Q: Lorie in Levittown has this weeks question. Dear doc, I’m interested in reducing my facial wrinkles but was wondering; what exactly is the difference between botox and fillers?
A: Lorie, that is a great question. Many people are confused like you on what the difference is between Botox and Fillers. Both of them are injectable products that come in syringes and help reduce wrinkles but they act in different ways. Botox, and products like Dysport and Xeomin, are neuromodulators that work by relaxing the muscles in the face. It’s great for those deep lines that are caused by the muscles in your forehead and around your eyes that activate when your frown and raise your eyebrows. It also works for those lines, we call crows feet, around the corners of your eyes that get worse when you squint or smile.
Fillers, on the other hand do exactly what it sounds. They fill up areas that have lost volume that occurs with age and push out fine wrinkles that have formed. They don’t work on the underlying muscles at all but can also stimulate collogen formation and improve overlying skin quality. Products like Juvederm, Restylane and Bellefill will fill up areas over the cheeks, temples, laugh lines and lips. They can even be used to fill out out wrinkles in you hands.
