Dear Doctor Seckel I am a 30-year-old female, and have recently developed nasolabial fold lines, these are quite fine at the top (near my nose) but are more pronounced lower down by the corners of my mouth. Would a dermal filler like Restylane, Perlane, Hylaform, Cosmoplast, Sculptra, or Radiesse be the best course of treatment, or would you recommend trying something else first I have not had any previous cosmetic or surgical treatments and do not want a face-lift or laser resurfacing or plastic surgery. Many Thanks, Vicky, New York, NY
Dear Vicky,
Soft tissue fillers work very well for the deeper Nasolabial Folds–IF they are injected by an experienced physician who knows how to do it–technique is VERY important–find a doctor who is experienced and does filler injections daily. I always recommend asking your friends who have had a good experience for a referral.
Fillers like Restylane and Radiesse work well for deeper lines like the Nasal-labial fold. They do not work well for very superficial lines like the smile lines further out on the cheek—often if fillers are used out on the side of the cheek they can create lumps and swell around the lines making them look worse. Fillers also will not correct the deep lines right next to the corner of the mouth-these are caused by the pull of the smile muscle.
However for the lines beside the nose running down to the mouth soft tissue fillers usually work very well.
I use Radiesse to fill the nasal labial fold lines-it works better and lasts longer but is more expensive than Restylane (900 as opposed to 600 for Restylane) but I think it is worth it.
For more information on nasal-labial folds, fillers and non-surgical facial rejuvenation read Save Your Face or contact me.
Boston, Massachusetts