I love consultations and assessments, why? Because clients who come to Ametrine very, very rarely *request* a treatment, they trust us to help them reach their long-term goals and want to make autonomous decisions about their care. So A LOT of what I do in consults is about the options and why one option may be better than the other.
Commonly, we discuss volume loss and skin radiance and glow (when your skin’s lost its vava voom). So the real discussion moves into skinboosters + dermal fillers, or often, which one would be better.
Let me explain it properly — because the distinction matters, and getting it wrong means getting the wrong result.
First, a Quick Anatomy Lesson: Skin Cake
Your skin isn’t one thing; it’s a layered system. I often describe skin like a cake. The surface layer (epidermis) is what you see (icing of the cake). Below that is the dermis, where collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid reside (like cake filling). Below that is the subcutaneous layer — fat, structure, and support (the bottom sponge of the cake).
As we age, changes happen at every level. The dermis loses hydration and collagen. The fat pads shift and deflate. The surface looks dull and uneven. Ageing skin isn’t just ‘dry skin’. It’s a multi-layered change — which is why the treatment needs to match the layer you’re targeting.
This is what informs every recommendation I make for the best options for my clients. Before I suggest anything, I want to understand what’s actually happening in your skin, not just what you can see.
What Is a Skin Booster?
A skin booster is an injectable treatment that delivers hyaluronic acid (HA) in a very fine, fluid form, spread across multiple small injection points throughout the skin. The hyaluronic acid isn’t placed to add structure or lift, it’s diffused into the dermis to deeply hydrate from within.
But not all skinboosters are the same. This comes down to the chemistry of what’s happening in the syringe, and how it will interact in your tissues.
Restylane Skinboosters are really quite phenomenal, and not gonna lie, I overlooked them for a REALLY long time. This was because I didn’t understand how they worked or where the best place to use them would be. These skinboosters work similarly to a dermal filler, in that they are manufactured with strands of hyaluronic acid (varying volumes in each product) and these strands are very gently crosslinked. The crosslinking between the strands means that as the hyaluronic acid breaks down, it will be much longer acting than something that doesn’t have the framework between the main hydrator of the product. There is also an added bonus of some lidocaine (numbing) in the syringe, so it makes the treatment super comfortable.
Skin boosters are brilliant for:
- Dehydrated, dull skin that no topical moisturiser seems to fix
- Loss of skin quality — fine crepiness, slight laxity, loss of glow
- Anyone wanting an overall skin improvement without adding volume or structure
- Maintaining results between other treatments
The results are subtle and gradual. You won’t see a dramatic change overnight — but over two sessions, clients consistently tell us their skin feels different. More hydrated, more even, more alive.
What Is Dermal Filler?
Dermal filler is a gel made from hyaluronic acid that’s placed precisely to add volume, structure, or definition to a specific area. The product is thicker and more cohesive than a skin booster. It sits where we put it, doing the structural work we intended.
Filler is the right tool when there’s a specific area of concern: hollowing under the eyes, flatness in the cheeks, a chin that needs projection, or lips that want more shape or hydration. When planning with dermal filler, I always look at the cause, not the symptom. By that, I mean that often sagging or shadowing of the face’s tissues is caused by a deeper loss of structure that is causing the tissues to lose their shape.
Key things to know about dermal fillers:
- It provides immediate results — you see the change the same day
- It’s reversible — HA filler can be dissolved if needed
- It lasts longer than a skin booster — typically 9 to 18 months, depending on the area
- It requires careful placement by someone who understands facial anatomy
The Clearest Way to Tell Them Apart
Skin booster = improving the quality of your skin.
Filler = adding or restoring volume and structure.
If you’re looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘my skin looks tired, dull, or dry’ — that’s usually a skin booster conversation. If you’re thinking ‘my cheeks look flat’, ‘I’ve lost definition in my jawline’, or ‘my under-eyes are hollow’ — that’s usually a filler conversation. However, it’s important to note that treatment plans are often not that black-and-white. We will discuss the full range of treatments available for your concerns, how best to stack them, and what order to use them in. We never ever do a one-stop shop at Ametrine, that’s why our clients love us.
Can You Combine Them?
Yes — and at Ametrine, we do this regularly. A skin booster improves the foundation: the hydration, quality, and luminosity of the skin. Filler then addresses specific structural concerns on top of that healthy base. The two work beautifully in combination because they’re targeting different things.
In some cases, we’ll start with a skin booster to improve skin quality first — because better skin responds better to filler, and the results look more natural. In others, we’ll address the structural concern with filler and then use a skin booster to maintain and improve the surrounding skin quality.
There’s no one-size-fits-all. That’s why consultations exist.
How We Decide in Clinic
When you sit down with me at Ametrine, we’re looking at your skin as a whole — not just at the area you’re pointing at. I’m assessing skin quality, facial structure, the cause of what you’re seeing, and what stage of the ageing process you’re at.
Sometimes the answer is a skin booster. Sometimes it’s filler. Quite often, it’s both — just in the right order, at the right time. And sometimes the honest answer is that skincare and SPF will do more than any injectable right now, and we’ll tell you that too.
Our job isn’t to sell you a treatment. It’s to give you the right one.
Not sure what your skin actually needs? Take our free online assessment or book a consultation in Newcastle — we’ll work it out together.
