Fillers in nasolabial folds or cheeks? (Photo)

Thank you for your question. Aging occurs differently with every individual. I suggest comparing a current photo of your face with an old photo in order to help your doctor better evaluate areas of volume loss. Overfilling your cheeks to lift the nasolabial fold may not suite everyone.



On the other hand, correcting the nasolabial fold first before correcting the mid face, the old fashioned way, can cause a simian look.



The second option to minimize nasolabial folds would be a skin tightening procedure, which can lift sagging skin. Once skin is lifted, you might need less fillers in the mid face. Consider these options with your physician.

Thank you for the question.  It is a critical question to be answered.  I almost never correct the naso-labial fold without doing a "lift" to the lateral cheek and restoring the volume in the mid-face.  When the cheek and mid face is appropriately addressed and corrected there is almost no need or much less need for filler in the naso-labial fold itself.  If your doctor did not mention this to you, I would definitely bring it up before you are actually treated.  If the cheek is not restored and lifted properly and the fold only injected directly it just makes the fold less prominent, but at the same time makes the area look fuller and is not the desired result or certainly not the optimum result.  Hope that helps.
Best,
Dr. Paul Flashner

This is an excellent question. Different injectors have varying opinions on this matter. The reason you are noticing the nasolabial folds becoming more prominent is due to natural volume loss of the midface over time. I prefer to reduce the appearance of nasolabial folds by restoring lost volume to the cheeks rather than injecting directly into the fold, which can look unnatural. I like to use hyaluronic acid fillers such as Juvederm Voluma or Restylane Lyft in these areas. Based on the photos you have provided; you would not require much filler to see improvement. Please schedule a consultation with a board-certified plastic surgeon to learn more about treatment options for this area. 

Dermal fillers can be safely injected into both the nasolabial folds and cheek regions.  As we age, we lose volume in the face especially in the cheek region. When this occurs the cheeks flattened and sag and will lead to deepening of the nasolabial folds. In reviewing your pictures, you have volume loss in the cheek region. I think injections into the cheek regions to lift, angulate, and defined your cheeks would give use appear result it would be "prettier".  I generally prefer to inject the cheek region over the nasolabial folds. If after injecting the cheek region you still feel the nasolabial folds are deep, you may choose to inject dermal fillers in that region at a later date.I hope this helps

Hello,Based on your photos, I would recommend filler to the cheek area. This would help "fill in" the area of your cheek that lies underneath your eyes and a bit toward the curve of your cheek, known as the ogee curve, where you are just showing the beginnings of some flattening. It is likely that filling these areas alone will alleviate the nasolabial folds to your satisfaction and also create a tighter looking jawline. I hope your procedure goes well.