Do Fillers Make People Look Unnatural?

Every day, at least one of my patients tells me that they are afraid to try fillers because they don’t want to look ‘fake.’ So can fillers make patients look fake? Well, it depends. If you put enough fillers into a patient’s face, they will certainly lose their natural look. The reality is that this would likely take much more filler than is usually injected. If fillers are correctly used to fill in lines and wrinkles around the face, this usually produces a refreshed, natural look.

As with everything in life, there are exceptions to this general rule. The lips are one area of the face that is easily over-filled. This is why is takes an experienced eye, good judgment, and a proper technique in order to produce a natural result. I take pride in the natural, plump lips that I can achieve with my technique. My choice of filler for most patients is Juvederm Ultra, as I like the ‘soft’ look that it produces. Restylane is also a good choice as well. Personally, I think technique is far more important than product choice.

Another area that can look unnatural when overfilled is the cheek. The ‘cat lady’ socialite in New York is the epitome of what overfilling the cheeks will do (although there are most likely implants in there as well). But again, with good judgment, a natural look with a youthful, plump cheek can be achieved every time. I like to use Radiesse to fill in the cheek, but at times, I will also ‘layer’ fillers by using Perlane on top of Radiesse.

The final area to be careful in is the tear trough, between the eye and cheek. I rarely see patients who have been over-filled in this area (at other practices), but when I do, it looks very bad and unnatural. This is a difficult area to inject, and for this reason, many physicians won’t even inject here. Personally, I love injecting this area, since the patients are usually some of my most satisfied filler patients, and it can really  go a long way in rejuvenating the lower eyelids.