Juvederm

Juvederm

Product line: Juvederm, Juvederm Ultra, Juvederm Ultra Plus and Juvederm Voluma.

Class: Hyaluronic acid-based soft tissue or dermal filler.

Approved cosmetic uses: Moderate-to-severe facial wrinkles and folds such as smile lines (the parentheses around your nose and mouth), marionette lines (the vertical wrinkles at the corner of your mouth) and vertical lip lines.

Mode of Action: Juvederm and all of its iterations fill facial folds with hyaluronic acid, a substance that occurs naturally in all mammals. Our body’s natural stores of hyaluronic acid dwindle as we age.

Results: Juvederm results should be visible immediately, and may last up to one year.

Possible Side Effects:

  • Redness
  • Pain/tenderness
  • Firmness
  • Swelling
  • Lumps/bumps
  • Bruising
  • Itching
  • Discoloration
  • Infection

These are mild or moderate in nature, and tend to last seven days or less.

Cost: The cost of Juvederm injections varies based on the areas treated, amount used and the location of the practice. In general, the cost ranges from $300 to $800.

Other HA fillers:

Injection Pain (1-5 scale, with 5 being the most pain): 1.5

Note: Juvederm XC is made with lidocaine to take the sting out of the injections. Your doctor may choose to numb the treatment area as well. (Pain, however, is subjective.)

Popularity: Hyaluronic acid-based fillers are second to injections of neurotoxins like Botox in popularity. In 2012, there were 1,423,705 such injections performed, according to American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.