a concern with new-to-filler patients. To achieve such a large amount of projection, a number of syringes of filler would need to be used and of course, the experience and expertise of the injector also comes into play.
Dermal fillers are an invasive procedure do not come without their risks, so it is important that if you are considering having any such treatments done that you consult with an adequately qualified healthcare practitioner.
I hope that you have found this article helpful.
Take care and stay healthy,
Dr Nora x
Please note that the contents of this article are educational and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or medical condition.
Photography was taken with the patient’s consent.
