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Hyaluronic Acid Fillers
Charlotte's Most Trusted Plastic Surgeon
— delivering confidence through precision and care.
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Restore Volume & Enhance Your Facial Contours
Hyaluronic acid fillers offer a subtle way to refresh your appearance while preserving the features that already feel like you. With thoughtfully placed volume, they can soften signs of aging, enhance facial contours and restore definition where it has gradually been lost.
At May Plastic Surgery, filler treatments are approached with the same attention to detail as every aesthetic procedure we offer. Your experience is highly personalized, with careful planning, precise placement and a focus on results that complement your features.
Topical or none
20-30 minutes
Minimal
What Are Hyaluronic Acid Fillers?
Hyaluronic acid fillers are injectables used to fill or volumize certain areas of the face.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring substance already present in your body, responsible for keeping tissues plump and hydrated. You may have also seen it as an ingredient in your favorite skincare products. HA fillers use a synthetic form that is carefully injected to give treated areas more shape and volume while improving the appearance of static lines.
HA fillers are FDA-approved and have one of the longest safety records of any cosmetic injectable on the market. They've been used in aesthetic medicine for over two decades, with millions of treatments performed worldwide.
Part of what makes them so popular is their versatility. HA fillers come in a wide range of formulations, from lightweight gels for delicate areas like the lips and under-eyes to firmer products designed to restore structure in the cheeks and jawline. That range gives our team the ability to match the right product to the right area with real precision.
- Dr. Brian May
What HA Fillers Are Available at May Plastic Surgery?
At May Plastic Surgery, we carry products from Restylane® and Juvéderm®, two of the most trusted filler brands in the United States.
Both Restylane and Juvéderm have been on the market for years, with FDA approval across multiple formulations and extensive clinical research backing their use. They're manufactured by two of the largest companies in aesthetic medicine: Galderma, also known for Dysport® and Sculptra®, and Allergan, the creators of Botox®. Together, the two collections give our team a wide range of formulations to choose from for different areas, concerns and goals.
During your consultation, your provider will explain which product they recommend and why. You’ll never receive a filler simply because it’s what we happen to have on the shelf. Each formulation is chosen for how it performs in the treatment area and how well it supports the result you’re hoping to achieve.
What Can Hyaluronic Acid Fillers Address?
Hyaluronic acid fillers come in so many different formulations and densities. Thinner gels work well for delicate areas like the under-eyes and lips, and thicker formulas are used for structure, often in the cheeks or jawline. Some of the most common things we treat with HA fillers are:
- Nasolabial folds
- Fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth and chin
- Thin or uneven lips
- Hollow or flat cheeks
- Under-eye hollows
- Loss of chin or jawline definition
We also use fillers to enhance proportion and harmony by looking at how each feature relates to another, an approach called facial balancing. More than one area can be treated during one appointment, and we can even use multiple products during a single treatment session for the most comprehensive results.
How Are Fillers Different From Other Injectables?
Each type of injectable is built to do a specific job, and choosing the right one starts with understanding what's behind the concern you want to address.
Lines that appear when you smile, squint or raise your eyebrows are driven by muscle movement. That's the territory of neurotoxins like Botox and Dysport, which relax those muscles to soften the creases over time. HA fillers work on a completely different level. They restore volume where it's been lost and smooth out folds that are visible even when your face is at rest, like hollowing in the cheeks or deepening lines around the mouth.
Sculptra takes yet another approach. Rather than adding volume directly, Sculptra is a biostimulator that encourages your body to rebuild collagen gradually. The results develop over weeks and months and tend to work best for patients looking for broader facial volume restoration rather than precise correction in a specific area.
Many patients benefit from combining more than one type of injectable, and our team can help you figure out which combination makes sense during your consultation.
HA Fillers vs. Other Types of Injectables
The Art & Science of Aesthetic Treatments With Dr. May
At May Plastic Surgery, we believe the best treatment plan isn't necessarily the most complex one. It's the right one for you. That’s why every recommendation begins with understanding your goals and creating a plan that fits your anatomy, lifestyle, and long-term vision.
Our philosophy is rooted in comprehensive aesthetic care. Rather than viewing surgical and nonsurgical treatments as separate paths, we see them as complementary tools that work together to achieve natural, lasting results. Sometimes surgery is the best option. Sometimes filler, Sculptra or a series of laser treatments is all that's needed. More often, the best results come from thoughtfully combining multiple approaches over time.
