A new technique of injecting facial fillers promises to cut the risk of a botched job while delivering results so natural, it’s as if you never had work done. JACLYN GUNASILAN investigates.
A new technique of injecting facial fillers promises to cut the risk of a botched job while delivering results so natural, it’s as if you never had work done. JACLYN GUNASILAN investigates.
It gave us the Brazilian wax, the Brazilian blowout and Gisele. Now, the South American nation notches up another hit on its list of beauty contributions in the form of a new filler-injection technique designed to deliver more natural-looking results while minimising potential pitfalls caused by a doctor’s lack of skill or subjective analysis of a patient’s face. It’s known as MD Codes.
Sounds arcane? Well, the truth is far more scientific and rationally thought-out. Devised in 2015 by Brazilian plastic surgeon Dr Mauricio de Maio and pharmaceutical company Allergan (which developed the widely used Juvederm family of hyaluronic acid fillers), MD Codes is a system of mapping the face using 75 fixed points.
These points cover the eye area, forehead, cheeks and chin, and help guide doctors on where exactly to inject the fillers to tackle concerns such as wrinkles, laugh lines, a sunken under-eye area and even a weak chin. The fillers used, which come in different degrees of density or hardness for different areas, aren’t new, but the way they are being injected is.
According to Dr Melvin Tan, associate doctor at Rexults Clinic, MD Codes gives greater structure to the process of filler injections. “[In the past], treatments with facial fillers tended to be somewhat ad hoc, [in the sense that] they were very much [injected into wherever] the doctor sees fit,” he says.
For instance, some may choose to inject the filler only in areas that seem lacking in volume, such as the chin and the under-eye area. In certain cases though, this could result in the face looking overdone or excessively airbrushed. “It may even cause your face to become disproportionate, with bulging cheeks or an overly protruding chin,” says Dr Ho Rui Ming, medical director at Chrysalis Medical Aesthetics. Think Renee Zellweger’s over-filled cheeks or Madonna’s puffy face – both said to be the result of filler overkill.
With MD Codes, however, much of that guesswork is taken out. What’s more, Dr de Maio’s approach of using this 75-point facial roadmap to inject fillers into a group of points on the face, and not just the area of concern itself, helps create a natural-looking effect that doesn’t scream “needle”.
Take for instance a woman looking to minimise the look of her laugh lines. The “old” way would be to inject fillers directly into the lines to plump them up, says Dr Tan. “But this comes with the risk of your face looking puffy or swollen if the fillers are overdone,” he says.
Doctors trained in MD Codes, on the other hand, may adopt a “five-point cheek reshape” technique, which involves five jabs on each cheek. These fillers create a network of “scaffolding” – like the support structures in architecture – that lifts the upper- and mid-cheek area, reducing the sagging that causes laugh lines in the first place. “Not only do the laugh lines become less pronounced, you get plumper, more lifted cheeks,” adds Dr Tan.
Here’s another example. One of the traditional methods for creating a sharper-looking jawline is to inject fillers directly into the tip of the chin to elongate it. With MD Codes, the new way is to do a “six-point chin reshape”, a method that involves the injection of fillers in six different areas, depending on where the patient needs them. So if the patient has a receding chin, the doctor may want to help project the chin forward by injecting fillers into the front and tip of the chin before moulding it for a 3-D and naturallooking result.
“Certain additional points, such as the sides of the chin, are also considered when shaping a male’s chin. Men usually want a stronger-looking jawline as opposed to females, who usually want a V-shaped face,” says Dr Ho.
BOTH RENEE ZELLWEGER’S OVER-FILLED CHEEKS AND MADONNA’S PUFFY FACE ARE SAID TO BE THE RESULT OF FILLER OVERKILL.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Filler treatments based on MD Codes have been available at local aesthetic clinics since early this year. According to Dr Ho, such procedures are approved by the Ministry of Health. Simply check if your preferred doctor is trained in administering MD Codes.
The technique is highly customisable, which means the number of jabs you’ll need will vary, starting from three injections onwards – it all depends on the severity of your problem.
Since you’ll be undergoing multiple injections in one sitting, numbing cream will be applied beforehand to ensure that the process is as comfortable as possible, but the pain level is subjective. From personal experience, six injections around the chin caused a dull, muscle-ache-like pain that lasted a few days, felt especially when laughing or chewing.
According to Dr Ho, some redness and slight swelling at the injection sites may occur; they usually resolve naturally over the next few days and can be easily concealed with makeup. Plus, the procedure is so quick – normally around half an hour or so – that it can be done during lunchtime.
