Radiesse, the filler that's made with calcium hydroxyapatite-containing crystals, purports to increase a "process called collagenesis, stimulating your body to produce new collagen and encouraging collagen to grow around the injection area."
It works best on: Smile and marionette lines, and pre-jowl sulcus (the areas on each side of the chin) by adding volume back to those spots.
How long it lasts: Radiesse can reportedly last up to a year.
One expert's opinion: Dr. Fields says, "I like Radiesse in the hands [editor's note: fillers are sometimes used in the hands to make them appear less bony, which in turn makes them look more youthful] and it looks great in cheeks." She also affirms, "If someone does not get a good take with a hyaluronic filler, I switch to Radiesse."
Reader review: Total Beauty reader Kat told us on Facebook that she used Juvederm and Radiesse, and had "very positive experiences with [Juvederm], but not Radiesse. "It's too thick," she wrote, "and left knots in my lips."
Have your "fine" lines begun to etch a deeper groove into your skin -- not to mention psyche -- and started morphing into (cue sinister music) full-blown wrinkles?
Let's be Zen about it. Take pride in each furrow as it represents a hardship overcome. Find joy in every crease as it is like a smile remembered. Ugh, who are we kidding? Let's plump those suckers up!
"The new world of fillers is tremendous for the consumer," says noted dermatologist Kathy Fields, co-founder of skin care brand Rodan & Fields. "[With them], we refresh faces, removing hollows, sags, dents and lines. We can't make anyone a 20-year-old again but we can make people look great for their age."
OK, so you decide you're game for a non-surgical skin treatment like Juvederm, Perlane or Radiesse, but you're wondering which one to use. The advent of safer, longer-lasting injectable fillers has made grandma's gold-standard collagen go the way of the dodo, but with such a glut of choices, women today are like kids with those dang Webkinz -- our minds beleaguered by what to choose and why. Here, we'll explain what the most common non-surgical facial fillers are, and share feedback from readers and doctors on whom they're best for and the pros and cons of each.
