XC or Voluma XC: What Type of Juvederm Do You Need?

It happens to all of us: one day we look in the mirror and see lines or wrinkles that bother us. They come on gradually and can, one day, bother us so much we want to reverse time. Thanks to modern and innovative cosmetic medicine and its breakthroughs, you can reverse signs of aging. Call the offices of Nowak Aesthetics in Chula Vista, CA to discuss how the Juvederm dermal filler collection can help you regain your youthful appearance

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What Are Dermal Fillers?

Dermal fillers are one of the most commonly requested and recommended cosmetic treatments in the world—because they work. When areas of your face show signs of aging, like wrinkles, folds, and lost volume, dermal filler injectables can restore the volume and smoothness of younger skin.

Most dermal fillers are made of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring sugar our bodies create to attract water and keep our skin, eyes and connective tissue hydrated. When we’re young, our levels of hyaluronic acid are at their highest, so we have a plump and dewy appearance. As we get older, our levels decrease, adding to the appearance of wrinkles, folds, and lines.

Collagen, Elastin and Hyaluronic Acid

Youthful skin seems to have everything going for it. It’s smooth, glowing and appears it will never age—until it does. Nobody can escape the aging process, no matter how well you take care of your skin and body. Why? Because the three powerhouses that keep it looking young—collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid—all slow their production as we age.

Collagen

Collagen is responsible for so many things in our bodies, one being the structure of the layers of our skin. Collagen is a fibrous protein that makes up our skin, connective tissue, joints, and ligaments. Our skin is 80% collagen and our middle layers, or the dermis, comprise a platform of collagen on which new, healthy cells are regenerated.

When cell regeneration has a solid structural platform, our skin keeps its strength and maintains its youthful appearance. When we enter our 30s, collagen breaks down and our bodies produce less of it. This breakdown of protein can look like small dips in the middle layer of our skin, creating voids where a smooth surface used to exist. Our skin naturally falls into those voids, thanks to gravity, creating wrinkles, folds and larger areas of lost volume.

Aging isn’t the only factor that breaks down collagen. There are other factors, like genetics, that can expedite the slowing of production. If your family members naturally produce lower levels of collagen, unfortunately, you might too, leading to earlier signs of aging. Other lifestyle choices that break down collagen quicker than aging alone include:

• Unprotected sun exposure
• Smoking
• Excess sugar and alcohol intake
• Unhealthy diet
• Poor hydration
• Little to no exercise routine
• Ongoing stress

 

Elastin

Where there’s collagen, there’s elastin. Another protein, elastin is flexible and ensures our skin and organs can move and then snap back to their original position. If a younger person pinches an area of their skin on their arm and then lets go, that area will go back to where it was before the pinch. The same is true of the skin on our faces.

When we’re young and rub our eyes, for example, we don’t see the position of the skin change once we’ve stopped rubbing. Aging changes that. Skin that once bounced back into place becomes looser and will lose its tight and taut shape. This is because the structure of collagen that elastin used to work with has lost its strength, so it’s not anchored as firmly to the foundation of the skin.

This happens around the bottom portion of our faces and our necks first and most often, mainly because of gravity and its constant downward pull on our skin. Genetics plays a role, as would a significant amount of weight loss. Even posture can contribute to skin laxity—as we bend over our smartphones and laptops, we continuous pull on our skin, urging it to fall forward.

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is a sugar produced by our bodies to keep our tissues lubricated. Our eyes, joints, and skin all remain hydrated as long as our production of hyaluronic acid remains high and constant. As you age, you may notice discomfort in your joints as your bones grind together, the need for eye drops to soothe dry eyes or diminishing hydration in your skin. All these symptoms show dropping levels of hyaluronic acid in your body.

Dermal fillers made of hyaluronic acid replace this missing sugar in areas of depression on our faces and bodies. Each molecule of hyaluronic acid can hold one thousand times its weight in water, so each injection gives skin a plump, dewy and naturally youthful appearance.

What Is Juvederm?

Juvederm is a collection of FDA-approved dermal fillers made of hyaluronic acid designed to temporarily restore lost volume to wrinkles, folds and larger hollow areas of the face and body. Two of the most popular in this family of injectables are Juvederm XC and Voluma XC. So how do you know which one is the right choice for you?

What’s the Difference?

Here’s where we get a little scientific. Both fillers are made from hyaluronic acid molecules to restore volume and get natural and soft-looking results. The way the molecules are cross-linked, or bonded together, is the difference between the two. Hyaluronic acid molecules are formed in different molecular weights or particle sizes.

Molecules of the same weight can be bonded together to form a single consistency gel that is thin, medium, or thick. This is the technology of Juvederm XC. Molecules of different weights can be bonded together, in different patterns, to get a dermal filler that can act like both a thick and thin gel, which is what you get in Voluma XC. Both gels are the same in most ways, but the difference in the way they act achieves different aesthetic goals.

Juvederm uses two technologies to achieve each type of gel. When they bond together molecules of the same weight, it’s called Hylacross. Bonding together different weighted molecules is their patented technology called Vycross.

Which Dermal Filler Do I Need?

This is where choosing the right cosmetic medical professional is imperative. They have the expertise to know which Juvederm selection will be best for your particular areas of concern and desired results. There are typical scenarios in which your doctor may lean more heavily toward one over the other.

Juvederm XC

This is considered one flagship of the collection, having been approved in 2006 by the FDA for correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds. If your areas of concern are moderate to severe wrinkles, lines, or folds, this dermal filler and its smooth consistency is likely a perfect recommendation to temporarily add volume to the skin and give your skin a smoother surface and more youthful appearance.

