Botox or Fillers? Which Treatment Is Right for Me?

There’s no way to escape the effects of aging, and nowhere are they more obvious than on your face. Lines and wrinkles add up until, inevitably, there’s an older person staring back at you in the mirror. How will you deal with these lines that add years you simply don’t feel to your appearance? 

Injectable cosmetic treatments are one of the most popular aesthetic practices in the United States today. It’s easy to see why. Treatments are effective, long-lasting, and there’s no downtime. You can have a session at midday and return immediately to your daily tasks. 

When you visit Jennifer A. Baron, MD, you’ve got a choice of Botox® Cosmetic and Radiesse® injectables. While both products deliver through fine needles, the way each works, and the lines they target, are completely different. Here’s what you need to know to decide which treatment is the best fit for your aesthetic priorities. 

Botox and active wrinkles

The lines on your face don’t all develop for the same reasons, though there are some common features of aging that contribute. Your skin loses elasticity as it ages, and increasingly, it reflects the shape and flaws of the layers below the surface. Of course, your skin moves as your expressions change. This is natural and it occurs throughout your life. 

The muscles responsible for expressions, though, undergo their own changes. In certain places, expression muscles can take on a semi-permanent contraction, rather than fully relaxing. This is common on your forehead as well as between and beside your eyes. You may appear tense because of this, even when you’re happy and relaxed.

Botox works by using an incredibly small dilution of botulinum A toxin, a substance that exists in nature that acts as a powerful paralytic responsible for botulism. However, in the tiny amounts present in Botox, the toxin loses its toxicity and acts like a “chill pill” for those contracted muscles. They relax and the skin over them relaxes. Your artificial worried expression disappears. 

Radiesse and passive wrinkles

Not all lines and wrinkles can be blamed on muscles, however. The middle layer of your skin loses collagen, one of the most common proteins in the body, as you get older. Collagen is what gives your skin youthful volume and smoothness. It’s a source of moisture and nutrients for your epidermis, so its loss contributes to the overall aging of your skin. 

Collagen forms a matrix that experiences its own indignities with the passage of time. It loses mass, becomes pitted and dimpled, and your now-lax skin reveals every flaw. Radiesse provides a dual-action response. 

Injected into dermal voids that cause lines and wrinkles, Radiesse fills in the gaps with a water-based gel suspending particles of calcium hydroxyapatite. Immediately, your skin is supported by carefully injected gel. The calcium hydroxyapatite also causes a stimulating reaction, causing your body to manufacture new collagen tissue. Over time, the Radiesse gel leaves your body and fresh, new collagen remains. 

Which is right for you? The answer might be “both,” but the best way to know for sure is to meet with the team at Dr. Baron’s San Jose practice. They’re Botox and Radiesse specialists, ready to help you meet your aesthetic goals. Call to book your consultation now.