Question: I've heard that getting Botox early is a wrinkle-prevention measure. Does the same go for fillers? If I start when I'm young, will I have less volume loss in my face as I age?
Answer: Volume loss in the face occurs when the body slows down the production of collagen (a protein responsible for strength, elasticity and plumpness) due to factors like the natural aging process, sun exposure and low body weight. Volume loss, by and large, is the reason patients get filler in the first place, just as wrinkles are the reason they get injections of neurotoxins like Botox and Dysport. But as an increasing number of 20-somethings head to the derm for "preventative Botox," it follows to wonder if early filler injections also help to slow skin aging in the long-term. Turns out, according to a study published in the Archives of Dermatology which demonstrated that injections of Restylane led to increased collagen production even after the filler had been metabolized, they do. We asked Dr. Ava Shamban to speak to the science.
"The research found that if you take Restylane and inject it into the arm, then do electron microscopy and really look at the skin, there's the formation of more collagen," said Shamban, who explained that Restylane, a cross-linked hyaluronic acid, can trigger collagen growth by "stretching" the skin's fibroblasts, which are cells found in the connective tissue that stimulate wound healing. "Think of the fibroblasts like your hand—they have these dendrites [branched, treelike structures] and when there's nothing for them to hold on to, they kind of crumple down and don't do anything," says Shamban. "The theory is that when you inject new hyaluronic acid, all of a sudden they can grab on to it and it activates collagen. I was surprised by it and didn't understand it at first, but the results persisted well after the skin metabolized the product and collagen formation occurred unequivocally." But what happens if you already have plump cheekbones and don't necessarily want more volume? "One syringe, injected sparingly across the face, doesn't even register—no one will notice," says Shamban.
