Your Dermal Filler Cheat Sheet

Everything you need to know about dermal fillers, from what works best to what you can do if it’s too much.

- Goh Yee Huay

Hear the words “filler” along with “aesthetic treatments”, and more often than not, an image of Kylie Jenner – with her full lips – comes to mind. That, or photos of filler treatments gone wrong, courtesy of the American cosmetic surgery reality TV series Botched.

It’s no wonder that dermal fillers can get a bad rep. And yet when used correctly, they can help restore lost youth in a natural way. Contrary to what many might think, fillers aren’t just used to fill in lines and wrinkles, or to make lips look luscious and pouty.

In fact, there are many ways to use fillers, says Dr Melvin Tan, medical director and founder of Epion Clinic. “Injecting it [serves a function that’s] more like a scaffold; we can replace structure in the face that has been lost due to degeneration of bone, muscle and fat with ageing. This helps to lift the skin and reduce the appearance of folds and sagging.”

At the same time, fillers can also be used to “accentuate certain features such as the lips, nose and chin, while disguising less desirable features such as laugh lines and dark circles”, adds Dr Tan.

If you’re thinking of getting fillers, here’s everything you need to know:

WHAT’S A FILLER?

“Fillers are substances that are injected in or below the skin to replace volume or create fullness,” says Dr Tan. And while there are many different filler brands available in the market, the more well-known ones are Juvederm, Restylane and Teosyal. “These have the most clinical data supporting their safety and efficacy,” he adds.

Fillers are generally categorised into two major types: hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers and non-hyaluronic acid fillers.