The latest strategy to overcome wrinkles, sagging facial flesh, bony hands and flappy earlobes is under-the-skin injections of cosmetic fillers with exotic names like Restylane, Radiesse, Sculptra, ArteFill, Juvéderm, Ultra Plus and Perlane.

The idea behind all of these fillers is to inject an organic chemical, such as poly-L-lactic acid (in the case of Sculptra) or hyaluronic acid (in the case of Restylane) - which have been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration - to plump up the skin. This erases wrinkles, lines, jowls, creases and the like - for a period of time.

"Now we can do a lot with these filling agents that fill in gaps that you can't do with a re-draping procedure like a facelift," says Dr. Max Adler of Park Cities Dermatology in Dallas, Texas.

"When you combine that with some of our other things like Portrait Plasma [skin regeneration] and fractionated CO2 lasers for resurfacing of the skin, all of a sudden you can get a pretty youthful appearance in most people."

And skin deformities, such as dog-bite scars and broken noses, can be rectified, too. "We're just really at the tip of the iceberg on the variety of the uses of fillers," says Dr. Lynley K. McAnalley of Highland Park Aesthetic Medicine, a specialist in cosmetic injectables.

Each filler, which has its own unique consistency, longevity and cost, is injected just under the numbed skin. It not only "fills in" wrinkles and lines, but plumps the skin by pulling in fluid and, occasionally, accelerating collagen growth.

Related Stories

 - NON-MELANOMA SKIN CANCER STUDY
 - Active FX Laser
 - Cosmetic Laser Surgery: The Cutting Edge