What's the safest area on the face to inject dermal fillers?

Hi LB.  The most common and safest area to inject dermal fillers is the nasolabial folds (the lines around the nose and mouth.  In addition, the safest fillers are Hyaluronic acid based fillers (Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane).  With you concerns, you should start with one of these products in a very standard area.  Get comfortable with the skill level of your injector and ask them how long they have been doing other areas and how many procedures.  Their confidence in answering these questions should tell you a lot about how comfortable they are with them.  Good luck.

Fillers are very safe in the majority of places on the face and even off the face like the hands, chest, and nipples.  There are a few "danger" spots on the face that have higher risk of problems if not done with the appropriate precautions.  I frequently inject with a cannula for the mid and lower face.  A cannula is a blunt ended injection tool and causes almost no bruising or swelling and almost no risk of any of the major complications of needle injection.  If you are worried, finding someone with expertise in injecting fillers with various methods is very important -- such as someone like myself that uses cannulas.  Also, someone who lectures, teaches, publishes on fillers is someone who may be more up to date than others.  With that said, anyone can have a complication, even the best injector.  So you want to find someone you trust, has a good reputation, and has a great aesthetic eye.  I agree with what was said below, fillers are overused greatly.  However, Radiesse has the ability to do amazing things such as contouring, lifting, and filling that very few other fillers have.  If used in the right amount and at the right key points on the face, someone can look much younger for their age without looking "different."  Seek a formal cosmetic consultation with a cosmetic dermatologist or plastic surgeon who has experience using all the fillers, including fat injections.  We would gladly see you in our office and give you a conservative, honest opinion.  I wish you the best of luck, Dr. Emer.

For patients new to dermal fillers, we generally recommend patients to start with either juvederm or restylane. Nasolabial folds and/or marionette lines are generally good areas to start if a patient is a candidate. It is key to choose an experienced physician master injector.  Radiesse is usually for specific issues or more experienced patients.

I usually recommend injecting a hyaluronic acid filler such as Restylane, Juvederm, or Perlane into the nasolabial folds and/or marionette lines in someone who has never had fillers before.  If you consult a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon with considerable experience in filler injections, you should feel confident in their abilities and comfortable in proceding.  Radiesse is not the best filler to start with since it is not reversible.

The safest area is most probably the nasolabial folds. In my practice every cosmetic patient is addressed separately as there are no "cookbook" approaches even after almost 20 years of filler experience.We use many different fillers in the same patient to achieve a optimal correction. I would recommend you discuss with a dermatologist board certified and experienced in fillers in your area.

In my opinion fillers are greatly over used. Every body is doing fillers , this is in response to demands for "quick" fix demanded by patients, and injectors looking for "cash' income.Proper diagnosis and proper training and knowledge of the anatomy and the potential risks of filler injection is mandatory. The face is very vascular and very rich with nerves and vessels and small muscles. One needs to research the injector using the filler and ask and understand the risks, and what are the precautions taken to minimize these risks. Also knowledge of what to do in case of "mis-hap".  The Aesthetic surgery Journal just published two major articles on the complications of fillers and how to avoid them and treat them.

I don't know that there's a clear answer to this question.  Fillers (typically Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, Radiesse, Voluma, etc) are injected commonly; hundreds of thousands of treatments are performed each year with only minimal complications, and most of those are temporary.  Rarely, though, more serious and permanent complications can occur.  However, as  you indicate, blindness (and other permanent complications) have been reported with fillers; in fact, with nearly every type of filler.  The exact incidence is unknown, since there is no central databank or system for reporting them.  In view of the number of treatments performed it is undoubtedly small, but that is of little comfort to the people who have them.I would therefore recommend treatment by an experienced "injector" - a term which is used widely, and can include doctors (board-certified or not), allied health professionals, dentists, etc.  A careful and thorough consultation with a board-certified provider is a good first step in making sure that you will get a safe, and effective, treatment.  Whatever that may be.I hope that this helps and good luck,Dr. EMember of RealSelf100