Original Article By Elise Minton. You may love the way your doctor wields his or her needle to inject your favorite fillers and injectables, giving you the look you’ve always wanted. But for the most part, doctors like to use these products off-label, meaning for a purpose (albeit safe) other than what they are FDA-approved for. We asked six expert injectors what their favorite under-the-radar uses are for injectables and fillers—their answers may surprise you.
To diminish the look of cellulite and dimples
New York dermatologist Gervaise Gerstner, MD, likes to use filler to treat dimples and cellulites on the thighs. “There are a plethora of perfectly sculpted ladies who are 99.99 percent perfect but they obsess over very small dimples or fat pockets. When we use filler to fill in the divots or dimples, it also helps to lift the skin so the appearance of some of that superficial crepiness and cellulite is diminished.”
To add structure to the temples
The temple region is one part of the face that most people don’t realize can really age you. As volume is lost from the area, the temples can start to become hollow and sunken. “One of my favorites uses of injectable filler is for filling in the temples,” says Troy, MI, plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, MD. “A lot of people have hollowing of the temples with age and loss of fat. Filling them in with either Sculptra Aesthetic or Juvéderm Voluma can be a very effective way to treat facial wasting and loss of volume.”
To plump up the earlobes
It may not be the first part of the body that you think of when battling the signs of aging, but the earlobes can actually become aged and damaged, looking droopy, thin and even wrinkly. Washington D.C. dermatologist Tina Alster, MD, says injecting the earlobes (hyaluronic acid fillers are usually used) helps to prevent further stretching or widening of the pierced hole. “And, it shows off your earrings better!”
To get rid of wrinkles on the knees
One of the best kept (and off-label) uses of fillers is in the knees. West Palm Beach, FL, dermatologist Kenneth R. Beer, MD, says that injecting the fine, crepey lines on the knees with Sculptra Aesthetic helps to soften them.
To erase chin wrinkles
Once wrinkles start to set in on the chin, your look can go into full-on aging. “Many people do not realize how the muscles in the chin can contribute to a wrinkly or cobblestone appearance in that part of the face,” says Beverly Hills, CA, plastic surgeon Leslie H. Stevens, MD. “Injecting neurotoxins in the chin relaxes these muscle just enough to smooth out the wrinkles and give more chin projection for a stronger chin.”
To smooth out wrinkles on the elbows
Montclair, NJ, dermatologist Jeanine Downie, MD, uses fillers in a rather unconventional way. By injecting the product into the elbows to even out wrinkles. “When things start to wrinkle women are generally not happy.”