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Dermalive and Artecoll. Just say 'no'.
Are you looking for a permanent solution for deep furrows or depressions?
Dermalive is a dermal filler made out of hyaluronic acid and small acrylic particles, similar to Artecoll. It is injected into depressed areas of the skin such as nose to mouth lines and treatment is usually given by a cosmetic surgeon or a qualified dermatologist. It is used for plumping out lost soft tissue, either because there has always been a problem in that area or because a facelift is not yet an option.
Sounds good so far..
Although there are very few adverse reactions with dermalive treatment, I am not quite so keen on these kinds of fillers. They leave acrylic particles behind once the carrier substance has dissipated. After treatment the effect gradually diminishes until only the acrylic particles remain. These particles are then encapsulated by your own skin's tissue and it is this gradual build up of scar tissue under the skin around Dermalive or Artecoll that gives the permanent plumping out effect.
It is not so much the very occasional bad reaction that gives me pause for thought about acrylic particle fillers such as Dermalive - its the difficulty removing them. Scar tissue is not so soft and pliable as, say, Aquamid or collagen injections and so the effect is not quite natural to the touch. Once encapsulated by scar tissue, your options for removing Dermalive are limited. A cortisone injection from a doctor to break up the scar tissue is one possibility, or a surgical incision to cut the tissue out. The latter of course leaves you at further risk of scarring.
OK. No Artecoll or Demalive then. What should I do?
There are permanent fillers you could use without all this potential trouble. As with any cosmetic proceedure, in fact more than almost any other cosmetic proceedure, you must check your dermatologist's or plastic surgeon's qualifications and experience with Dermalive. Collagen will disperse over time. Aquamid looks totally natural. No matter how skilled your dermatologist, Dermalive and Artecoll are difficult to remove, the final effect feels unnatural, and the visual result is somewhat unpredictable because the long wait between treatment and final result makes it hard to predict exactly how much should be injected. In my opinion you would be better off using one of the longer-lasting Restylane derivatives and waiting for the FDA to approve Aquamid as a permanent dermal filler
If you ask around various plastic surgeons and dermatologists, you might find some in the US who have a stock of Aquamid in, for off label use.
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