THE ARTISTRY of aesthetics
Stealth fillers are rising in popularity – and with good reason. Today’s aesthetic practitioners are using dynamic formulas and artistic flair to achieve a softer plumpness, as well as subtly defined cheekbones and jawlines
Few treatments are more popular – or polarising – than fillers. And while it appears beauty’s obsession with inflatable cheeks and tumescent-lipped faces is on the wane, “stealth filler” is the new vogue, with savvy aesthetic practitioners switching up their needlework for a lighthanded, little-and-often approach.
It’s not about adding a ton of volume any more. The new trend focuses on artfully honing facial features and selecting the correct palette of gels for the job. In the right hands, it’s now possible to have tiny, barely detectable adjustments that fly under the radar.
But let’s not sugar-coat this: it’s been a long journey to get to this point. Collagen-based fillers became popular in the 1980s, after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved their use in 1981. Cue several decades of trout pouts and chipmunk-cheeked stars, not to mention images of botched work and scary bumps, which turned fillers into a much maligned treatment.
Today there’s a growing backlash against overfilled faces, while scientific advances in formulas and refined application techniques mean less is more in the hunt for looking your best self. Fillers, in particular, have evolved to gently elevate the sunken hollows of the face and replump where skin is losing its fight with gravity. No wonder it’s one of the most indemand post-lockdown treatments.
Based at the Taktouk Clinic in London’s Knightsbridge, Dr Wassim Taktouk is one of those who have mastered the subtle art of injecting. With a client list that includes film stars, he has a reputation as one of the new generation of aesthetic artists for those wanting zero-detection work.
“I’ve always believed in being true to someone’s natural aesthetic,” Wassim tells
hello!. “We’re moving towards a more bespoke way of harmonising the face. We may make the occasional adjustment here or there, but it’s not about changing the face. The beauty is in the individuality. The beauty is in the asymmetry and in the small nuances of the face, which we want to preserve rather than erase.”
A BESPOKE APPROACH
Historically, filler was for exaggerating facial features or correcting so-called imperfections in order to look permanently Facetuned. But techniques have become increasingly creative as the focus has shifted. This new era of fillers is about looking at the whole face holistically, as well as identifying what causes the signs of ageing.
“The products got smarter and we understood ageing better,” explains Wassim. “It’s not just that the skin becomes lax. There are changes from the bone right up to the surface of the skin.” For the most realistic results, he asks patients to bring photographs of themselves through the decades to the consultation. “I can then see what they used to look like and where the fat and volume has been lost. When you see that, you can inject someone with filler in specific areas to totally rejuvenate them.”
Gone, too, is the golden ratio, which aestheticians adopted from Renaissance artists to map out the face and create a one-size-fits all ideal of beauty.
“You should never think in terms of ratios because it doesn’t factor in ethnicity, sex or face shape,” says Wassim. “Symmetry isn’t king any more. There’s no such thing as the ideal lip – a bigger upper lip or thinner lips might look really beautiful on someone.”
MODERN TECHNIQUES
The lion’s share of fillers in an aesthetic practitioner’s arsenal are made of hyaluronic acid – a safe sugar found naturally in the body. Thanks to its ability to hold 1,000 times its molecular weight in water, when injected beneath the skin’s surface it can plump, hydrate and restore lost volume.
In clinic, Wassim only uses Teoxane dermal fillers and has multiple hyaluronic acid gels at his disposal – ranging from firmer fillers to sculpt a jawline or restore lost volume in the cheeks, to more watery, malleable fillers for the lips to avoid a lumpy pout.
Knowing where and how to inject is also crucial. “There are five layers of tissue in the face,” says Wassim. “The bone and muscles, two layers of fat – one deep, one superficial – and the outer skin. Everyone loses deep fat with age, which is hard and immobile and requires a rigid hyaluronic acid filler to lift the tissue above it and replace lost volume.
“Superficial fat is different. As it’s closer to the skin, it’s important to use what’s known as resilient hyaluronic acid that moves and stretches with the skin so it looks natural. It’s all about choosing a filler that correctly matches the tissue you are replacing.”
Likewise, treating one area of the face can
affect another. “We can inject filler deep into the forehead and it creates a bit of tension to lift the eyebrows,” explains Wassim.
Another prime area for stealth filler is the temples. “Over time you start to lose fat in your temples, which leads to hollows on either side of the face that make it appear sunken.”
A knock-on effect is that the tissue covering the bone starts to droop, causing your eyes and brows to slump at the corners. “Injecting into the cheeks can lift the lower face tissue, as the extra volume pulls the skin up for less prominent nasolabial folds [the grooves on either side of the mouth],” says Wassim, who also favours injecting filler along the jaw bone to restore definition – something, he points out, you couldn’t achieve with a facelift.
If you can’t put your finger on any one niggle, but you simply want to look more refreshed, skin boosters such as Teoxane’s Redensity 1 could be the answer. This is a hydrating treatment, developed using free hyaluronic acid, to give an immediate and natural glow to the skin.
The trick here is that it adds radiance rather than volume like filler, which makes it a great entry-level treatment if you’re dipping your toes into the world of aesthetics for the first time.
With all these game-changing techniques comes greater responsibility to find the right practitioner to get the results you want. Non-surgical procedures, being elective, aren’t regulated like the NHS. Anyone can set up as a practitioner and while some fillers can be dissolved, not all mistakes are so easily rectified – for example, injecting into a blood vessel can result in scarring.
“It’s important you research your practitioner carefully, check they’re fully insured, that they trained correctly and that they are using licensed products,” says Wassim. “Be knowledgeable about what’s being injected into your face, too. It’s not good enough to lie back and let your practitioner decide, you need to understand why they have chosen that product and what’s in it.”
Given that the Zoom boom has led to a dramatic increase in patient requests for facial fillers, this advice is more important than ever. “Our clinic saw a sharp increase in new patients who wouldn’t have accessed our services prepandemic,” says Wassim. “Instead of wrinkles, the focus has shifted to the lower face. Instead of simply looking in the mirror, we have been subjected to watching our faces move as we talk on screen. People were seeing the marionette lines and the nasolabial folds; they noticed new shadows, volume loss and how tired they looked, and they wanted to fix that.
“Some patients have come to me because they have been injected with the wrong type of filler elsewhere and they could see lumps. Filler needs to move with the face.”
SLOW AND STEADY
Of course, the greatest barrier to trying fillers is the fear of an unnatural-looking result – something that Wassim breaks down with a thorough consultation and a treatment plan that slowly trickles injectables into the face. “During the consultation I ask a lot of detailed questions so I can listen out for clues about body dysmorphia or mental health issues,” he says. “Then I recommend a cooling-off period of a few weeks.”
Avoiding that old-fashioned “done” look comes down to “not doing everything in one sitting”, adds Wassim. “When hyaluronic acid is injected, it binds water to the filler so there will be a change in volume between the first injection and the next.
“When you do small amounts over a few months you sometimes realise you don’t need that further appointment.”
He also believes that the benchmark for good practice in aesthetics is sometimes saying “no” to stop patients going too far. “You want your patient to see their friends and be told they look really well,” says Wassim. “If their friends ask what work they’ve had done, you know you’ve gone too far.”
‘The beauty is in the asymmetry and small nuances of the face, which we want to preserve rather than erase’
Prices start from £350 and vary nationwide depending on treatment, location and practitioner. Visit drwassimtaktouk.com.