Nowadays, many celebrities are turning to both fillers and Botox to enhance their features and keep their skin looking young. However, what are the differences between botox and fillers?
How do you choose between them? It can sometimes be challenging and confusing because of the wealth of information online when it comes to botox and fillers.
If you're wondering which one of these popular cosmetic procedures is the best for you, the answer might be – doing both concurrently. After all, botox and filler treatments are actually very different with little to no overlap in terms of their aesthetic benefits. In fact, when injected in a targeted area, both treatments produce very specific effects.

For example, forehead botox helps to improve forehead lines and wrinkles whereas forehead fillers help to smoothen out and enhance the contour of the forehead.

Find out in this article what each procedure entails and how they can help beautify your features and improve your appearance.

What are Botox and Fillers?

Botox (botulinum toxin) is an injectable treatment that improves wrinkles and fine lines by reducing the activity of the facial muscles. Muscular activity is reduced by inhibiting the transmission of impulses along the facial nerves. Botox can also give a slimming effect when injected into the jaw, shoulders, or calves.

Fillers (also known as injectables or injectable fillers) are substances that are injected into the skin to give volume to enhance facial features, fill up creases, skinfolds as well as areas that are hollow or sunke. There are many different types of fillers, with hyaluronic acid (HA) and poly caprolactone (PCL) fillers being the most common and popular types in Singapore.

Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Fillers: This is a popular filler because it is very versatile and can be injected in almost all the areas of the face, even delicate areas such as the undereye tear trough or lips. Different “hardness” of hyaluronic acid fillers can even be injected together for best results. Side effects may include minor bruising, swelling, and redness.
Poly Caprolactone (PCL) Fillers: PCL fillers such as Ellanse have recently gained popularity because it has an added benefit of stimulating collagen when compared to HA fillers. Hence, Ellanse can not only volumise the face, it can help with anti aging by simtulating collagen in the injected area.
How does Botox work?
Botox is a neurotoxin that works by impairing the conduction of nerve signals in the facial muscles. This decreases the activity of the underlying facial muscles. Simply put, lesser muscular contractions equate to lesser wrinkles.

How do Fillers work?

Regardless of the type of fillers, they work by occupying space, thereby giving a volumnising effect.
For example, chin fillers help to augment and enhance the appearance of the chin by adding volume to create a longer or more projected chin.
The famous “apple cheeks” can be achieved by injected fillers into the cheeks to increase its
volume, thereby enhancing the appearance of the cheek bones for the sought after apple cheeks.

What are the benefits of Botox?

The main benefit of botox is to improve the appearance of facial wrinkles. Common areas of
wrinkles that are targeted include forehead wrinkles, frown lines and wrinkles around the eyes.
Botox can also be used for jaw slimming for a more V shaped face, should contouring as well as
slimming of bulky calf muscles.
In rare cases, Botox can also help to relieve muscle spasms such as eyelid twitching.

What are the benefits of Fillers?

Fillers on the other hand, are not very useful for wrinkles. They are injections that are used to improve the appearance of facial features.

Common areas for filler injections include:

Forehead filler for a smoother, rounder, fuller forehead

Temple fillers for those with sunken temples either due to weight loss or aging

Cheek fillers to achieve the sought after “apple cheeks” or to enhance the definition of the cheek bone for the “high cheekbone model look”

Nasolabial fold (laughline) fillers for those with sagging cheeks that lead to the formation of deep laughline creases on the sides of the nose

Nose Fillers for a higher, sharper nose

Chin Fillers for a longer, more defined chin

Which is the best brand of Botox or Fillers?

Types of Botox brands available in Singapore include Botox, Dysport and Xeomin.
Some of the most popular filler brands include: Juvederm, Restylane, Belotero and Teosyal.
It is important to choose the correct “hardness” of filler for specific areas. For example, a chin filler should be “hard” whereas a lip fillers should be “soft”. Injecting a soft filler in the chin would cause poor results and injecting a hard filler into the lips would lead to the formation of lumps which is not ideal.

Conclusion

All the different brands of botox and fillers have their own advantages and disadvantages.
An experienced doctor will be able to advise you on which brand of botox or fillers is ideal for your skin type, and which would be best in helping to address your primary concerns to achieve your desired resul