Does Juvederm Treatment Use an Anesthetic?
As we age, it’s normal for our skin to lose its volume and perkiness, leading to wrinkles, hollow cheeks, and thin lips. While there’s nothing wrong with getting older, it can be hard to watch your face change and the person in the mirror grow less familiar. But with Juvederm, you can refresh your face, restoring volume so you feel younger and more yourself. Here at Southwest Michigan Plastic and Hand Surgery in Portage, MI, we can help you feel rejuvenated and gorgeous with just a few simple injections.
Does Juvederm Treatment Use an Anesthetic?
Because Juvederm is a minimally invasive treatment, patients won’t need to use an anesthetic. A topical numbing cream may be applied to the treatment areas before the injections are performed, but this is only to stop patients from experiencing any discomfort from the needle. For this reason, patients don’t need to worry about any reactions the body might have to the anesthetic, and can carry on with their day immediately after their session – even driving themselves to and from the appointment if they like!
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the benefits of this FDA-approved anti-wrinkle treatment. To learn more about Juvederm, read on.
What Exactly Is Juvederm?
This simple injectable utilizes the power of hyaluronic acid, or HA, to hydrate the body and revitalize the skin. HA is found naturally in the body, but our production of it slows as we age. Without it, our skin stops receiving moisture, as well as healthy nutrients like elastin and collagen, which can result in its sagging, wrinkling, and becoming more coarse. But by giving the body a new, synthetic supply of HA, we can combat these issues!
When injected into the skin, the product gets to work restoring volume, moisture, and suppleness. Patients love that results develop quickly after simple sessions that are short enough to be attended on a lunch break, and make them look younger, healthier, and more refreshed, whilst still looking natural and like themselves.
So Aging Is the Cause of My Wrinkles?
Not necessarily. Things like sun damage, heavy alcohol or tobacco consumption, genetics, a poor diet, or even overactive facial muscles can be the cause of lines and folds on the face and neck, many of them contributing to a loss of HA in the same way aging does. Whatever the cause, if your skin is sagging and could benefit from a boost of hydration, this treatment may be right for you.
How Does This Treatment Work?
During your session, a series of injections are made into your treatment areas using a very fine needle. The product injected, containing HA, gets to work binding to water it finds in the body. Amazingly, HA can absorb up to one thousand times its weight in water! Once it’s done that, it brings that moisture to the skin, which will then become more plump and voluminous. In the weeks after your session, the body absorbs the HA and your face settles into its fresh structure, with gorgeous, natural results developing over time.
Because HA is naturally occurring in the body, the risk of a patient rejecting the product is incredibly low, and there’s rarely any kind of allergic reaction to it. Patients also love that the synthetic version of HA used in this treatment is a gel form rather than a liquid, so it better holds shape. The treatment also stimulates the body to produce more HA and collagen on its own, so as well as a cosmetic treatment, it works as a kind of kick-start for the body to rejuvenate itself!
Where Can This Treatment Be Applied?
This treatment can be used to remedy several skin concerns, including:
- Frown lines
- Crow’s feet
- Nasolabial folds (lines that run from the nose to the corners of the mouth)
- Depressed/hollow cheeks
- Sunken eyes
- Sunken temples
- Marionette lines (wrinkles that go from the corners of the mouth down the chin)
- The lips, to act as a lip filler and increase volume
What Will My Treatment Experience Be Like?
Before Your Treatment
The first step will be to come in for a consultation with a member of our expert team. This will be your chance to talk us through your cosmetic concerns, including what particular areas you’re hoping to treat. We’ll make sure that you’re a suitable candidate for this treatment, going over your medical history and any medications you might be on. We’ll also make sure this treatment is going to be the best option to treat your concerns.
If everything looks good, we’ll design a treatment plan tailored to you specifically, including how many injections to make, how much product will be used, and what type of Juvederm will be best effective for you; there are a few types that specialize in treating different concerns. Usually, we use about one to two vials of product per session. We likely won’t ask you to do anything to prepare for your session, other than coming in with a clean, makeup-free face.
On the Day
Treatment is performed in-house at our gorgeous Portage office. After applying the numbing cream, injections will be made into the targeted areas, sending the HA-fuelled product into your body. The length of your session will depend on how many areas you’re treating, but generally, they take no longer than 45 minutes. Most of our patients report feeling very little pain during the treatment.
After Your Treatment
Patients love that there’s no downtime following this treatment. This is in contrast to many surgical cosmetic procedures that require a week of bed rest and time off work afterward. You’ll be able to carry on with your life immediately, returning to work or running errands. We may suggest a few steps to keep your skin as healthy as possible, such as avoiding harsh sunlight and strenuous exercise.
How Long Before I See Results?
Because moisture is immediately brought to your skin by HA, you may notice some suppleness and new volume right away. As the body absorbs the product and it settles in, these results develop. Many of our patients achieve their desired results after around two weeks, when treated areas are plump, lifted, and shapely. The exact time will, of course, vary depending on the individual.
How Long Will My Results Last?
Juvederm is, amazingly, the longest-lasting FDA-approved filler on the market, with patients often seeing incredible 12-month longevity on their results. The timeline varies depending on the area that’s been treated, the way the body functions, and in particular, the type of product we decide to use during your session, as they vary in thickness. For example, one of Juvederm’s most popular products, Voluma, can last an astonishing two years.
After this time, you can easily book another session if you want to achieve the same look all over again. Some of our patients even come in for mini touch-up sessions between their main sessions!
Am I a Good Candidate for This Treatment?
If you’re over the age of 18 and have noticed wrinkles, fine lines, or hollow areas appearing on your face and neck, you may be an ideal candidate for this treatment. Although many of our patients who seek out this treatment are in their 40s and 50s, we don’t suggest one specific age group is more suited to this treatment than another, understanding that sagging skin and a loss of HA can occur in anyone at any time.
Certain medications may make you ineligible for treatment, as will pregnancy and breastfeeding. If, during your consultation, we discover that your wrinkles are dynamic – caused by overactive facial movements, such as repeatedly frowning or smiling – we may instead suggest Botox. Botox is also an injectable, but targets the nerves under the skin rather than the skin itself, relaxing the muscles and stopping the skin from creasing and folding while it’s moving. The result is smoother, wrinkle-free skin that looks gorgeous and keeps Botox one of the most popular cosmetic treatments of all time.
Schedule a Consultation Today
It can be confronting to watch your face age and change until you no longer recognize the person looking back at you in the mirror. With Juvederm, you can feel yourself again, looking gorgeous and more youthful after a simple, quick session. And our team is ready to help! To book your appointment, call Southwest Michigan Plastic and Hand Surgery in Portage, MI today.
