The delicate skin around the eyes is often one of the first areas to visibly show signs of aging. As we age, our skin loses collagen and the hydration that keeps it supple and elastic. Belotero is an FDA-approved injectable dermal filler proven to lift and support the skin. Dr. Shalini Gupta at Dermatology, Laser & Vein Center in Cincinnati, OH is an experienced specialist offering a comprehensive menu of cosmetic services, including the Belotero family of products.
Can Belotero Be Used Under the Eyes?
This product is often recommended as an under-eye filler. It is a hyaluronic acid (HA) gel with a consistency that is gentle enough for the fragile skin around the eyes. Since this is a high-mobility area, fillers used around the eyes needs to be durable, but also spreadable, for natural facial expressions.
Why the Eye Area Needs Special Care
The skin around the eyes is unique because it is thinner than the skin on the rest of your face. As we age, collagen production slows down, causing the skin to stretch thin and dry out. As the skin thins, it makes the underlying blood vessels more visible. In addition, it becomes easier for fluid to fill the space where the collagen once existed, causing puffiness in the eye area.
How Can Dermal Fillers Help?
Injectable dermal fillers are delivered just under the skin to replace lost collagen and improve the appearance of facial contours. Typically, thicker fillers are injected deeply into the dermis or subcutaneous layer while thinner fillers are injected into the upper dermis. Results are immediate as the gel smooths out wrinkles and folds, and improvements continue as the filler settles into place over the following days.
Understanding Your Skin: Anatomy and Physiology
In order to understand how hyaluronic acid improves your skin, it’s important to know a little about your skin’s functions. Skin is a layered structure, each layer having its own important job to do. As time wears on, changes in hormones, skin quality, and environmental damage can impair our skin’s resilience.
As our skin grows more delicate, scars become more prominent and age spots begin to appear. Hydration diminishes as our sweat glands and sebaceous glands produce less oil and water. Blood vessels weaken, making bruising and bleeding more likely. The thin stretches and dries out, which is just one of the reasons many people turn to Restylane.
The Epidermis
The epidermis is the outermost layer of skin that acts as a waterproof barrier. Its superpower lies in its ability to regenerate as cells die and slough off, or after being damaged. Despite this ability, it also takes the most damage over time and begins to show some wear and tear as we age. Over time, it loses collagen and hydration, causing it to become dry and thin out.
As this layer thins, the skin loses its resilience and does not rebound as well. It begins to look rougher as scarring and other flaws become more prominent. Cells responsible for our skin’s pigmentation also reside in the epidermis and begin to grow in size as the skin’s cells thin out. This creates what most of us are familiar with as “age spots.”
The Dermis
Just beneath the epidermis lies the dermis. This middle layer of skin houses sebaceous glands and sweat glands that produce the oil and water that gives skin its suppleness. When this layer is healthy and hydrated, it acts as a protective cushion from stressful environments.
The dermis also contains the nerve endings and receptors that are responsible for pain, pressure, and touch. Hair follicles are also located here. Most dermal fillers are injected into this layer of skin.
The Subcutaneous
This innermost layer of skin is also called the hypodermis. It consists of connective tissues and fats that act as the body’s temperature regulators. The deepest blood vessels are located here, where they transport nutrients to various organs. As this layer loses elasticity over time, it compromises the resilience of the layers above, especially in the face.
How Does Boletero Work?
While each product in the Boletero family of products is designed to treat specific areas of the face, it’s smooth, lightweight consistency makes it particularly effective on the thin skin around the eyes. Upon injection, it immediately integrates into the facial tissue, building support from the bottom up. The hyaluronic acid binds to water, instantly giving the skin more visible volume and plumpness.
Hyaluronic Acid: An Overview
Hyaluronic acid consists of a chain of sugars that occur naturally in the skin. It is a polysaccharide that can hold almost one thousand times its weight in water, making it responsible for keeping skin hydrated. Some evidence suggests that long-term use can actually stimulate the body’s own production of collagen and improve the body’s ability to transfer nutrients to the skin’s layers.
The HA in this gel is specially reinforced using a technology that strengthens its molecular structure. By cross-linking higher- and lower-weight HA molecules, a stronger, more durable product is created. This makes it perfect for high-mobility areas of the face, such as the eye area.
The Boletero Family
Belotero Balance
This product is designed to treat moderate to severe etched-in lines and wrinkles. While it is durable enough to treat deeper folds of the smile lines, it is also suitable to treat the finer, more delicate lines of the lips. Research shows that this product can last for six months or more.
