Cosmetic fillers are gel-like materials injected beneath the human skin to add fullness, smoothness, and volume to certain body parts. Fillers are used for cheekbone enhancement, smoothing lines around your mouth and the nose, minimizing under-eye circles, lip enhancement, and improving facial features symmetry.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies cosmetic fillers as medical devices. As indicated in clinical experimentation, most FDA-authorized cosmetic fillers show temporary effects as they’re created from biodegradable materials that ultimately break down in the body and are absorbed. To maintain your desired look, you need to repeat the injection procedure.

Do you think your body parts need to be enhanced? Are you considering a cosmetic procedure to volumize your lips or contour a certain body part? Be cautious of using unapproved dermal filler products, such as injectable silicone, to achieve your desired results. Unapproved fillers can cause infections, long-term pain, permanent scarring, embolism, stroke, and death. Don’t forget to research before getting your dermal fillers done.

Cosmetic fillers aren’t for all of us. Some people find aesthetic treatments satisfactory, while others may encounter side effects even with FDA-approved fillers. Before you spend money on them, research the potential risks and complications. Here we highlight the top 6 risks involved.

  • Severe Pain 

Using unapproved cosmetic filler substances for body contouring is unsafe and prohibited for all parts of the body. Silicone injections can lead to adverse reactions, including severe pain at the injection site. If not treated well, the condition may worsen and induce life-threatening conditions. If you’ve already had silicone injections and are experiencing unbearable pain, immediately consult experts for silicone injection removal to avoid further complications.

  • Serious Health Conditions

Out of all the dermal fillers, silicone fillers are considered the most harmful to the human body. Silicone is non-biodegradable and stays permanently in your body. Breast implants contain liquid silicone. If the breast implant ruptures somehow, this means leakage of silicon liquid in the body, leading to adverse symptoms, additional surgeries, and illness.

Individuals considering an aesthetic dermal filler need to be aware that unapproved cosmetic fillers and sometimes even authorized ones can have side effects on their bodies.

One of the conditions associated with silicone implants is known as Silicone-reactive disorder. Symptoms may include blood clots, anemia, chest pain, fatigue, hair loss, kidney problems, and mouth sores.

A serious and rare cancer referred to as Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is linked with saline and silicone breast implants. It is typically found in the woman’s breast tissue. Signs of BIA-ALCL include breast enlargement and hardening, pain, asymmetry, lumps in the armpit or breast, and skin rash.

  • Infection at the filler site

There is always a risk of infection when injecting substances under the skin, even if the tools are sterilized. Infection can occur on the cosmetic filler site immediately or weeks after. Don’t delay seeing relevant healthcare professionals if you identify any symptoms on your dermal filler sites, such as redness, swelling, tenderness, lump, or pus. If the symptoms are not controlled and recur, you may need to go for removal of the product from the affected side.

  • Necrosis

One of the most serious cosmetic fillers threats is the unintended injection of a filler substance into blood vessels. When the filler enters the blood vessel, the substance can travel through vessels to other body parts, leading to blockage of blood vessels in the heart, lungs, or brain. Due to insufficient blood flow to the tissue, a life-threatening condition called necrosis occurs, leading to heart disease, lung problems, stroke, or death.

The FDA has strictly cautioned against getting dermal fillers injected into the buttocks, breasts, or between your muscles as these areas contain many blood vessels and are most vulnerable.

  • Blindness

Though it is rare, dermal fillers can lead to severe complications that you may have never considered, like blindness. So, what is the association between cosmetic fillers and the eye? Vascular complication is the most serious issue one could experience. Vascular occlusions can result in tissue death (necrosis), eventually leading to blindness. Blood vessels around the nose and eye are more at risk as they are connected with the retinal blood vessels at the back of the eye. Ninety-eight cases of vision changes as a result of cosmetic fillers were reported in a study.

  • Appearance of Acne 

Some people may suffer from acne-like skin eruptions following the injection of cosmetic fillers. These eruptions occur due to the occlusion of sweat or sebaceous gland openings. If the substance is injected into the skin superficially, the eruption can extrude and show up as acne.

Injection of cosmetic fillers into active acne may also lead to severe inflammation and intensified acne.

Using unsterilized tools may allow bacteria to be injected with the dermal filler, causing acne and skin bumps. These can occur immediately following injections or even after years at the injection site.

Conclusion

From smoothing out your smile lines to shaping your jawline, cosmetic fillers can give your facial features or body parts a boost. There’s no doubt that dermal fillers are growing around the globe. However, these cosmetic fillers that enhance the looks have an ugly face too. Although it’s an extremely personal choice whether to use fillers or not, you need to quantify the possible risks and benefits associated with them. Not only does the dermal filler cause the slightest reactions and pain, but it can cause many serious health issues, including blindness, stroke, heart disease, respiratory problems, and death.