Richard M. Foxx, MD
Perhaps the most common question patients ask about wrinkle fillers (after “will I look natural?” and “will it hurt?”) is “how long will it last?” And the answer, of course, is it depends upon how you define “lasts.”
Wrinkle fillers are used to minimize the folds that run from the nose to the corners of the mouth, the marionette lines that bracket the chin, and to replace the lost volume in the cheeks. A correction is usually at its peak the first week after it is performed and begins to lose its effectiveness over time in a somewhat linear fashion such that a filler that would be expected to last a year will be somewhat less than half absorbed in six months. Patients who smoke, have a high metabolic rate, or are very athletic will note the volume of their correction will diminish more quickly.
Hyaluronic acid-based fillers such as Restylane® and Juvederm® typically last from seven months to a year. Fillers such as Juvederm are approved by the FDA to last “up to a year.”
The calcium-based fillers such as RADIESSE® are generally thought to last a year or more. There are other, longer-lasting fillers such as ArteFill that will last even longer but those products can have other problems that preclude their use in my office. Products such as Sculptra® are not wrinkle fillers but are, instead, collagen builders and can last up to two years but require at least three initial treatments over a month and a half.
The answer then should always be “it depends.” And the solution, for almost everyone, is to proactively address the longevity issue by replacing the product before it is all gone. There is simply nothing that will make it last longer.
Richard M. Foxx, MD is the Founder and Medical Director of The Medical and Skin Spa in Indian Wells, CA. He may be reached at 760-674-4106 or at drfoxx@medicalandskinspa.com