Using dermatologist-recommended moisturizers for post-filler care is critical for maintaining hydrated, glowing skin and enhancing the longevity of your filler results. Properly moisturizing your skin not only protects it from dryness and irritation, but also ensures a fresh, youthful, and healthy look for your skin. Incorporating the right moisturizer into your post-filler skincare routine makes a big difference in the overall appearance of your skin.
How Dermal Fillers Enhance Hydration and the Role of Moisturizers in Aftercare
As we age, we lose volume under the skin, and the skin loses elasticity and moisture, leading to an increase in wrinkles and facial lines. Dermal fillers help reduce or eliminate the signs of aging. To maintain the effects of fillers for as long as possible, it is important to maintain proper hydration in a well-designed skincare routine.
How fillers affect skin hydration
There are several types of fillers either temporary or permanent. Dermal fillers restore lost volume leading to a more hydrated and healthy skin appearance in 2 ways:
- Physical filling (physical fillers, such as hyaluronic acid fillers). HA improves skin elasticity and tone by attracting and holding water molecules.
- Stimulation of the synthesis of new collagen (Bio-stimulatory fillers examples: polylactic acid, hydroxyapatite, and polymethyl methacrylate). They create space and structure for blood vessels and fibroblast cells to enter and synthesize collagen.
Can I use moisturizer after fillers on my face?
The importance of moisturizers for dermal filler aftercare
Dermal fillers give the skin volume either by holding water or stimulating collagen formation. Collagen and water are important for moisturizing the skin, so dermal filler acts as a moisturizer itself, and adding a moisturizer into your routine boosts this effect.
Moisturizers’ effects go beyond skin hydration, they also act as:
- Anti-inflammatory agents: Have a good soothing effect on inflamed skin after filler injections.
- Antipruritics: Reduce itchy skin due to the cooling effect caused by water evaporation after the application of a water-based moisturizer.
- Sun protector: Many products nowadays contain SPF in moisturizers to offer added sun protection.
- Antimicrobials: Fight microbes on the skin surface.
- Wound healers: Assist in skin repair after injections, especially those containing hyaluronic acid.
- Aging signs fighters: Help maintain a healthy skin appearance, enhancing the filler results.
Dermatologist-Recommended Moisturizers for Post-Filler Care
Moisturizers exert their effects in hydrating the skin and maintaining a fresh look through different mechanisms depending on their class. There are 4 classes of moisturizers:
- Emollients: These include lipids and oils that hydrate and soften the skin, fill the spaces between skin flakes, and act as an environmental barrier. Examples include ceramides, squalene, fatty acids (stearic, oleic, linoleic, and lauric acid), and fatty alcohols (coconut oil and wool fat)
- Humectants: These act by attracting water internally from the dermis into the epidermis and externally from environmental humidity. Examples include panthenol, hyaluronic acid, urea, honey, glycolic and lactic acid, and glycerin.
- Occlusive: These form a barrier over the skin to prevent water loss, such as petroleum jelly, paraffin, mineral oil, beeswax, zinc oxide, and lecithin.
- Protein rejuvenators: These are small proteins that help renew the skin’s essential proteins, such as collagen, keratin, and elastin.
The most common dermatologist-recommended moisturizers for post-filler care
Dermatologists recommend a range of ingredients and provide advice to help you choose the ideal moisturizer for your post-filler skincare routine:
- Hyaluronic acid: A humectant with intensive moisturizing properties.
- Ceramides: Waxy lipid emollients that hydrate the skin effectively.
- Vitamins: Include vitamins C and E to boost collagen and promote anti-aging.
- Non-comedogenic formulas: To avoid clogging of skin pores.
- Fragrance-free options: Fragrances may irritate the skin.
- SPF: Moisturizers with added sun protection are preferred. A broad-spectrum SPF covering UVA and UVB with SPF 30 or higher is recommended.
Step-by-Step to Achieve Optimum Hydration
Having healthy-looking, hydrated skin is the primary purpose of moisturizing, and applying the right moisturizer for your skin type as outlined below will give you the best results:
- Wash your face with a suitable facial cleanser.
- Use gentle exfoliation with a cotton pad or a baby towel to remove dead skin cells and enhance moisturizer penetration.
- Blot gently with a clean towel, while your skin is slightly damp, apply a pea-sized amount of moisturizer.
- Message your face and neck in a circular motion until complete absorption.
- Repeat the steps every time you wash your face, especially at night, as sleep helps in the skin’s natural moisturization.
Other Complementary Tips to Maintain Moisturized Skin
The process of moisturizing the skin doesn’t just end with the application of moisturizer; there are healthy habits that help keep the skin hydrated, such as:
- Exercising frequently.
- Alcohol cessation.
- Limiting salt in your diet.
- Eating foods with high water content like cucumber and lettuce.
- Getting good sleep, staying away from stress, and relaxing. Stress contributes to skin dehydration by causing microscopic cracks in the skin.
Dermatologist-Recommended Moisturizers for Your Skin Type
Moisturizers are available in many forms, which may confuse some people when choosing a suitable one. Every form differs in the ratio of oil and water it contains.
Gels
Cellulose, alcohol, and water are the formula that makes the gel. There are oil-free gel formulas that are suitable for people with very oily skin. They are a good choice for oily skin during the summer months due to humidity and hot weather.
Lotions
Lotions contain more water than oil; some contain alcohol and some are oil-free. They have a non-greasy thin consistency and are highly absorbed without leaving a residue on the skin.
Creams
Creams have a soft texture and contain an equal proportion of water and oil. They are characterized by good absorption due to their high water content and oil content that ensures moisture retention. Creams have a light to non-greasy texture.
Ointments
Ointments are greasy formulations that contain 20% water and 80% oil, giving them a thick, oily consistency. Their high oil content makes them less absorbent, so they are used to prevent moisture loss.
Choosing the right moisturizer for your skin type
There are different skin types and each type benefits more from a certain form of moisturizer as follows:
- Normal skin: Moisturizing lotion is a good choice for younger skin, but as the skin ages, it loses its ability to hold moisture and needs more intense hydration with a cream.
- Dry skin: Best moisturized with creams and ointments (for extremely dry skin).
- Oily skin: Best suited to lotions or gels (for very oily skin) and should avoid other formulas that contain oil to prevent clogged pores and acne.
- Combination skin: Characterized by some dry areas and others that are oily, usually in the T-zone (chin, nose, and forehead). Lotions are the most suitable option for this skin type, and it is preferable to moisturize only the dry areas.
Long-lasting, radiant skin after dermal fillers requires proper hydration. A dermatologist-recommended moisturizers for post-filler skin care improve results and keep skin hydrated and protected. Choosing the right moisturizer for your skin type and using it daily will help maintain a more youthful appearance. For best results, consult your dermatologist for the best recommendation.
Resources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10413051/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4885180/
https://www.skintherapyletter.com/eczema/how-moisturizers-work/
https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/pick-moisturizer
https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/how-to-moisturize-face#the-how https://www.healthline.com/health/ointment-vs-cream#Ointment-cream-lotion-or-gel
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