Wrinkle fillers and Botox are skin  aging treatments that have become extremely popular (especially in Hollywood) in the past decade. Although both types of wrinkle treatments are applied by injection and are used to resolve similar facial flaws, the ways they work on your skin differ greatly. The possible complications from wrinkle fillers are also distinctly different from Botox side effects.

Personally, I will probably use neither of them because of two simple reasons. First, I’m scared of needles. And secondly, I don’t think natural wrinkles are that hideous; I probably won’t like them but will be able to live with them just fine. But if you decide to give wrinkle fillers or Botox a try, here are the things you should know before you undergo the procedures:

Aging Skin Problems that Wrinkle Fillers and Botox can Help Reduce

• Lines on the forehead and around the eyes
• Sunken or acne scars
• Nasolabial lines or wrinkles between the nose and lips

Some people may call them facial fillers or dermal fillers. What they can do is fill the lines or space in the skin that causes hallows and wrinkles. Besides reducing scars and wrinkles, some types of facial fillers can also be used for lip enhancement (imagine Angelina Jolie).

Hyaluronic Acid Gels

Our skin ages because it loses 3 components: elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid gels can treat skin aging by replacing collagen and hyaluronic acid, and also pulling water into the skin. Some high-quality hyaluronic acid fillers are Restylane and Restylane-Perlane, which have been proven to be long-lasting fillers that do not trigger allergic reactions. Restylane is often used for lip enhancement whereas Restylane-Perlane is usually applied for treating nasolabial wrinkles and sunken scars.

Bovine Collagen

Bovine collagen is the oldest type of filler that dermatologists have been using to fill in eye wrinkles, enlarge lips and erase acne scars. This kind of treatment, however, is not very long-lasting and can be quite allergenic to some patients.

Human-based Collagen (CosmoDerm, CosmoPlast and AlloDerm)

CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast are human-derived collagen widely used in wrinkle and facial imperfection treatments. They are supposed to be much less allergenic and safer than bovine collagen. CosmoDerm is usually used to treat minor aging lines while CosmoPlast is for more serious facial defects.

AlloDerm is another human-based skin filler, made of donated human cadaver's skin tissues. It has been successfully used in various surgical reconstructive procedures (mostly in burn victims) to replace lost and damaged tissues. And now dermatologists are using AlloDerm to fill in wrinkles as well.

Body Fat

This type of wrinkle filler is obtained from the patient’s own fat, usually from lower stomach or thighs. Results may last from just a few months to over a year.

Dermal-stimulating Fillers

They are also known as NewFill or Sculptra. Dermal or skin stimulating fillers not only fill in wrinkles and sunken scars, but also stimulate the skin tissues to form their own new collagen. NewFill was originally developed to treat the thinning of the face that occurred in some AIDS patients and later used by worldwide dermatologists to improve extreme facial wrinkles and very deep scars.  

Botox is a brand name for a purified form of botulinum toxin type A. It contains only tiny quantities of the isolated toxin without intact bacteria, meaning it is safe to use and you will not get botulism from the injections. By injecting small doses of Botox into facial muscles, it can temporarily paralyze those certain muscles that are forming aging lines, and accordingly wipe away creases and wrinkles from your face.

• Swelling
• Redness
• Bruising
• Lumpiness

 All these symptoms should disappear in a few days after the treatment.

Both wrinkle fillers and Botox are very effective wrinkle treatments that are relatively painless and take little time (usually less than an hour) to complete the procedure. They can also, however, cause serious side effects if the treatment is performed by an untrained practitioner. The most important thing you should do before receiving these types of wrinkle treatments, therefore, is to ensure that the person you are consulting is really a trained dermatologist, dermatologic surgeon or plastic surgeon.