Besides biodegradable fillers, there are also various non-biodegradable fillers, including silicon, polyacrylamide, and polyalkylimide. Non-biodegradable fillers are also known as “permanent fillers” because their effect is permanent.
Liquid silicon is one of the oldest fillers, it’s a colorless oily liquid. It used to be very popular among doctors, but many side effects appeared, some of which were very serious, and gradually fewer doctors used it. Its side effects are quite terrifying, causing extensive inflammation and ulcers. Removing it can be a nightmare because it requires removing a large area of skin tissue and reconstructive surgery.
Polyacrylamide, or PAAG for short, is a permanent filler. It used to be used for breast augmentation and facial injections, but this substance has a carcinogenic risk (if there is still uncertainty about whether there is a carcinogenic risk, add a question mark and a word of skepticism before questioning), and it can also cause displacement, deformation, nodules, and prolonged swelling. A woman from Hong Kong once had to have one breast removed after injection in mainland China due to inflammation and abscess, while others injected at illegal beauty salons had the gel flow along the lymphatic vessels or blood vessels, causing systemic diseases.
Polyalkylimide, or PAIG for short, is a water-based gel that, after injection, forms a thin water-blocking film to prevent contact with body tissues, forming small compartments filled with PAIG. Polyalkylimide is mainly used as a filler for lip, forehead, and cheek augmentation. After implantation, PAIG may cause swelling, hardening, and skin damage, and a study found that most of the 25 patients who experienced after-effects also had problems with ulcers and inflammation. Even after nearly two years of follow-up, 10 patients still suffered from after-effects. This material has now been eliminated.
In addition to biodegradable and non-biodegradable fillers, there are also products that combine these two substances, such as ArteFill and Dermalive. The purpose of these products is to use the short-term effects of biodegradable fillers to replace the long-term side effects of permanent fillers before the appearance of foreign body reaction.
Non-biodegradable fillers have certain appeal because patients do not need to inject regularly and can avoid changes in appearance caused by gradual loss of fillers. However, permanent fillers have certain risks. First of all, people of all ages can receive injections, and when young people inject, are there any unknown risks after decades? No one knows what side effects may occur after 30 or even 40 years. Secondly, the skin will age and change with time and external environmental factors, and what looks good today may become unsightly in the future when the fillers still remain in the body. Finally, permanent fillers are foreign substances that stimulate immune cells to attack them, leading to chronic inflammation reactions and the formation of keloids. Because permanent fillers do not have solvents like hyaluronic acid, they are very difficult to deal with.
After reading the introduction of biodegradable and non-biodegradable fillers above, I believe readers will understand why hyaluronic acid is more popular!