How is Juvederm different from other dermal fillers?

What's the difference between Juvéderm® ULTRA and wrinkle-relaxing treatments (i.e. BOTOX®)?

The Juvéderm® ULTRA range of products and wrinkle-relaxing treatments (botulinum toxin type A) work in different ways.

The Juvéderm® ULTRA range of products mimics the hydrating and lifting effect of your skin’s natural hyaluronic acid (HA), which keeps the skin hydrated and elastic. It fills in and smoothes away facial lines and acne scars, other skin contour deficiencies, and lost volume. The most appropriate lines to treat with the Juvéderm® ULTRA range of products are those that are described as static—this means the deep facial lines you can see when your face is still. Static lines are due to lack of elasticity of the skin caused by sun damage, smoking, and unfortunately genetics. Wrinkle-relaxing treatments work in a targeted way to relax the tiny dynamic muscles that cause frown lines, smoothing out wrinkles for 4 months or longer.

What's the difference between the Juvéderm^® ULTRA range of products and collagen injections?

Juvéderm^® ULTRA is made of a substance called hyaluronic acid (HA), which is found naturally in the skin, alongside collagen. These two components of skin, along with some others, tend to break down over time, letting the tell tale signs of ageing show.

Collagen injections have been used for some time as dermal fillers to fill out the loss of skin volume, removing wrinkles and restoring volume to the face. HA fillers, such as the Juvéderm^® ULTRA range of products have now become more popular because they last longer—in the case of the Juvéderm^® family, up to 1 year whereas most collagen injections tended to wear off after around 4 months.

Because they play different roles in restoring your skin's natural look, the Juvéderm^® ULTRA range of products may be used in combination with collagen to create the results you want. It should be noted, however, that they cannot be used to treat the same lines at the same time.

 How does the Juvéderm^® ULTRA range of products compare with other hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers on the market?

A study carried out by Dr Levy, Dr De Boulle and Dr Raspaldo compared a different HA filler (a product called Restylane—Perlane, made by QMed) to Juvéderm^® ULTRA 3. In total they treated 126 patients, using Juvéderm^® ULTRA 3 in one nose to mouth line, and Perlane in the other. The practitioners were advised to use enough product to get the aesthetic effect they were happy with and the same volume was used with both products (0.6 mL per side).

The study concluded that Juvéderm^® ULTRA 3 provided a superior comfort during the whole injection experience compared with Perlane and had equivalent aesthetic outcomes. When asked which product they preferred, a massive 95 percent of patients preferred the side with Juvéderm^® ULTRA 3 showing that this really is a patient-friendly treatment!