Volume Treatments Explained: Restore Facial Contours

Volume loss is a natural process that we all face as we age, with the loss of facial volume leading to shifts in facial shape, contour and definition over time. Volume treatments are a non-surgical approach that may help you to maintain the appearance of fuller, more balanced contours, and can assist in restoring harmony and a more refreshed aesthetic to the features you love.

At My Body Vibes, we understand that facial contouring and enhancement is a highly personalised process. Our knowledgeable medical practitioners will help to tailor each and every treatment to suit your specific needs, with an emphasis on complementing your natural facial structure and aesthetic goals. We also pride ourselves on ensuring a completely informed decision-making process, with safety, natural-looking results and an in-depth understanding of what to expect always being top of mind.

If you are interested in treatments that can help to accentuate your natural facial contours, don’t hesitate to book in with our practitioners for a consultation to discuss your options.

So let’s unpack how volume treatments work, common injection sites and what you can expect from a typical treatment process.

Table of Contents

-What Are Volume Treatments?

-How Volume Loss Occurs

-How Dermal Fillers Work

-Key Areas for Volume Restoration

-Cheeks: Enhance Fullness & Contour

-Lips: Subtle Shaping & Hydration

-Under-Eyes: Reduce Hollow Appearance

-Jawline & Chin: Support Definition

-What to Expect From a Treatment: Step-by-Step

-Step 1: Consultation and Mapping

-Step 2: Safety Planning

-Step 3: Asepsis and Discomfort Control

-Step 4: Treatment: Sculpt and Settle

-Step 5: Documentation and Written Aftercare Advice

-Step 6: Attend Your Follow-Up

-Post-Care Tips

-Volume Treatment FAQs

-Personalised Advice for Your Aesthetic Goals

-Supporting Your Natural Contours Safely

What Are Volume Treatments?

Facial volume contour treatments, also known as volume treatments, are non-surgical procedures designed to enhance the shape, balance and proportion of the face. These treatments focus on areas where volume and structure can be refined to support a more harmonious and refreshed appearance.

Volume treatments are designed to work with your natural features, rather than against them. The goal is to enhance your contours in a subtle and natural way, by adding definition and support where it’s needed most. Each treatment is tailored to your unique facial structure, aesthetic goals and treatment preferences.

How Volume Loss Occurs

Loss of facial volume can occur as a natural result of the aging process. The structure and components underneath the skin surface that give shape to the face, such as fat, collagen, elastin and bone density, can start to change over time. Collagen and elastin provide the elasticity and firmness of the skin, while fat and bone provide the structure and contours.

As we age, collagen and elastin production can slow down, resulting in less elastic skin. Fat pads can also slowly decrease or become redistributed, especially around the cheeks, temples, and under-eye area. Bone resorption, or the slow loss of bone mass, can also have a subtle effect on the facial structure and definition.

The cumulative impact of these natural changes in facial structure and composition can result in a loss of volume and contour. This can result in the loss of fullness or definition in certain areas of the face.

How Dermal Fillers Work

Dermal fillers work by adding extra volume under the skin. This provides gentle lifting and support for areas that have lost natural fullness over time. Injected filler material takes up space in the tissue, helping to enhance contours and support structure in treated areas.

The majority of fillers used in facial volume contour treatments are hyaluronic acid (HA) based. HA is a molecule naturally found in the skin that helps provide hydration and elasticity. The HA in a dermal filler binds with water molecules, producing a soft plumping effect. This helps to smooth and support the skin.

In addition to immediate physical support, hyaluronic acid can also help to attract and retain moisture. This can help to maintain the structure and suppleness of the filler over time. HA based fillers are metabolised by the body over time. This means they are not permanent and can be adjusted or refreshed as desired.

Key Areas for Volume Restoration

Facial cosmetic aesthetics often focuses on restoring a more balanced and defined appearance in several specific areas. Small differences in fullness throughout the face can impact overall harmony, from the cheeks, lips and under eye area to the lower face where a double chin or softer jawline contours can appear more pronounced over time. Each area also plays a unique role in how the face is contoured in profile and proportion. 

