People often ask us: What exactly is the difference between Botox and fillers?
Botox
Wrinkles in the face are caused, among other things, by the contraction of facial muscles. These wrinkles are mainly found in the upper area of your face. Every time you laugh, look surprised, or frown, fine lines form. At a certain point, the wrinkles remain visible even when you are not laughing or frowning. This is a result of your skin's natural aging process. Finally, other factors also influence wrinkle formation, such as sun exposure, 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 nerve impulse transmission to muscles, which reduces or stops muscle activity. This protein is injected in extremely small quantities and highly diluted into the muscle fibers responsible for lines that appear with facial expressions (e.g., forehead, frown lines, crow's feet, and brow lift). After a few months, muscle activity fully recovers.
- It blocks the function of nerves that stimulate the sweat glands, thereby preventing the glands from producing sweat.
Botox is not only used for wrinkle treatment (brow lift, crow's feet, frown, and forehead wrinkles), but also for migraine, gummy smile (visible gums when smiling), bunny lines (wrinkles on the sides of the nose that appear when smiling), excessive sweating, and teeth grinding.
How long do the effects of your Botox treatment last? On average 3 to 5 months. The more often you use Botox, the longer the time between treatments. The costs for 1 Botox zone are 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. Due to normal aging, the skull shrinks and supporting tissue (collagen, elastin, muscles, fat, etc.) in the face decreases. If you have had a lot of sun exposure or smoked a lot, the quality of your skin has deteriorated. The looser skin combined with less supporting tissue and a shrinking of the skeleton lead to aging/sagging of the face. The doctors at The Body Clinic can determine the cause of aging in a free intake consultation and thus draw up a targeted treatment plan with you. In our clinic, we use fillers from Restylane, Princess, and Radiesse.
If volume loss is prominent, a liquid facelift is often chosen. Areas that can be treated with a liquid facelift include: forehead, temples, cheekbones, cheeks, nasolabial folds, marionette lines, chin, and jawline. If there is no volume loss but only small fine lines, we can also treat these effectively with fillers.
This treatment is performed using small needles and/or a cannula, so the chance of side effects (bruising, redness) is minimal. The temporary injectables we use are based on hyaluronic acid, which naturally occurs in the skin. This makes the chance of an allergic reaction or a foreign body reaction extremely small. Moreover, we can actively dissolve temporary injectables if necessary, which offers extra safety.
The areas that can be treated with a filler are:
the temples, frown (for deeper lines), under the eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, nasolabial folds, cheekbones, lips, lines above the lips (so-called 'smoker's lines'), jawline.
How long do the effects of your filler treatment last? On average one year. The costs for a filler treatment vary. For a 1 ml lip filler treatment, you pay 450 euros, and for a liquid facelift, prices start from 950 euros. The different prices for the various treatments can be found in our price list. The Body Clinic has two cosmetic private clinics, in Amsterdam and Duiven (near Arnhem). Make an appointment now for a free and non-binding intake consultation via 020-4638668 or info@bodyclinic.nl.
Bart Biermans is a cosmetic doctor and founder of The Body Clinic. After studying medicine at Utrecht University, he started one clinic in Amsterdam, which under his leadership has grown into a leading organization with multiple locations in the Netherlands and Germany. With over 20 years of experience in injectables, Bart has developed a clear vision on natural aesthetics, balance, and harmony. Although Bart now only sporadically treats patients, he plays an important role in coaching the doctors within The Body Clinic. He transfers his years of experience by guiding doctors in the same refined working method he developed himself: subtle improvements that suit a person's face, without it being visible that a treatment has taken place. Bart encourages his team to work with small, thoughtful adjustments and to prefer a refined follow-up rather than doing too much at once. In this way, he safeguards natural aesthetics and the preservation of facial expressions as core values within the entire organization. In addition, as director, Bart is closely involved in medical quality, strategic choices, and the further growth of The Body Clinic. His vision on meticulousness, natural results, and realistic aesthetics continues to form the basis of how the clinic operates and grows to this day.
