Written by Kerri Lewis, Co-Founder, The Skin to Love Clinic, St. Albans. Medically reviewed by Nurse Natalia Ostrowska, Independent Nurse Prescriber, RGN INP and Nurse Jane Lewis, Co-Founder, The Skin to Love Clinic, and RGN. The Skin to Love Clinic is CQC regulated and Save Face accredited. Written May 2026.
There's a moment a lot of us have, standing in a certain light, looking at a photograph, or catching our reflection unexpectedly, and noticing something has shifted. Not dramatically. Just gradually. The cheekbones and apples of the cheeks are a little flatter. The jawline is a little softer. Hollow shadows under the eyes that weren't there before.
This is how the face ages. Not all at once, but incrementally.
Dermal fillers work, not as a blanket treatment, but as a targeted one. At The Skin to Love Clinic, a CQC-regulated, medically led clinic in St Albans, every consultation starts with understanding and assessing exactly what’s changed and which areas need attention and why.
In this guide, we're taking you through four of the commonly treated zones: cheekbones, under eyes, nasolabial folds, and jawline. What each treatment does, who it suits, and what genuine results look like.
Dermal Fillers for Cheekbones: Restoring Volume Where You Need It Most
When people talk about wanting "cheekbone filler," they often mean something broader than the cheekbones themselves. The mid-face, the central third of the face, is home to several fat pads that give the face its structure and youthful shape. As we age, those fat pads thin, shift, and descend. The result isn't just a flatter cheek. It's a whole cascade of changes that works its way down the face.
“This is one of the things that makes mid-face assessment so important. Volume loss here can create hollowing under the eyes; shadows that many people assume need tear trough filler, when actually, restoring volume in the mid-face is often what resolves them.” Explains Nurse Jane. “It can also deepen the nasolabial folds and contribute to early changes along the jawline. The mid-face is the foundation. When it loses support, everything above and below it feels it.”
Dermal fillers placed carefully in this area work by replenishing what age has gradually taken away. The aim isn't angular cheekbones that weren't naturally there... it's restoring balance. Structure where structure has been lost, opposed to creating something that was never there. The kind of result that looks like you, just rested and restored.
Treatment typically uses hyaluronic acid (HA) filler, placed with precision near the bone to restore volume at the foundation level. HA filler is reversible if required; a qualified medical team can dissolve it if ever needed, which is one of the reasons it remains such a trusted option. In our experience, this is rare, but a reassurance.
Results typically last 12 months and downtime is minimal; of course, everyone is unique, so this is a generalisation. Some mild swelling is possible and usually expected in the 24 to 48 hours after treatment. Bruising in the treatment site is also possible, but most patients return to their day without issue.
One thing worth knowing: if there is significant skin laxity sitting over the area of volume loss, skin that has genuinely become lax over time, filler alone may not achieve the ultimate result you're hoping for. In those cases, our team will talk through a more comprehensive plan for you to consider. Depending on how you uniquely present, this might involve our Signature SculptLift treatment, a course of Sculptra, Thermage, or HIFU, for example. That's exactly the kind of conversation our skin ageing consultation is designed for; no assumptions, no one-size-fits-all.
You can read more about our dermal filler treatments here.
Under Eye Fillers: Addressing Hollows, Shadows & That Permanent 'Tired' Look
If there is one area that tends to give the game away more than any other, it's the under eyes. A hollow there, even a slight one, casts a shadow that reads as tiredness, stress, or years more than you're carrying. It's one of the most common concerns we see at The Skin to Love Clinic, and one of the most frequently misunderstood.
As we touched on above, not every case of under-eye hollowing actually needs filler in the tear trough itself. “Volume loss in the mid-face can create the appearance of hollow eyes by changing how light falls across the face.” says Nurse Natalia. “In those cases, restoring the mid-face first, or instead, if this is the root cause can make a significant difference without any treatment directly below the eye in the tear trough area”. This is exactly why a proper assessment matters so much before any plan is agreed.
Where tear trough filler is the right approach, it works by placing a small amount of hyaluronic acid filler specifically designed for this area along the groove between the lower eyelid and the cheek to replace the lost volume being experienced. This softens the shadow, reduces the hollow, and brings the area back into proportion with the rest of the face. The result is subtle and that's intentional. Nurse Jane adds “The philosophy here is always less first; in fact, we may decide to treat you over two separate sessions”.
Who tends to benefit most? Those with a genuine structural hollow in the tear trough, good skin quality in the area, and realistic expectations. Those with significant skin laxity, fat protrusion in the area, or dark circles that are pigmentary (colour-based rather than shadow-based) may not be well-suited to filler here. For some of those patients, PhilArt polynucleotides or SuneKos can be a wonderful alternative, particularly for improving skin quality and resilience around the delicate eye area.
Longevity is typically 12 to 18 months, though the finer product and dynamic movement of this area can metabolise a little sooner than thicker filler placed elsewhere. Downtime is worth planning around slightly more than other areas; bruising is common given the delicate nature of the tissue, and mild swelling in the first 24 to 48 hours is normal.
The anatomy around the eye is complex, the margin for error is smaller than in other areas; it is a highly skilled treatment area. This is where The Skin to Love Clinic's medical, CQC-regulated and Save Face-accredited approach genuinely earns its place.