Belotero Soft
This product is the thinnest of all the gels in this family, allowing it to migrate easily for more natural facial contours and expressions. It is highly cohesive, making its softness perfect for the delicate lines and wrinkles near the lips. It’s also good for treating crow’s feet and fine lines in the forehead. Studies suggest this product lasts for up to a year.
Belotero Intense
This formula gives excellent support to the skin’s elasticity and flexibility. It is perfect for lip augmentation and correcting the deeper folds of marionette lines and NSFs. This product also hides flaws such as scarring and skin damage. Like Soft, research shows Intense also lasts up to one year.
Belotero Volume
The thickest of all gels in this family, this product is good for facial contouring and volumizing areas of lost collagen in the midface, such as near the cheeks and temples. Its thickness allows it to stay put and resist breaking down in the body longer than its counterparts. This gives it lasting effects for up to 18 months.
Belotero Hydro
The goal of this product is to restore hydration. Our skin dries out and stretches thin as it loses collagen and elasticity with the aging process. Hydro rehydrates the skin’s layers, plumping and supporting areas of lost collagen and flexibility. Given every two to three times per month on average, this product helps the skin resist the wrinkling and fine lines that come with aging.
What Are Treatments Like?
As with any cosmetic service, there are typical processes that will be followed. Dr. Gupta will ask a series of questions covering your skincare routine, lifestyle habits, age, and general health. She will use this information to advise you about the best way to prepare for your treatment.
Before Treatment
Consultation
In the consultation, Dr. Gupta will examine your skin and ask you about any concerns or skin damage you have suffered in the past or are currently suffering. She will inquire about any other skin treatments you have received or would like to receive, including peels and facials. From there, she will determine the most effective treatment and maintenance plan that will help you achieve your desired results.
Preparation
In preparation for your session, Dr. Gupta may recommend a few guidelines to help you get the most from your treatment. For instance, in the days leading up to your session, you may want to avoid blood-thinning medications such as aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These medications can increase your risk of bleeding and bruising.
In addition, try to avoid any habits that have a drying or irritating effect on the skin, such as drinking alcohol or using personal care products that contain retinol. Spend some time considering what questions or concerns you have and write them down for Dr. Gupta. Her top priority is compassionate care and patient comfort, and she will do everything she can to put you at ease.
During Your Session
Dr. Gupta will deliver the gel into your skin using tiny, ultrafine needles. Belotero formulations come with or without lidocaine, and Dr. Gupta can offer you a topical analgesic for maximum comfort. Your session should last between 15 and 60 minutes.
After Treatment
Most patients experience little to no downtime and can return to their normal daily activities immediately after their session. It is always a good idea to continue following the advice given in the preparation stage. Avoiding blood-thinning drugs, alcohol, and activities that could increase skin sensitivity will help you achieve maximum benefit from your treatment.
Who Is a Good Candidate?
This family of products is approved for anyone over the age of 21 who is looking for non-invasive alternatives to cosmetic surgery. Many people over age 30 seek treatment to reverse the signs of aging, but even young people can experience folds and wrinkles in their skin due to health conditions, hormonal imbalances, or weight loss.
Benefits of Treatment
Well-Tolerated
The hyaluronic acid in this product is not sourced from animals and is highly biocompatible. For this reason, allergic reactions are very rare. If a reaction does occur, it is usually due to another ingredient in the product. In fact, studies show that long-term use of hyaluronic acid products may even stimulate the skin’s own production of collagen.
Convenient
These treatments are considered outpatient services and are completed at Dr. Gupta’s office in under an hour. There is little to no downtime and requires no advanced preparation. Patients can return to their normal daily routine immediately after their session.
Immediate Effects
Results are typically noticeable after just one treatment. As the HA gel integrates into the skin, it leverages hydration to support underlying tissues, instantly restoring volume and elasticity. Some gels can even be massaged and molded by Dr. Gupta during your session to immediately improve facial contours.
Long-Lasting
Collagen replacement treatments of the past broke down quickly in the body and lasted less than six months. Due to new technologies, modern fillers last much longer. The HA cross-linking used in Belotero’s products gives it greater longevity of up to 18 months.
Don’t Wait: Get Started Today
This family of products is a safe, non-invasive, and effective alternative to cosmetic surgery. Its hyaluronic acid gel instantly restores skin resilience and elasticity, especially for high-mobility areas like the skin around the eyes. Sessions are quick and convenient. If you are ready to experience more vibrant, younger-looking skin, call Dr. Gupta at Dermatology, Laser & Vein Center in Cincinnati, OH to schedule your consultation today.
