The Low Down on Facial Collagen Injections
 As we age, our faces develop character. In our society personal character is lauded, but facial character, well, that's a different story. We look to facial collagen injections to recapture our youthful look and to diminish the effects of genetics and lifestyle.
Not wanting to opt for invasive, expensive surgical procedures such as face lifts , a much quicker, less expensive alternative are filler injections such as facial collagen injections, fat injections or Botox injections. In some cases these procedures can be performed while on a lunch break and the patient may return to work without much pain or discomfort. Let's start with the basics.
What exactly are filler injections?
Wrinkle filler injections are just as the name indicates. It is a process whereby a substance is strategically injected into various areas of the face in order to fill in lines, furrows or hollow areas. The procedure is usually performed by a plastic surgeon or dermatologist. What, you may ask, are they injecting?
There are several fillers known as soft tissue fillers that may be injected. The decision as to which type of filler to use is something that the patient should discuss with their physician. The physician will take into consideration the patient's medical history, such as allergies, chronic illness, family genetics, condition of the skin and exactly where the filler will be injected before determining which filler to use.
Types of facial injection fillers
Collagen: We seem to be most familiar with facial collagen injections. Collagen is derived from the patient's own tissue or the collagen may be taken from a cow (purified of course). Collagen is actually a fibrous protein which can be found in bone, cartilage, tendon and other connective tissue. This protein is converted into a gelatin for use in the wrinkle filler injection.
What makes collagen facial injections so attractive is that collagen is less painful because the collagen is mixed with lidocaine, a local anesthetic. Additionally, the results are immediate and so is the recovery. A person can return to work right away.
Although this sounds like a panacea, keep in mind that approximately 3% of the people injected with collagen are allergic, therefore, all potential candidates must undergo a skin sensitivity test prior to the procedure. It takes four weeks before the results can be read. Even after testing negative to collagen sensitivity, approximately 1% of patients develop an allergic reaction after several uses. The reaction can cause itching, swelling and redness. The symptoms are usually treated with steroid injections.
The cost for facial collagen injections vary from $300 to $600 per treatment. Very deep wrinkles may cost as much as $1,500.
The youthful effects of the treatment usually last, on average, anywhere from 3 to 6 months.
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Fat injections: Another commonly used filler is the patient's own body fat. Does it get any better than that? Fat from a patient's own body may be used to fill in the lines on the face to help produce a more youthful appearance. Imagine, taking unwanted fat from one place and using it for facial fat injections to fill in crows feet or laugh lines or even those pesky furrow lines.
Another good thing about fat is that the side effects are minimal. Since the fat is harvested from the patient's body, the risk of an allergic reaction is minimal, so there is no need for allergy testing.
The down side is that fat injections will prove to be a bit more painful than the collagen injections since fat does not contain an anesthetic. Additionally, facial fat injection is a lengthier procedure because of the fat-removal process. The fat is usually taken from the thighs, buttocks or abdomen with a syringe. The fat is processed for fluid removal and then re-injected into the desired facial area.
As with any injection, the patient may suffer from minimal swelling, tenderness or bruising around the injection area.
Fat injections cost about $1,000 to $2,000 and up depending on how much fat is needed and where the fat is being injected. 
How long the effects last vary widely. Fat injection results are less predictable than collagen results. The effects can last anywhere from months to years.
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Botox: Botox works differently than the other fillers as it is used to paralyze the muscles surrounding the point of injection. Botox weakens the muscles used for facial expressions such as frowning, smiling, raising the eyebrows or squinting. Over a lifetime, the face creates wrinkles associated with each movement such as frown lines, crow's feet, laugh lines, forehead wrinkles. By temporarily weakening the muscle the face cannot create the wrinkling motion and thus the wrinkles are gone. However, Botox does not work for wrinkles caused by gravity, smoking or sun exposure. The tiny lines that form around the lips are better removed by fat or collagen, than Botox.
Once injected, the visible improvement can be noticed within 1 to 3 days. The full affects are normally realized a week after injection. Botox generally lasts for 3 to 6 months.
The recovery is quick and the patient can return to normal activities immediately as it normally does not require  anesthesia. However, approximately 3% of patients suffer with droopy eyelids. On rare occurrences, patients have suffered from uneven smiles or drooling, infection, nausea redness, swelling and bruising around the injection site. It is very important to have Botox administered by a doctor that is very familiar with the procedure.
Botox injections vary from $500 to $1,000 per session
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Above are only three of the many wrinkle injection fillers available. There are other fillers options that have been approved by the FDA. If you are considering this procedure, I'd like re-emphasize that you should discuss all of your options with your physician.
Whether electing to have facial collagen injections, fat injections or Botox injections, pregnant or nursing women should postpone such procedures until after pregnancy and are no longer nursing.
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Felicia A. Williams is a freelance writer and webmaster of this website, Visit Hudson Valley.com and No Job for Mom.com. She also blogs about Living Green and is the Insurance Feature Writer for Suite 101.com
This document was first written in March of 2006 and last modified Saturday, 11-Oct-2008 10:22:39 EDT. Procedure prices may have changed since this article was originallly written.
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