Nasolabial Fold Treatment: Softening the Lines That Run From Nose to Mouth
The nasolabial folds are the lines that run from the sides of the nose down to the corners of the mouth. Most of us have them, they're a natural part of facial anatomy ageing, and with age they tend to deepen, becoming more shadowed and prominent at rest, not just when we smile.
Understanding why they deepen matters, because it shapes the right treatment approach. Two things are usually at play. The first is the mid-face cascade we covered earlier: as volume is lost in the cheeks, the soft tissue above the fold descends and pushes it deeper. The second is the gradual loss of collagen density and elastin in the skin itself, which means the tissue around the fold becomes less supported over time. Both causes can be addressed, but not always by the same treatment.
Dermal filler placed directly into the fold can soften it with immediate effect, reducing the shadow and smoothing the line at rest. This works well for many patients, but this is a high-motion area, and technique and product choice matter enormously. The aim is softening, not totally erasing. A face that moves naturally and looks balanced, not one where the fold has been filled to the point of appearing stiff or unnatural.
“For some patients, a biostimulator like Sculptra is the more fitting approach, particularly where skin quality and collagen loss are the bigger part of the picture.” Nurse Natalia tells us. “Rather than sitting in the fold and plumping the wrinkle, biostimulators such as Sculptra works by stimulating your own collagen and elastin production over a course of treatments”. The results are gradual; early improvements are usually visible from around six weeks, with optimal results developing over three to six months, but they're entirely natural, because the improvement is built from within. Results can last up to two years.
Nurse Natalia adds: “It's also worth noting that treating the mid-face, as discussed earlier, can itself subtly improve the appearance of the nasolabial folds by restoring the structural support that was allowing the fold to deepen in the first place. Treatment is rarely about one thing in isolation”.
Downtime for either approach is minimal, with mild swelling or bruising possible in the first day or two.
Jawline Filler: Restoring Definition to the Lower Face
The jawline is one of the areas our patients come into our St. Albans clinic wanting to address. When it's well defined, the jawline creates a clean frame for the whole lower face. When it softens, that clarity is lost: the edges become less crisp, the profile less sharp, and the whole face can look less defined without anyone being able to quite put their finger on why.
This is the subtle but significant territory that jawline filler works in.
Volume loss along the jaw, and sometimes mid-face, combined with gradual changes in the underlying bone structure over time, can create irregularities along the lower border; a less defined profile and the early appearance of jowling, where tissue pockets at the corners of the jaw making the lower face appear ‘heavy’ rather than sitting cleanly along it. Dermal filler placed along the jawline works by rebuilding that deep structure: sharpening the angle, restoring definition, and creating a cleaner, more continuous line from jaw to chin.
The chin and jawline are closely related, and treating one without considering the other can leave results feeling incomplete if required. A balanced lower face requires harmony between the two, and this is something our team assesses as part of any lower face consultation.
Results tend to last 12 months, and in some cases a little longer in this area, since the jaw is less dynamic than zones like the lips. Downtime is usually minimal; mild swelling is possible in the first 24 to 48 hours, but most patients find it entirely manageable. As with all injectable treatments, there is a risk of bruising in the treated area.
The result isn't supposed to announce itself. Done well, jawline filler produces the kind of improvement that makes people say you look well; without being able to say what's changed. That's the point.
“Where significant skin laxity is contributing to changes along the jaw, a more comprehensive plan may serve you better.” Nurse Jane tells us. “As with the mid-face, this is where treatments like our Signature SculptLift or Thermage come into the conversation. Your anti-ageing consultation is the right place to explore what's actually driving the changes you're seeing”.
Why the Clinic, Not Just the Treatment, Determines Your Results
Dermal filler at The Skin to Love Clinic is performed exclusively by highly qualified nurses with many years, and in some cases over a decade or more of hands-on aesthetic experience. This matters more than most people realise.
The face is complex. The anatomy is layered. The difference between a result that looks natural and one that doesn't and, at worst, isn’t safe, lie almost entirely in the skill, knowledge, qualifications, experience, and restraint of the person performing the treatment, not simply the product in the syringe.
Our practitioners work with a range of options, not a fixed menu. Hyaluronic acid filler remains the most widely used, and its reversibility with an enzyme called hyaluronidase, if ever needed, makes it a safe and trusted choice. But for some patients, a biostimulatory approach may offer a more appropriate or longer-lasting outcome. Radiesse offers immediate contouring alongside longer-term collagen and elastin stimulation. Which of these, if any, is right for you depends entirely on how you present, what you're hoping for, and what your skin genuinely needs. Your practitioner will talk you through all of this.
Every plan begins with a thorough assessment of the face, not just the area of concern. The philosophy is always to do the right amount well, rather than more inappropriately. To restore what's naturally yours. To leave you looking like you, just better rested.
“One thing that sets The Skin to Love Clinic apart from much of the aesthetic industry: our practitioners are not incentivised by commission.” says Nurse Jane. “Your nurse's recommendations are based purely on what is right for you: your concerns, your anatomy, your goals, and nothing else. You will never be guided towards a treatment because it's more profitable, only because it's clinically appropriate. We wouldn't recommend anything to a patient that we wouldn't recommend to our own families”. Find out more about how we work.
The Skin to Love Clinic is CQC-regulated and Save Face accredited; independent markers of clinical safety, governance, and patient care that we hold ourselves to without compromise.
