Some fillers are much better for certain locations in the face than others. So I find that one of the best ways to think about fillers is to learn a bit about the different areas (or the different types of age-related shadows of the face) that can be treated, and then learn about which fillers treat each area. To learn more about the anatomy of facial aging, click on the link.
Here is a quick rundown of the regions of treatment for each filler. I’ve included what area the fillers are best for, what other options it can be used for, and what areas are not recommended for each option.
Filler Material
Best used for
Also used for
Not used for
Juvederm Ultra
• Lip augmentation
• Under eye circles
• Smile lines
• Cheek sculpting
• Long-term or large volume filling
Juvederm Ultra Plus
• Lip augmentation
• Under eye circles
• Smile lines
• Cheek sculpting
• Long-term or large volume filling
Restylane
• Lip augmentation
• Under eye circles
• Smile lines
• Cheek sculpting
• Long-term or large volume filling
Perlane
• Lip augmentation
• Under eye circles
• Smile lines
• Cheek sculpting
• Long-term or large volume filling
Belotero
• Fine wrinkles
• Lip augmentation
• Under eye circles
• Smile lines
• Cheek sculpting
• Long-term or large volume filling
Radiesse
• Smile lines around the mouth
• Moderate cheek filling
• Acne Scars
• Lips or under eye circles
Sculptra
• Larger volume cheek filling
• Hollow Temples
• Smile Lines
• Lips or under eye circles
Artefill
• Smile lines around the mouth
• Acne Scars
• Lips or under eye circles
Duration of the result
The longevity of results does vary a lot between treatments, and sometimes by treatment area. Here is a quick overview of how long you should expect a treatment to last before needing to get another injection:
Filler
Area
Duration
Juvederm Plus
Juvederm Ultra Plus
Restylane
Perlane
Belotero
Lips, smile lines around mouth, cheeks
4-6 months
Juvederm Plus
Juvederm Ultra Plus
Restylane
Perlane
Belotero
Undereye circles
1 year or longer
Radiesse
Smile lines around mouth, cheek volume
10-12 months
Sculptra
Cheek Volume, smile lines around mouth
2 ½ to 3 years
Artefill
Smile lines, cheek volume
5+ years
Amount of volume in each treatment
Another important difference in these fillers is one that is often overlooked. Most of the filler types use different amounts in the syringes, so I think it’s important for the consumer to know that not all syringes are equal. For Sculptra we talk about the volume that a patient gets from a full treatment course, which is an estimate of the number of cc’s of volume gained over the course of treatment. Here are the amounts for each:
Filler type
Volume gained per treatment
Juvederm Ultra or Juvederm Ultra Plus
0.8cc
Restylane or Perlane
0.8cc
Belotero
TBD
Radiesse
1.5cc
Sculptra
5cc (4 treatments of 1 vial per treatment)
Artefill
0.8cc
Let’s talk about value
So when we combine different durations with different volume amounts, it gets pretty confusing to decide which filler is really a better economic value. The value depends on the price, the longevity of the result and the amount of actual fill (in cc’s) that you get from a treatment. I created a number to represent value for the fillers taking all of these factors into account, which we can call the MCV (Mosser Coefficient of Value). Keep in mind that the number assumes all other things are equal: same person injecting, same facial area. It’s just a way to think about how much time and volume you get for your money.
MCV: A filler is a better value if you spend less money per month for a particular result. So Based on this, the Mosser Coefficient of Filler Value is:
(months of duration of treatment) x (cc’s of volume per treatment) x 100
(cost of treatment)
Therefore the coefficient of “Value” gets higher as the value gets better for the patient. Here are the values for the different fillers based on this formula:
