A good filler result looks like a rested version of your own face. The two products we use work on different clocks, so "after" means about 2 weeks for one and a finished series for the other. Knowing which clock you are on tells you when a photo is worth trusting and what your own mirror will show along the way.
What Fillers Change and What They Leave Alone
Fillers add volume where your face has lost it, or prompt your skin to build its own collagen, and neither one changes bone. Restylane® is a hyaluronic acid gel that adds volume directly and binds water as part of how it holds that volume. Sculptra® is made of poly-L-lactic acid, and instead of filling a hollow it prompts your skin to build collagen over a planned series.
Because they change the contours and proportions you see, we plan conservatively when the goal is a face that still looks like yours. Restylane® shows right away and settles over about 2 weeks, while Sculptra® builds over several weeks and is judged after the series is complete.
Where Before and After Photos Usually Focus
Most galleries return to the same five areas, and each has a result worth wanting and a limit worth knowing.
- Cheeks and midface: Filler restores cheek contour and, in some patients, modestly softens the smile lines beside it (nasolabial folds). Marionette lines run from the mouth corners toward the chin and need their own assessment.
- Lips and around the mouth: Filler adds volume, improves definition and softens fine lines while keeping your natural lip shape.
- Smile lines: The folds that run from the nose to the corners of the mouth respond well to filler in many patients.
- Around the eyes: In carefully selected patients, an approved under-eye filler softens hollows and the shadows they cast. It does not change pigment, visible vessels, loose skin or puffiness, which need different treatment.
- Jawline: In selected patients, filler improves jaw contour or fills mild hollowing near the jowls. It does not remove jowls or tighten loose skin, so volume is not right for every lower face.
Forehead and frown lines are movement lines, so they respond to Botox® or Dysport® rather than to filler.
What Does a Natural Result Look Like?
A natural result keeps your proportions in balance, so no single feature reads as enhanced. The transitions between treated and untreated skin are smooth, with no ridge or lump to find with a fingertip. The face in the after photo is recognizably yours, rested rather than rearranged.
How Your Result Develops Week by Week
The day-one photo is the least reliable one you will take, because swelling and bruising sit on top of the true result.
- Restylane®, the first 2 weeks: Volume is visible immediately, but swelling and bruising can hide the true shape at first, and some areas take longer than others to settle.
- Sculptra®, the first several weeks: Early fullness is mostly swelling and the fluid the product is mixed in. The real correction develops over several weeks and is judged after the planned series.
We see you 2 weeks after a first treatment to check healing and your early response. A Restylane® touch-up may be considered once swelling has resolved. Any further Sculptra® waits at least 3 to 4 weeks after the previous session.
How Should You Read a Before and After Gallery?
Look for photos taken after swelling has resolved, in the same lighting, from the same distance and with the same expression. A smile or a shadow can create or erase a fold on its own. Think of a gallery as a guide to the range of results, and of your consultation as the plan for your own face.
An overfilled look may reflect overcorrection, product choice or placement, anatomy, or swelling that has not resolved, and a photo cannot show which. Lumps or unevenness that persist after healing deserve clinical assessment, because they can also signal a complication.
How Long Results Last
Duration varies substantially by product, by area and by how your own face responds. Restylane® results last about 6 to 18 months in the areas where it has been studied. Sculptra® can stay visible for up to about 2 years after a series.
Our deeper look at how long fillers last covers what shapes that range.
Before You Book
Your consultation begins with your history, so tell us about active skin infection or inflammation near the area. Severe allergies, including any past life-threatening reaction (anaphylaxis), matter as well. Allergy to numbing medicine (lidocaine) or bacterial proteins, bleeding disorders, treatment that weakens whole-body immunity, prior filler or facial surgery, and cold sores matter.
If you take a blood thinner, tell us, and never stop it unless the prescriber says to. Sculptra® is not used if you are prone to thick raised scars (hypertrophic scars or keloids), so tell us about those. Safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding has not been established, so we defer treatment until later.
The common short-term reactions are swelling, bruising, redness, tenderness, itching, and temporary lumps or asymmetry. Less common problems include infection, persistent firm lumps (nodules), inflammatory lumps (granulomas), discoloration, movement of the product, and delayed inflammatory reactions. Rarely, filler enters or presses on a blood vessel and blocks blood flow, which can damage tissue or cause vision loss or stroke.
FDA approval is specific to product and area, and we tell you whether a proposed use is approved there or accepted outside its label. Product labeling and the full list of reasons to wait are on our dermal fillers page.
After Restylane®, avoid strenuous exercise and extensive heat or sun for at least 24 hours or until redness and swelling settle. After Sculptra®, massage the area for 5 minutes, 5 times a day, for 5 days unless we direct otherwise. Alcohol may increase bruising in some patients, so skipping it briefly is a reasonable precaution.
Seek emergency care immediately, and alert your injector, if any of these appear during or soon after treatment:
- vision changes
- stroke symptoms such as facial drooping or slurred speech
- unusual, severe or escalating pain
- skin turning white, gray, blue, dusky or blotchy
Contact our office promptly for worsening redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, fever, or a persistent lump. This article is not a diagnosis, and it does not replace an evaluation with our team.
How We Approach Filler
Our South Loop dermatology practice is physician-led, and every filler plan begins with a medical evaluation of your face, your history and your goals. Injectables are physician-directed, we match the product to your anatomy and goals, and we see you regularly to monitor progress and make thoughtful adjustments.
Questions Patients Often Ask
Can One Syringe of Filler Make a Visible Difference?
It varies. One syringe of hyaluronic acid filler can make a subtle or noticeable change in a small area, depending on volume, product, anatomy and goal. Sculptra® is measured by vial and planned as a series, so syringe count does not apply to it.
Will Filler Change the Shape of My Face?
Not necessarily. Filler changes the contours and proportions you see, and it does not change bone, so we plan conservatively.
What Matters Most for a Good Result?
It varies. Your injector's training, anatomical knowledge and experience count alongside your candidacy, the product chosen, the area treated and your own anatomy.
Do Smoking and Sun Shorten How Long Filler Lasts?
Not necessarily. Smoking and sun exposure affect skin quality and how your face ages, and their direct effect on how long filler lasts is uncertain.
Talk With Us About Your Next Step
If you reach this point with some uncertainty left, that is reasonable, because the answer depends on your own face and your own goals. A consultation at our Chicago office is where we look at your proportions together and weigh your options. The next step may be a filler plan, or it may be a different treatment that suits you better.
You can request an appointment or contact our team with the questions you still have.
Individual results and duration of results may vary. Outcomes are not guaranteed.
