Derma Filler Treatment

Facial Augmentation in Aesthetics

Facial augmentation has had a long and varied history. For centuries, techniques that were developed for reconstruction have been repurposed in the pursuit of a youthful appearance. While the idea of fat transplanting has been around since the 19th century, the first injectable dermal filler per se (which we know about) – was paraffin. It’s an unnerving notion which was shelved when paraffin granules were found to migrate around the body, ultimately causing embolism. Silicon was the next breakthrough – hailed for decades before similar migration issues came to light, it’s fall from grace in the early 90s was spectacular and precipitated a quest for a more ‘natural’ alternative. Biologically derived substances followed like bovine collagen, marketed as Zyderm & Zyplast, and eventually came the advent of hyaluronic acid based filling agents – a longer lasting (and hydrating) gel simulation of a naturally occurring polysaccharide.

The first filler substance specifically approved for cosmetic use was bovine collagen (collagen derived from cows) in 1981 (FDA, USA). Testing throughout the seventies meant several animal based collagens were deemed suitable for humans by the 1980s – and the cow variety, developed at Stanford University, became a game-changer for the cosmeceutical industry. Despite some swelling and difficulties associated with introducing a foreign substance into the body, these animal derived collagens were an improvement and generally well-tolerated.