As we grow older our face become more and more affected by the sun, gravity and use of expression muscles (chewing, smiling, etc). Deep tissues loose the ability to maintain a young look and expression marks appear on our faces. Collagen injections can help you fill the defects and regain younger appearance. It can be used to fill expression folds, sunken checks, scars and lips. This procedure is not sufficient to treat deep defects like multiple grooves around the mouse of heavy smokers. It can be done as isolated treatment or as a combination with laser, facelift and botox.
Collagen is a natural protein which gives support to various body parts, like skin, joints, bones and tendons. The injected formula is manufactured from a purified collagen from pigs. The purification process creates a material, which is similar to human collagen. The FDA approved it at 1981 for injections at different sites like face, neck, back and chest. It comes with different viscosity levels according to specific sites and the difference between the patients. The preparation already consists of analgesics; therefore there is no need for sedation. Especially sensitive patients can be treated with superficial spays to minimize the pain.
Before the treatment you must check allergy to collagen (it takes 3-4 weeks between the test and the injection). During the treatment collagen is being injected using a small needle along the wanted site. During the injections you may feel a burning sensation for a few minutes. Some of the formula consists of salt water, which gradually absorbs, therefore, at first, the site may look swollen. After the treatment it might be small hemorrhages or redness that usually disappear after 24 hours. With a few patients, especially those with bright skin color, the redness may last for a week. Every procedure has its ricks, those depend on patients anatomy, the healing processes and different physiologic responses. Most common complication is allergy to collagen. Others include infections, peeling of the skin, wounds and scaring. Those are relatively rare.
There is no need to bandage the site, and there are no limitations regarding food, drinking, make-up or sun exposure.
You must remember that the effect of the injection is only temporary. Due to their biological nature the injected materials disassemble by the body. The duration of the effect depends on genetics, age, skin quality, life style and the area being filled.