MIAMI – In the search to look younger, many people rely on injectable fillers, but in some cases, these products are actually making people look older.

“In reality, the most important thing is how the filler is used,” said Dr. Rian Maercks, a plastic surgeon in Miami.

Maercks said most practitioners follow guidelines set by the companies that make fillers, which focuses on the mid-face.

“I call that the no-fly zone,” Maercks said.

He contends that placing fillers in the cheek area can actually age the face.

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Trusted dermatologists and plastic surgeons based in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and London weigh in on the latest beliefs and the most effective advanced-technology procedures and injectables.

Vanity Fair: What’s been the most popular procedure in your office with proven results? Clear + Brilliant? Ulthera? Fraxel?

Rian Maercks: My most popular procedure with proven results is Aesthetic Facial Balancing. Today we have the ability to create dramatic but highly natural-looking results without surgery through the use of hyaluronic-acid-based fillers, which are safe to use in volume. I thoroughly analyze each face for the areas that create the appearance of aging, fatigue, and wrinkles, which is the effect of having lost volume. A.F.B. is a 30-minute procedure that restores youth, eliminates wrinkles, and makes the patient look well-rested and healthy, all non-surgically. Results last for several years. It’s like a face-lift but better, as it only takes 30 minutes and there’s minimal recovery time.

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When plastic surgeons learn how to treat patients who have mid-face volume deficiency, surgeons are typically trained to inject the facial filler directly into the “Y-Zone” of a patient’s face; that is, the balls of the cheeks, the lips, and chin area.

But Rian A. Maercks MD, PA, founder of The Maercks Institute in Miami, Fla, says this longtime industry standard goes against achieving a balanced facial structure. “I’ve never really liked the way filler interventions have looked because they create a new kind of aesthetic that appears unnatural and different,” he says.

He goes on to explain: “When we’re in our youth, late teens, and early 20s, we have some nice padding around our cheekbones that make our faces look supported and elevated.” But over time, older adults naturally collect volume in the balls of their cheeks (Maercks calls this the “volume of age)”. So when plastic surgeons inject filler into the Y-Zone, “we’re plumping up this area where we naturally retain volume as we age. As a result, we’re getting this indeterminate aged-look where people’s faces are fuller and skin is tighter, but they look bottom heavy and strange,” he says.

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