People often ask us the question, What exactly is the difference between botox and fillers?
Botox
Facial wrinkles are caused in part by the contraction of the facial muscles. These wrinkles are found particularly in the upper area of your face. Every time you smile, look surprised or frown, fine lines form. At some point, wrinkles remain visible; even when you are not smiling or frowning. This is a result of your skin’s natural aging process. Finally, other factors affect wrinkle formation such as exposure to sunlight, smoking and health problems.
Botox is a brand name for Botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin is a protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In our clinic, we use the brand Azzalure from the company Galderma.
Botox has two effects:
- It blocks the transmission of stimuli from nerves to muscles, reducing or halting muscle function. This protein is injected, in extremely small amounts and highly diluted, into the muscle fibers responsible for the lines created by mimicry (for example, forehead, frown lines, crow’s feet and brow elevator). After several months, muscle activity fully recovers.
- It blocks the action of nerves that excite the sweat glands, preventing the glands from producing sweat.
Botox is used not only for wrinkle treatment(eyebrow elevator, crow’s feet, frown and forehead wrinkles), but also against migraines, gummy smile (visible gums when laughing), bunny lines (are wrinkles on the side of the nose that occur when laughing), excessive sweating and teeth grinding.
How long will you enjoy your treatment with Botox? On average, 3 to 5 months. The more often you use Botox, the longer the time between treatments. The cost for 1 zone Botox is 195 euros, 2 zones 350 euros and 3 zones 495 euros.
Fillers – based on hyaluronic acid
Fillers are ideally suited for restoring volume loss or filling wrinkles. With normal aging, the skeleton of the head shrinks and the support tissue (collagen, elastin, muscle, fat, etc.) in the face decreases. If a person has had a lot of sun exposure or smoked a lot, the quality of the skin has deteriorated. Sagging skin combined with less supporting tissue and skeletal shrinkage cause the face to age/slacken. The physicians at The Body Clinic can determine the cause of aging in a free intake consultation to create a targeted treatment plan with you. We use Restylane, Princess and Radiesse fillers at our clinic .
Should volume loss be the primary concern, a liquid facelift is often chosen. Areas that can be treated with a liquid facelift include: forehead, temples, cheekbones, cheeks, nasolabial fold, corner of the mouth, chin and jawline. If there is no loss of volume but only small crack lines, we can also treat these well with fillers.
This treatment is performed using small needles and/or a cannula, minimizing the chance of side effects (bruising, redness). The temporary injectables we use are based on hyaluronic acid that occurs naturally in the skin. This makes the chance of an allergic reaction or foreign body reaction extremely low. In addition, we can actively dissolve the temporary injectables if necessary, providing additional safety.
The areas that can be treated with a filler are:
the temples, frown (for deeper lines), under the eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, nasolabial fold, cheekbones, lips, lines above the lips (so-called “smoker’s lines”), jawline.
How long will you enjoy your filler treatment? One year on average. The cost of filler treatment varies. You pay for a lip filler treatment for 1 ml 450 euros and for a liquid facelift from 950,- euros. The different prices of the various treatments, you can find in our price list.
The Body Clinic has two private cosmetic clinics, in Amsterdam and Duiven (near Arnhem). Make an appointment now for a free, no-obligation intake at 020-4638668 or [email protected].