Let’s explore the reasons why these are the most common areas to target for volume restoration and how each contributes to a naturally balanced facial appearance.

Cheeks: Enhance Fullness & Contour

Within the cheeks, multiple fat compartments are housed beneath the skin. Two of these fat pads are the medial and lateral submalar fat pads. These fat compartments give the cheeks natural projection and support overlying tissue structures. All of these fat compartments are suspended on the zygomatic bones, which form the structural cheekbones.

Aging involves alterations in both of these fat pads as well as the bone underneath. As the cheek fat pads shift or atrophy and subtle resorption of the underlying bone occurs, this can lead to a changed mid-face contour, which in turn leads to the cheeks being less full and the skin draping differently over the face.

Since the cheeks also define how light and shadow fall over the mid-face and transition down to the lower eyelids and jawline, they are a common area to target during facial volume contour treatment to support a balanced and harmonious facial structure.

Lips: Subtle Shaping & Hydration

The lips are composed of muscle, connective tissue, and small, intrinsic fat compartments. These layers of tissue rest on the jaw and surrounding bony landmarks. The subcutaneous layers help the lips maintain their natural shape, definition, and subtle fullness. With age, the underlying fat compartments and connective tissue may lose volume or change in the way they hold natural hydration.

Movement of the lip muscles can also contribute to symmetry changes and wrinkle prominence. As the lips play an important role in facial expression and proportion, they are often a common area for volume treatment. With volume treatments, practitioners can enhance contour and support natural structure to complement the surrounding features.

Under-Eyes: Reduce Hollow Appearance

The tear trough or area under the eye is the most susceptible location for subtle changes in structure to occur over time. This area is dependent on fine fat compartments and the soft tissues and underlying orbital bone to create seamless transitions between the lower eyelid and the cheek. Changes to these support structures will cause fat to naturally migrate and/or disappear and thinning skin to appear less plump or lusterless and even hollow or dull in appearance.

Treatments in this region should aim to help support the underlying soft tissue structure and complement its natural contours to help the mid-face look and feel harmonious.

Jawline & Chin: Support Definition

The jawline and chin are important structural components that define the lower face and play a significant role in overall balance and facial proportions. Over time, gradual changes in the underlying fat compartments, connective tissue, and jawbone structure can lead to a loss of definition in this area. As fat pads subtly shift or diminish, and skin elasticity gradually alters, the lower face may begin to exhibit sagging along the jawline, often referred to as jowls, and the chin may appear less prominent.

Ulfit HIFU delivers energy to deeper layers of the skin and underlying tissue. It passes through the surface layers and is absorbed by the subcutaneous tissue and the connective tissue layer. The energy causes a natural tissue response that can result in a temporary tightening of the tissue. The energy can be delivered at precise depths to reach specific structural layers below the skin, such as the fat pads and the fibrous tissue that support the jawline and chin.

Facial slimming treatments are meant to improve the appearance of natural contours and support overall facial proportions without affecting the skin’s surface or involving surgical procedures.

What to Expect From a Treatment: Step-by-Step

Throughout a volume treatment or facial contouring procedure, the focus is on precision, safety, and working with your natural facial anatomy. To give you a clear picture of what this involves, here’s a step-by-step guide of what to expect from consultation to follow-up.

Step 1: Consultation and Mapping

The Medical Practitioner you have made an appointment with will review your desired outcomes with you, sometimes this may include lips, cheek, and jawline. They will also review your medical history as well as understanding the facial anatomy. Once the patient’s goals have been ascertained, the key facial landmarks are identified and marked.

This is to ensure that the procedure is performed safely and in a manner that is anatomically appropriate to the patient’s facial features. This can include facial volume treatment or facial contouring.

Step 2: Safety Planning

The areas of high risk are identified and marked up for your records which can sometimes include a photograph or imaging if available such as ultrasound, and the most appropriate and safe approach for delivery is considered and discussed.

