Lip Augmentation

Lip augmentation creates fuller, plumper lips and reduces fine wrinkles around the mouth. Lips may be injected with collagen or with fat transferred from another site in the patient's body. Both liquid collagen and fat are absorbed and repeat treatments are necessary to maintain results. Newer, longer-lasting options include implantable materials like AlloDerm and SoftForm.

Technique:

A natural or synthetic biocompatible material, or the patient's own fat, is injected or implanted in the lips. One injection is usually sufficient to produce the desired result, which may be temporary, depending on the material used. Injections may need to be repeated periodically. Proper placement of the injected material is important. AlloDerm, a natural collagen sheet made from donated skin, is inserted through tiny incisions inside the corners of the mouth. Once the AlloDerm implant is in place, it eventually becomes integrated with the natural tissues. Gore-Tex, SoftForm and soft ePTFE are other synthetic implant options.

Further options include:

• Autologen - injectable dermal implant material made from the patient's own skin.
• Dermalogen - injectable Human Tissue Matrix (HTM) procured from donor tissue.
• Fascia - injectable donor tissue made from the dense white connective tissue that supports body structure. Can also be done as a surgical implant.
• HylaForm - a crystal-clear injectable gel; the hyaluronic acid in Hylaform is similar to that naturally found in the body.
• Radiance - calcium hydroxylapatite
• Restylane - crystal-clear injectable gel; the hyaluronic acid in Restylane is very close to that naturally found in the body.

Another augmentation choice is laser lip rejuvenation, which tightens the natural collagen and elastic tissue beneath the lips.

The science of rejuvenation

What is aesthetic medicine?

No longer willing to accept the visible signs of aging, an increasing number of women and men are seeking treatments to help them look as vibrant as they feel.
Thanks to aesthetic medicine, millions of people around the world can now look and feel younger for longer. A fast-growing field, aesthetic medicine is the art of rejuvenating skin and enhancing facial beauty through safe, physician-administered treatments based on breakthrough science.

About fillers and botulinum toxin Type A.

Most popular aesthetic treatments are fillers and Botulinum toxins, which are well-tolerated, injectable treatments that help, smooth the appearance of wrinkles or compensate volume deficits creating a beautiful appearance.
Botulinum toxins are purified substances that relax the facial muscles stop them from contracting and smooth the skin. The degree of muscle contraction impairment can be varied to soften the lines while maintaining the ability to elevate your eyebrows.

Botulinum toxin Type A is very well tolerated and safe for longer-term use.

Fillers plump up wrinkles by replacing lost volume in the skin creating a more youthful appearance. There are many types of wrinkle fillers; some of them are based on hyaluronic acid or collagens which are known for their safety and lifting capacity.

Source:  Merz Aesthetics

Wrinkle Injections

Wrinkle Injections consist of muscle relaxing injections or dermal filler injections.
http://www.everydayliving.com/wrinkle_injections.html

http://skincarechronicle.blogspot.ca/

Wrinkle Injections - Methods

As far as the treatment process is concerned, wrinkle correction via injection is similar to wrinkle correction procedures with botulinum toxin, e.g. botox®. Only the active mechanism is different, which is why different substances are also injected. Whereas treatment using botulinum toxin, e.g. botox®, involves inhibiting the contraction of the muscles in order to smooth wrinkles, wrinkle injection using tissue filler achieves the smoothing of wrinkles by filling slackened parts of the skin, providing support for the tissue, or increasing the amount of moisture and elasticity in the skin through the injected material.

Possible tissue fillers used for this procedure are natural substances known as bio-implants, synthetic preparations, or one's own body fat. The described substances are injected under the wrinkles using fine needles under local anaesthesia; autologous fat (fat from one's own body) is removed from a separate spot on the body in advance via suction. Among the most commonly used bio-implants are collagen and hyaluronan; synthetic polylactic acid is also often inserted.

Collagen is a natural protein taken from animal skin that is cleansed and prepared for injection using a special process. Once it is injected under the wrinkles, it binds itself to the body's own collagen, fills up slackened skin parts, and forms a natural protective framework for the surrounding tissue. Swelling after the procedure generally goes down within 24 hours. Hyaluranon is what is called a natural polysaccharyl, which is responsible for the lubrication and elasticity of the skin. With increasing age, hyaluranon content in the skin decreases; this can be compensated through the injection of colorless gel in some cases, thus raising sunken skin tissue.

Crystalline polylactic acid likewise effects an increase in the volume of collagen fibres and stimulates the formation of new fibres, which ultimately leads to a soft buildup of tissue and resulting mitigation of wrinkles.
In order to obtain the most complete results, it may be necessary, depending on the characteristics of the wrinkles, to repeat the treatment involving the above-mentioned filling substances at intervals of 1-2 weeks. For injections of polylactic acid, there should be at least four weeks between treatments.

"Frown lines" (glabellar wrinkles) on the forehead as well as folds between the nose and mouth (nasolabial folds) can also typically be treated via the injection of autologous fat. The fat previously removed from another spot on the body under local anaesthesia is injected, thus achieving increased volume and tautening of the skin.

Are Dermal Fillers Reversible?

http://www.newbeauty.com/hottopic/blogpost/8648-are-dermal-fillers-reversible/