Stay Fuller for Longer

By: Katharine Griffiths
Created on 23rd February 2011

Sister Malti O'Mahony, of Boston Aesthetics Clinic (UK) Ltd, explains the benefits of Aquamid - a filler with lasting results

As an aesthetic practitioner, I am always on the lookout for products that will offer my patients maximum results with minimum pain and cost. So when I first came across Aquamid at the International Mastercourse for Ageing Skin (IMCAS) in Paris, in 1999, I was keen to find out more.

I started performing aesthetic procedures in 1994, after 20 years experience as a theatre nurse, and as such was one of the first nurses to enter this field.

I am also one of very few Independent Nurse Prescribers in the UK, which means I am licensed to prescribe drugs, such as Botox, to my patients without the need for a doctor’s permission.

All of this means that I have a lot of experience with injectables and am all too aware of the advantages and disadvantages of all the different brands on the market.

One of the issues I have encountered when using temporary fillers is that, in the long term, patients will be injected in the same area of the face over and over again, which could potentially lead to intradermal scarring. There is also the problem of the pain and cost associated with these repeated injections.

A misconception I have to deal with every day in the course of my work is that ageing shows itself only in lines and wrinkles on the surface of the skin. In fact, one of the biggest giveaways of ageing is volume loss.

We all know about the effects of gravity on our body as breasts and buttocks start to droop with age, but it seems very few people realise that the same thing happens to the face. A telltale sign of an older face – even one without a single wrinkle – is descension and deflation of the facial tissues, leaving eyes looking sunken and cheeks gaunt.

Aquamid is a unique softvolume filler with immediate results and, unlike temporary fillers, these results will not disappear or fade over time, but can last for three years or longer. In fact, Aquamid is not really a filler at all – it is used not to fill in individual lines, but to build up the underlying support structure of the face, so is more comparable with volumising treatments, like Radiesse or Sculptra.

It differs from other volumisers, however, in that it does not rely on a reaction from the body in order to have an effect. With Sculptra, for example, the results depend on the product stimulating the body to produce more collagen, so if it works, that’s great, but it’s not guaranteed. Aquamid actually works more like an implant in injectable form – it is injected below the skin, into the deep dermis, to act as a sort of scaffolding, lifting and supporting the face from within.

A beneficial side effect of this is that it also plumps out the skin, disguising existing wrinkles. I specifically use it in the midface – cheekbones, temples, eye sockets – as this area tends to show the effects of volume loss most prominently. Aquamid is biocompatible and non-allergenic, as it comes from a non-animal source, and its high water content makes the treated area look and feel incredibly soft and natural.

There seems to be a strange feeling in the UK that there must be some safety implication when using a long term filler, but Aquamid has had a CE Mark in Europe since 2001 and is currently undergoing the rigorous safety tests needed for FDA approval, with no negative results so far. Over 400,000 treatments have been carried out worldwide and as a very regular user of Aquamid I have never experienced any adverse reactions.

In fact, when you think about it, there is actually far less that can go wrong with a product which just sits beneath the skin, without interfering with the body’s natural functions.

There are, of course, some things to be aware of when choosing to have Aquamid, as with any cosmetic treatment. It must be administered by a very highly experienced practitioner, and it is advisable to have the same injector treat you with a more short-term product first, to ensure that you are happy with their technique.

Aquamid is a very niche product – ask your practitioner to show you before and after images of patients who they have treated with Aquamid. Just because someone has a portfolio showing the fantastic results they have achieved with a temporary filler, it doesn’t mean they can achieve the same thing with Aquamid, so make sure you are happy with their experience and expertise in using this very specialised product.

If you are keen to find out more about Aquamid and the fantastic results it can achieve, Contura, the manufacturers of the product, will be holding open days in London, Manchester and Birmingham throughout 2011, to demonstrate the benefits of Aquamid and to answer any questions you may have.

CS&AG