Step 3: Asepsis and Discomfort Control

Skin is prepared by being cleansed and marking is applied using sterile aseptic technique. Comfort measures such as topical anaesthetic are considered and applied.

Step 4: Treatment: Sculpt and Settle

Facial volume injection treatment is applied slowly with deliberate care to enhance the patient’s existing shape. Occasionally this can include some gentle moulding of the area as required. In some cases, an immediate effect can be seen once the treatment has been applied. Fullness may settle in the days following as normal post-treatment swelling reduces. 

A post-treatment follow-up is made to check symmetry and make any micro-adjustments if required.

Step 5: Documentation and Written Aftercare Advice

You will be provided with written aftercare instructions and advised on what to look out for and what action is required if a significant issue is experienced (eg severe pain, vision change, colour change). Notes will be made and a photo added to your medical record.

Step 6: Attend Your Follow-Up

Patients return for follow-up. They have the opportunity to review with you how they have settled and experience with the treatment. This is also a good time to discuss any questions or queries the patient may have and can include small refinements or adjustments if clinically indicated.

Post-Care Tips

Aftercare following a volume treatment or facial contouring procedure helps your skin comfortably adjust and allows time for treated areas to begin to settle. You may experience some mild swelling, redness, or tenderness after your treatment which will subside over a few days.

To aid your recovery, try to avoid strenuous exercise, excessive sun exposure and avoid touching or massaging treated areas for the first 24–48 hours. You can normally return to gentle skincare products and routines as normal unless otherwise advised by your practitioner.

It is important to remember that each individual’s results may vary depending on their facial structure, the area treated and how your body may react. By following the recommended aftercare guidelines and attending any follow-up appointments, your practitioner can keep an eye on how your features are settling.

Volume Treatment FAQs

If you’re considering a volume treatment or non-surgical facelift, you probably have questions. Here are answers to some of the questions we hear most often from clients.

Are volume treatments painful? 

The majority of patients only experience mild discomfort, which some liken to a quick pinch or pressure. If you are concerned, topical numbing creams or other comfort measures can be used to make the experience even more comfortable. 

How long do results last?

The longevity of the results can vary depending on the specific filler used, as well as the patient’s facial anatomy. In general, patients may experience results for several months. 

It is important to note that individual experiences may vary.

Are there side effects?

Volume treatments may result in some minor and temporary swelling, redness, or slight bruising which typically resolve within a few days. Serious side effects are rare, and your practitioner will discuss any potential signs to be aware of and aftercare for the treated areas.

Who is a suitable candidate?

Volume treatments are typically suitable for adult patients in good health and without any contraindications. During the consultation, your practitioner will review your medical history and discuss your goals, ensuring that the treatment is a suitable option for you.

Can I combine volume treatments with other procedures? 

In many cases, volume treatments can be combined safely with other non-surgical aesthetic procedures. Your clinician can help determine your overall treatment plan and the timing of any combination treatments for your individual needs.

Personalised Advice for Your Aesthetic Goals

Each consultation at My Body Vibes is a bespoke service. Our qualified medical professionals understand that no two people are the same. During your consultation, we will take into account your personal characteristics, your preferences and your facial anatomy to discuss all the possibilities and combinations of procedures to achieve the desired results for you. This always takes place within the scope of our clinic’s safety policies and you are in control of your decisions.

You might be considering filler treatment, and wondering if it could help you achieve your aesthetic goals. As part of our clinic policy, we never push decisions. You are always welcome to book an initial consultation at My Body Vibes so you can ask any questions you have, discuss your needs and get to know our team of practitioners.

Supporting Your Natural Contours Safely

At My Body Vibes, we know that every consultation should be personal and safety-driven. Book a no-obligation consultation in-clinic or on Zoom to talk about your goals and discover your options whenever and however you like.

The first step to seeing how volume treatments and facial contouring procedures can work for you is choosing a consultation with one of our knowledgeable practitioners who is dedicated to helping you.