Artefill is a bovine (cow) collagen dermal filler that may be used to fill wrinkles in patients with superficial to moderate wrinkles. There are a few alternative treatments that have similar effects as Artefill. Some of these treatments are non invasive using other types of collagen or dermal fillers, while others require surgery.
Dermal Fillers Using Collagen
Collagen based dermal fillers such as Artefill are still used as cosmetic treatments, and they employ synthetically created collagen mixed with animal collagen. There are 2 types of collagen presently used in cosmetic treatments: bovine collagen and porcine collagen. Bovine collagen based dermal fillers include:
- Zyderm
- Zyplast
However, bovine collagen is less durable than other types of collagen and such dermal fillers are not as frequently used as before. Porcine collagen based dermal fillers used in cosmetic treatments include:
- Evolence
- Dermicol P35
There are also dermal fillers that synthetically recreate human collagen (i.e. Cosmoplast and Cosmoderm), but these have been reported to cause allergic reactions. Thorough testing is required prior to such a treatment to ensure allergies won’t occur.
On average, the collagen based dermal fillers will last for up to 6 months, which is less than the duration of any hyaluronic acid treatment. The advantage of collagen based fillers is the lower cost.
Hyaluronic Acid Dermal Fillers
The hyaluronic dermal fillers have gained popularity, due to the fact that they don’t cause any allergic reactions and will also last longer than collagen based dermal fillers.
The reason the hyaluronic acid dermal fillers are better accepted by the body is that the hyaluronic acid is not foreign to the human body and it is also produced in the body. Collagen based dermal fillers are prepared with synthetic ingredients and animal collagen, and some people may not react well to these compounds.
There are a few hyaluronic acid dermal fillers that can have similar effects to Artefill:
- Juvederm®, will last for up to 12 months and will fill different facial wrinkles
- Prevelle Silk, comparable to Juvederm®
- Restylane, formulated in the mid 1990s and restores volume and the lost hyaluronic acid from the facial area
- Perlane, similar to Restylane
The basic variation between these hyaluronic acid dermal fillers is the size of the particles in each injectible gel. Perlane is the treatment using the biggest hyaluronic acid particles, while Juvederm® and Prevelle Silk have much smaller particles. Perlane is considered as being more painful due to the larger sized particles, which also require a larger gauge needle.
All these solutions are non surgical and will require a minimal recovery time. They can be performed as outpatient procedures.
Face Lift
A facial lift is recommended for patients that have deeper wrinkles and would like to see more dramatic results. However, this procedure involves surgery and a longer recovery time.
A face lift will also have longer lasting results than any other dermal filler, but this is also reflected in the higher cost.