Formulated to be a smooth gel, the injection is also infused with lidocaine, a topical anesthetic, so that as your injections are administered, your treatment becomes even more comfortable. The results are smooth and natural-looking but also immediate and remarkable. This non-surgical treatment will be administered using a fine needle to ease the solution under your skin to fill the tissue of the dermis where volume has been lost.

The appearance of deep lines will immediately be diminished, and you’ll be left with a soft, smooth and natural-looking appearance. People won’t notice the “work” you’ve had done: they’ll just notice a more vibrant you.

Results

When you and your doctor have decided XC is the right option for you, you can expect immediate results. This dermal filler is known to deliver results that can last up to one year. With the right schedule of follow-up and maintenance appointments, your doctor can help you have continuous results and a perpetually younger-looking appearance.

Because of the smooth gel, your results will not only have a natural look, but your treatment areas will have a natural feel. You won’t be left with an unnaturally hard or bumpy surface. You’ll just have smooth and plump skin without looking “overworked”.

Voluma XC

This filler is made of differently sized hyaluronic acid molecules bonded together. As we age, our lost volume doesn’t just affect the areas of wrinkles and folds but can diminish the fat pads in areas like our cheeks, breaking down our youthful contour and facial structure. Cheeks can lose their prominence, looking less supple and more hollow as our soft tissues fall. The apple cheeks we used to have flatten, adding to an aged and tired appearance.

Another place of lost volume is the chin. When we lose volume here, we start to form jowls, or skin that sags on either side of our chin. When volume is restored to the chin, the appearance of jowls is diminished, giving the bottom portion of our face a smoother surface and a rejuvenated look.

When administered by a highly skilled professional, Voluma XC can restore volume to the cheekbone area, giving cheekbones a lift and bringing back the contour and prominence of your youthful structure. An area that was flattening and falling can be lifted again, adding a well-rested, healthy and vibrant quality to your appearance.

Results

When you and your doctor have determined the areas of treatment, small injections will be made deep into the dermis to lift areas of volume loss. Voluma XC can be like an artist’s brush in capable hands. This gel is also formulated with lidocaine, so the process is progressively more comfortable.

Because results are immediate, your doctor can see progress as he goes along, making adjustments to achieve your ideal look and proportion. You’ll leave the office with more contour and volume than when you walked in. Patients can enjoy results lasting up to two years. Again, following your doctor’s recommended follow-up schedule can help your contour remain youthful and prominent.

What to Expect

During an initial consultation, your doctor will examine your face and talk with you to understand the areas that are bothering you and what you’d like your results to be. After a brief medical history review, a recommendation of one or a combination of fillers will be made. There is no preparation for you because this is a non-surgical treatment. The only request may be to stop taking over-the-counter blood-thinning supplements like fish oil and vitamin E and medications like Advil, Aleve, and aspirin. Pausing these will only decrease the already low likelihood of bruising after treatment.

To start your appointment, the treatment area will be cleaned and numbing cream applied to ensure you’re comfortable from the very beginning. A series of small injections will be made until the desired look is achieved. Sessions can last between 15-45 minutes depending on the area to be treated.

Once the session is over, there is no downtime or significant aftercare. You may be asked to stay out of direct sunlight and avoid facial treatments that use direct heat for a few days. Dermal filler sessions are considered lunchtime appointments and clients return to their normal daily routines as soon as they walk out the door.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Dermal Fillers?

If you’re an adult man or woman who has concerns about signs of aging or lost volume in your face or are unhappy with your natural contour and profile, you could be a great candidate for this treatment. Only your doctor can determine if this is the right treatment for you and, depending on your concerns, may recommend more than one treatment to help you achieve your goals. A comprehensive cosmetic medical office will offer a suite of anti-aging solutions.

Other Options

Neuromodulators

This is a family of injectables made from purified proteins that target muscles responsible for wrinkles formed because of movement. Over the years, we all make certain expressions repeatedly, and one of those is a frowning expression. Frowning doesn’t necessarily mean we’re unhappy. We can make this expression when we’re deep in thought, tired, concentrating or in disbelief. Over time our skin will be etched with the map of these expressions.

These wrinkles can lead us to continuously looking angry or upset when we’re not because we’ve developed frown lines and wrinkles on our foreheads. Neuromodulators like BOTOX and Xeomin stop these kinds of wrinkles at their source—movement. When injected into specific muscles, the signal from the nerve to the muscle is blocked, keeping it from moving. As the muscles responsible for these dynamic wrinkles relax, so do the wrinkles on the skin covering them.

After injections, results appear in three to five days and can last three to six months. Maintaining a regular schedule of follow-up appointments will only extend and improve your results. Your appearance can become softer, happier and more youthful as these wrinkles temporarily disappear or diminish, depending on their severity. Areas where these injectables are noticeably effective include:

• Frown lines in between the eyebrows
• Forehead lines
• Crow’s feet

 

Selecting the Right Provider

If you’re disheartened by the changes you’re seeing in your reflection and have decided you want to take control of your appearance, choosing the right doctor is the most critical step in your process.

Call Nowak Aesthetics in Chula Vista, CA to ensure you’re in expert hands and trusting your appearance to the best in the field. We’ve dedicated ourselves to helping our clients look and feel their best by developing individualized treatment plans that highlight our patient’s natural beauty and restore a soft, supple and rejuvenated appearance. We look forward to helping you achieve all your aesthetic goals.

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