Hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm feature many youth-preserving benefits, from smoothing facial lines to restoring lost volume. But, did you know that these fillers also actually stimulate your body’s own collagen production? Let’s take a look at this often-times overlooked benefit of these fillers.

Collagen Production

That’s right…dermal fillers don’t stop once they’ve been injected! We all know the volumizing benefits of fillers, but they’ve also been recognized in clinical studies to produce collagen. And they do so robustly, according to a study published in 2007 in the Archives of Dermatology. Clinical researchers were shocked when they realized just how much new collagen was present in areas where fillers were injected after just a couple of months after treatment.

But how did they figure out that there was new collagen in the areas treated with these HA fillers? Researchers injected study participants with the filler, then did punch biopsies at four and thirteen weeks post-treatment to analyze the skin’s composition. The results were astonishing. Not only was the filler present in the skin samples (as expected), but there was also a hearty amount of newly-produced collagen – much more than the researchers were expecting to detect. So, how was all of this new collagen produced? Researchers believe the answer involves human cells known as fibroblasts.

Fibroblasts: Key for Collagen

When we’re young, we naturally have long and strong strands of collagen making up our dermal structure. Fibroblasts cling to and stretch out along these collagen strands, making new collagen to replace the old as it deteriorates over time.

But as we age, this process becomes less efficient and effective. Excessive sun exposure is the #1 culprit in damaging this collagen renewal process, but some are due to just normal wear-and-tear. As a result, the fibroblasts become less stretched and their collagen production is extremely slowed, or even completely stopped.

So, how do fillers remedy this problem? Researchers felt that if they could find a way to stretch out those fibroblasts again, perhaps the body’s natural collagen production would be kick-started back into action. And in fact, they discovered that fillers act like collagen strands under the skin, recreating a web-like structure similar to the one created by the body’s own natural collagen. Just as they hoped for, researchers observed the fibroblasts became stretched out along the filler, just like they do along natural collagen strands, and as a result, collagen production began again.

Summary

Restylane and Juvederm are the two of the most well-known names in dermal fillers today, but other contenders such as Belotero, Radiesse, and Revanesse are making a great name for themselves in the industry as well. Licensed medical practitioners can shop dermal fillers at Health Supplies Plus – we offer a wide variety of genuine dermal fillers.