Dermal Fillers
22 June 2022
Laugh lines/ nasolabial folds- For a name so joyful, laugh lines aren’t so funny after all. Laugh lines or smile lines the lines around the mouth that are accentuated when we smile or laugh, hence their names. This review on laugh line fillers is a guide to everything you need to know about nasolabial folds and non-surgical treatments for laugh lines.
Laugh lines are the folds or wrinkles that run from the outer corners of the nose to the corners of the mouths. They are also called nasolabial folds. The formation of laugh lines is due to the natural processes of aging.
Did you know that our laugh lines are related to our cheeks? Although the formation of laugh lines or nasolabial folds occurs partially due to aging of the skin causing creases; aging in the cheeks also affects the severity of nasolabial folds. This has been explained in detail in Getting Cheeky: A Guide to Cheek Filler Injections.
As we age, the fat pads in the cheeks lose volume and support. The cheek fat pads descend downwards and deepens the folds around the cheeks i.e. nasolabial folds. Some of the risk factors for premature worsening of nasolabial folds are: smoking, sun exposure, weight fluctuations and sleeping on the side.
The most common non-surgical treatment for nasolabial folds is with laugh lines fillers. There are also treatment options such as Profhilo, HIFU and face threadlifts which will also be explored in this review.
Dermal fillers injected into the nasolabial region gently lift up the laugh lines and soften the appearance of the fold. Nasolabial fillers can be injected using different techniques such as with a needle or cannula. Your doctor should be able to assess which technique for laugh line filler injections will give you the best results.
Dermal fillers are soft gels that are injected into the face to sculpt the face and remove lines and folds. In Singapore, the most popular type of filler is hyaluronic acid dermal fillers. You can read more about the different types of dermal fillers in Botox vs Fillers: Differences, Uses, Effects and Myomodulation.
Laugh line fillers are generally safe and effective. Nasolabial fillers can be performed in a clinic with almost no downtime. The results of nasolabial filler injections can also be appreciated immediately.
One of the risks of laugh line fillers injections is occlusion of the facial artery. The facial artery is an important blood vessel that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the skin of the face. As the course of the facial artery travels through the nasolabial fold, laugh line filler injections may obstruct this important blood vessel and cause skin necrosis.
Some of the techniques that your doctor can do to reduce the risk of blood vessel occlusion is to use a cannula or aspirate before injecting. Choosing an experienced doctor with a good grounding in facial anatomy and clinical acumen is also essential to ensuring best outcomes. Ultimately, everyone’s facial anatomy differs so taking precautions and the utmost care is of paramount importance to minimise risks.
The choice of nasolabial fillers also matters in avoiding complications of nasolabial fillers. There are also dermal fillers that are reversible. Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers can be dissolved with an antidote to reverse blood vessel occlusion.
The amount of correction of your laugh lines or nasolabial folds is determined by the amount of dermal fillers injected. Too little and the lines are under corrected; too much and you can look overfilled.
Having too much laugh line fillers may leave you looking like a pillow face or pug face. It’s important that your doctor discusses expectations, results and likely amount of dermal fillers required with you before proceeding with injections to avoid this unsightly outcome.
Related blogpost:
Fillers Gone Wrong: Tell-Tale Signs of Too Much Filler Injections.
One of the things I do in my practice to avoid overfilling patients and still achieve very good results is with a Liquid Facelift or cheek fillers before finally filling the laugh lines. By first lifting the face, the severity of the laugh lines is reduced. This allows a smaller amount of nasolabial fillers required is smaller, so the results of laugh line correction are very natural- no overfilling of faces needed.
As mentioned earlier, the sagging of the fat pads in the cheek contributes to the worsening appearance of the nasolabial folds as we age. One way to address the root cause of laugh lines is to to lift the cheeks with cheek fillers. Cheek fillers, when performed as part of a Liquid Facelift with dermal fillers can lift the face so laugh lines and dark eye circles are corrected simultaneously.
You can see how I do cheek fillers in this blogpost Getting Cheeky: A Guide to Cheek Filler Injections.
If you’re looking for a facelift without dermal fillers, consider Profhilo. Profhilo is the latest anti-aging treatment in Singapore that lifts and hydrates the skin for a younger and more refreshed look. What is Profhilo? Profhilo is an injectable moisturiser that reverses signs of aging in the skin by building collagen and elastin within the skin. This treatment hydrates, firms and lifts the skin to soften the laugh lines. Profhilo contains a very high concentration of hyaluronic acid to bioremodel the skin. However, Profhilo is not a dermal filler, so it does not sculpt the face. For patients who are not keen for dermal fillers but want a gentle lift of their face, Profhilo is a very good alternative. You can read more about Profhilo and see how it’s injected in this review Is Profhilo the Injectable Skincare of the Future?
For patients desiring a greater lift in their faces, instant results and negligible downtime- a face threadlift would give better results. A face threadlift is a non-surgical, minimally invasive anti-aging treatment that focuses on lifting sagging skin and soft tissues.
In a face threadlift, very fine dissolvable threads are placed under the skin to physically lift the skin. The threads also stimulate the skin’s natural formation of collagen to replenish lost collagen in the skin and sustain the threadlift results. You can read more face thread lifts in Singapore in these blogpost Silhouette Soft Face Threadlift and How To Treat Sagging Skin Without Surgery.
HIFU is a non-invasive treatment that delivers ultrasound energy to the skin and tissues of the face. Ultrasound energy tightens collagen fibres and stimulates production of additional collagen in the skin to lift and tighten the skin. Laugh lines/ nasolabial folds can be gently lifted with HIFU.
Getting the best and safest treatments Nasolabial folds are the folds that extend from the outer corners of our noses down to the corners of the mouths. These folds are accentuated when we laugh or smile, hence they are also known as laugh lines. Laugh lines become more severe as we age, mainly due to aging processes in the face that cause the cheek fat pads to descend.
The most common way of treating laugh lines in Singapore is with nasolabial fillers. Dermal fillers are injected to the nasolabial region to lift the fold and diminish the appearance of the laugh line. Some of the risks of laugh line/ nasolabial fold fillers are blood vessel occlusion and overfilling.
One way to avoid the complications and risks of laugh line/ nasolabial fold fillers is to address the root cause of the laugh lines- aging in the mid face i.e. cheek sagging. By correcting the aging in the cheeks with cheek fillers or alternatives like Profhilo; less laugh lines or nasolabial fold filler are required as the lines are naturally lifted.
If you found this review on laugh line/ nasolabial fold fillers useful, you might also enjoy these posts on dermal fillers:
Temple Fillers for Hollow Temples
Fillers Gone Wrong: Tell-Tale Signs of Too Much Fillers
Getting Cheeky: A Guide to Cheek Filler Injections
How to Get Rid of Eye Bags Without Surgery: Under Eye/ Tear Trough Fillers
5 Things You Need to Know About Nose Fillers
Botox VS Fillers: Differences, Uses, Effects & Myomodulation
A Guide to Slimmer V Face: Jaw Botox and Chin Fillers
Hand Fillers: Turning Back the Hands of Time
Dark Eye Circles: Laying I’m Tired to Rest
Cheek Fillers: All You Need to Know About Non-Surgical Cheek Augmentation
