Silicone is best known for being a popular breast implant material, but it can be also used for treatment of facial defects and anti-aging procedures in form of injections.
Comparing to other filler materials, silicone is surprisingly cheap. It never hardens, which makes it look and feel more natural and the effect is permanent.
When injected, the filler material disperses through the injection site and then your body’s own cells are supposed to surround it, keeping everything together and nice.
Unfortunately, silicone is not 100 percent safe and when problems do arise, the result can be disfiguring. In some rare cases, silicone implants shift after many months or even years, forming ugly lumps in your face or body. And then… it’s permanent.
Another problem with silicone is that it tends to cause inflammations, infections and even allergic reactions, which can be very severe. Sadly, it’s almost impossible to remove silicone if any of these issues occurred.
Until recent years liquid silicone wasn’t approved by the FDA for any cosmetic purpose, be that facial treatments or breast enlargements. However, in 2012 a new silicone gel-filled breast implant was approved, but is still subject to post-approval safety studies. Unless you are ready to risk your health and good looks, it’s probably better to choose something safer until the FDA has it sorted.
“It’s important to remember that breast implants are not lifetime devices. Women should fully understand risks associated with breast implants before considering augmentation or reconstruction surgery, and recognize that long-term monitoring is essential,” says William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., deputy director for science in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
Liquid silicone injection for wrinkle treatment or facial reconstruction still seem to be a bad idea, but with abundance of much better and safer materials you have plenty of choices. Gore-Tex, for example, is permanent and reversible implant with soft natural feel, most commonly used for lips and deep wrinkles.