Dermal Fillers

Dermal fillers at Hannah Clarke are all hyaluronic acid based. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance in the skin, which means the product is well tolerated, integrates with your own tissue and, importantly, is dissolvable in an emergency.

Dermal fillers have a bad reputation in the press and on social media. That reputation almost always traces back to unregistered practitioners with little or no training in facial anatomy, working from home kitchens or hair salons using unbranded product. In those hands, injecting into or near a vein or artery becomes a real risk.

At Hannah Clarke, treatment is delivered by an experienced Registered Nurse Prescriber with proper anatomical training. Most treatments are performed with a cannula (a blunt, flexible tool) rather than a sharp needle, which significantly reduces the risk of injecting into a blood vessel. And if a complication does arise, hyaluronidase can be prescribed and administered on site, immediately.

Gemma's clients are historically 40 and over, often at a stage where they've started to notice mid-face volume loss, temple hollowing, thinning lips or emerging vertical lines around the mouth. Almost all want subtle volume restoration rather than dramatic change.

First-time clients are often nervous, and that's completely normal. Gemma will talk you through every step, and consent to proceed is checked again just before injection so there's never a feeling of being rushed.

Every dermal filler client starts with a consultation. For new clients, that's a full sit-down to understand your goals, review your medical history, assess your facial anatomy, agree on the treatment plan and select the filler.

On treatment day, the whole appointment takes around one hour:

Immediately after treatment you can expect some swelling, bruising, redness and tenderness. That settles over the following days, and the true result of your treatment shows around the 2-week mark once everything has fully calmed down.

For the first 4 hours:

• No make-up on the treated area
• Don't touch, rub or apply pressure to the treated area

For the first 24 hours:

• No exercise or anything that raises your heart rate significantly
• No alcohol

Because there's a swelling and bruising window, Gemma recommends not booking treatment within 2 to 4 weeks of a major event (wedding, holiday, big work meeting). You'll notice an immediate improvement, but the best version of your result appears around 2 weeks.

Dermal filler is a very safe treatment when it's administered properly. However, hiding the honest picture of what can go wrong is not the right approach, and it's not Gemma's approach either. Here is exactly what can happen and how it's managed:

Mild complications (normal, expected in some clients)

• Bruising
• Swelling
• Redness and tenderness

These are normal and settle within days to a couple of weeks.

Serious but usually preventable: infection

Infection almost always comes from poor aftercare rather than the procedure itself, which is why the '4-hour no touching, no make-up' rule matters. The skin is thoroughly cleansed before treatment and everything used is sterile.

Rare and serious: vascular occlusion

Vascular occlusion is where the dermal filler blocks an artery in the area treated. It is rare, but it is serious. If unmanaged, it can lead to tissue necrosis (the skin in the affected area dying). This is the outcome you see in the papers and on social media, and almost always in cases where the practitioner didn't spot the signs quickly, didn't respond, or didn't have hyaluronidase available.

Gemma's approach:

• Cannula rather than needle for most treatments, which significantly reduces vascular risk
• Thorough post-procedure assessment: skin colour, pain, capillary refill in the treated area
• She will not let you leave the clinic if she has any concern about vascular occlusion signs
• Hyaluronidase available on site, which she can prescribe and administer immediately

Dermal filler is genuinely a safe treatment in trained, prescribing, cannula-first hands. The horror stories almost always come from the opposite.