- Dr. Brian May
Procedure Details
Most hyaluronic acid filler treatments take between 20 and 30 minutes. Before we begin, we may apply a topical numbing cream to your skin to keep you comfortable as we inject the filler. Most Restylane and Juvéderm products also have a little lidocaine in the formulation itself to numb the area with each injection.
Depending on the treatment area, we use a fine needle or blunt-tipped cannula to inject the product. Lip fillers are injected closer to the surface of the skin, while cheek and chin injections will be placed much deeper for better structure. Make sure to communicate with your provider throughout the process so we can adjust as needed and keep you comfortable.
Recovery & Results: What Happens After Treatment?
After any hyaluronic acid filler treatment, it’s normal to experience some swelling, and this can make the area look fuller than you were expecting. This swelling will go down over the next couple of days. Bruising is also possible, but we can help you minimize this by going over some pre- and post-treatment steps that will help.
It can take a week or two for the filler to fully settle into your tissue. This is when you will see your final results. How long those results last depends on factors like the type of filler used, the treatment area, your lifestyle and your individual metabolism. Restylane and Juvéderm fillers can last anywhere from six months to two years.
Inside the Consultation Room With
Dr. Brian May
Adjunct Procedures:
To take your
Hyaluronic Acid Fillers
results to the next level, consider these options for a more complete transformation:
Why Charlotte Patients Choose May Plastic Surgery
Filler is only as good as the plan behind it. At May Plastic Surgery, we look at your face as a whole rather than treating individual features in isolation. Even when you come in focused on one area, we consider how it relates to the rest of your features so the final result feels balanced and natural.
From there, experience guides the details. Our providers know where to add volume, which formulation to use and when a lighter touch will create a more flattering outcome. Each injection is carefully considered, with subtlety and proportion shaping every decision.
HA Filler FAQs
Just that the process is simpler than most people expect. A typical filler appointment takes about 20 to 30 minutes, and our team can use topical numbing to keep you comfortable. Many products also contain built-in lidocaine.
After your appointment, you may notice some minor bruising or swelling, but most patients are back to their normal routine the same day. The most important thing you can do as a first-time patient is come to your consultation with an idea of what's bothering you. You don't need to know which product you want or how many syringes you'll need. Our team will handle all of that and make sure you understand the plan before anything happens.
Yes. Hyaluronic acid fillers have been FDA-approved for cosmetic use for over 20 years and have an extensive safety profile backed by clinical research. Because hyaluronic acid is a substance your body already produces naturally, allergic reactions are extremely rare.
As with any injectable treatment, there are possible side effects like temporary swelling and bruising, but serious complications are uncommon when fillers are administered by trained, experienced providers. Our team follows careful injection protocols and will review your full medical history before recommending any treatment.
Most HA fillers last somewhere between six months and two years, depending on the product used, the treatment area and your body's individual metabolism. Areas with more movement, like the lips or mouth, tend to metabolize filler faster than areas with less movement, like the cheeks. Our team will give you a realistic timeline based on your specific treatment and can help you plan follow-up appointments so your results stay consistent.
Yes, and it's actually quite common. Many patients benefit from treating multiple areas in a single session, especially when the goal is overall facial balance rather than correcting one isolated concern. For example, adding structure to the cheeks and definition to the chin during the same appointment can create a more harmonious result than treating either area alone.
Modern HA fillers are designed to integrate with your tissue and stay where they're placed. Each product has specific properties, like viscosity and cohesivity, that make it suited to certain areas of the face, and our team selects accordingly.
Proper injection technique plays a major role, too. Placing the right product at the right depth, in the right amount, is what keeps results looking natural and well-defined over time. This is one of the reasons provider experience matters so much with injectables. When filler is placed thoughtfully by a trained provider, it should stay exactly where it belongs.
Request Your Consultation
If you've been thinking about filler but aren't sure where to start, that's exactly what a consultation is for. Our team will evaluate your facial structure, talk through your goals and recommend a plan that makes sense for you. No pressure, no guesswork. Call us at 704-200-2493 or book online to get the conversation started.
Let's Connect
We are here to help. Whether you’re exploring your options or ready to schedule, our team is here to answer your questions about procedures, recovery, and next steps — and to personally guide you every step of the way.