Nasolabial Fold Fillers in Singapore
The nasolabial folds are the lines running from the sides of the nose to the corners of the mouth. Filler softens them using a gel placed either in the fold itself or, more often, higher up in the cheek that is no longer supporting it. Nasolabial fold fillers in Singapore are performed here by Dr Gerard Ee, MBBS (UK), MRCS (Edinburgh), PGDip Practical Dermatology (Cardiff), using a hyaluronic acid (HA) filler by default, with a polycaprolactone (PCL, 少女针) filler where you want something longer lasting.
At a glance
| Filler used | HA filler by default. PCL filler where a longer-lasting, collagen-stimulating option is preferred. |
| Price | HA filler $800 per syringe. PCL filler $1,400 per syringe. Both before GST, review appointment included. |
| Session | About 20 minutes |
| Volume needed | 1 to 2ml, covering both sides. One syringe is 1ml. |
| Sessions needed | Usually one visit |
| Results | Visible immediately, settling over 1 to 2 weeks |
| Downtime | 3 to 5 days of swelling, sometimes bruising |
| Reversible | HA filler, yes, dissolved with hyaluronidase. PCL filler, no. |
Fill the fold, or treat the cheek above it
The fold deepens because the cheek above it loses volume and descends, so tissue stacks up against the fixed crease where the skin is tethered. That means there are two places the syringe can go, and choosing between them is what the consultation is for.
Filling the fold directly is right where the skin still has tone and the structures underneath can hold what is put into them. In that face the crease itself is the problem, the tissue carries the volume, and treating it softens the shadow cleanly.
Where there is real laxity and sag, it is not. Adding gel to the bottom of a structure that has already fallen adds weight to it, and that is what produces the heavy, over-treated look around the mouth that people recognise across a room. In that face the cheek is the place to treat, because restoring support higher up lifts the tissue off the fold and softens it from above, usually with the same one syringe and without leaving a ridge along the crease. The cheek filler page sets out how that works.
The question is therefore not which technique is better. It is how much loose skin and sagging you have, and whether your face can actually hold the volume. I will tell you which of the two your face is, and if it is a face where neither will hold, I will say that as well.
What nasolabial filler does
Where the fold is treated directly, a small amount of gel goes into the crease to soften the shadow rather than to erase the line. The aim is a fold that looks shallower, not one that has disappeared, because a face with no nasolabial fold at all does not look younger, only filled.
The fold will not be eliminated. It is a natural boundary between the cheek and the upper lip, present in young faces too, and it deepens every time you smile because the muscles that lift the lip attach there. Filler changes its depth at rest. It does not change what happens when you smile.
Which filler is used
The default is a hyaluronic acid filler, and here being able to reverse it matters more than usual. An artery runs alongside the fold and joins the blood supply of the eye, and being able to dissolve the product quickly is part of how a problem with that artery is dealt with, because the window for reversing one is short. That is the main reason hyaluronic acid is the default rather than a stimulator. The same product family is used for lip fillers and nose fillers here.
Polycaprolactone, the PCL filler, also known as 少女针, is available where you want something longer lasting, at $1,400 per syringe. It restores lost volume while stimulating your body’s own collagen production, giving both an immediate lift and longer-term skin rejuvenation, and PCL has been used in medicine for decades in sutures and implants. It cannot be dissolved, because no enzyme removes it. Where it is used here it is placed deep and away from the fold itself rather than into the crease.
If the fold is shallow and the real problem is skin quality rather than volume, a filler is the wrong tool. Collagen-regenerating skinboosters and injectable moisturisers treat that instead.
What nasolabial fillers cost in Singapore
HA filler is $800 per syringe. PCL filler, the collagen stimulator, is $1,400 per syringe. Both figures are before GST and both include your review appointment.
These are fixed prices, not starting prices, so the figure does not move according to whether the syringe goes into the fold, the cheek, or both. Most people need one to two syringes. The consultation is charged separately and waived if you go ahead on the day.
How much filler will I need
A typical treatment is 1 to 2ml, covering both sides. Deeper folds and more descent sit at the upper end of that range.
The volume does not change according to where the syringe goes. Treating the cheek above the fold takes the same 1 to 2ml as treating the fold itself. What changes is the placement, not the amount.
One syringe is 1ml. You are quoted the full figure at the consultation, before anything is injected, not after the first syringe has gone in.
What happens on the day
I look at where the volume has actually gone, which usually means assessing the cheek rather than the fold, and tell you where the syringe should go. If filler is not the right answer, that is where it ends, and the reason is explained rather than left as a refusal. If it is, numbing cream goes on and the filler is placed, with the plane and the entry point chosen by where the angular artery runs in your face. The injection takes about twenty minutes.
Afterwards
Keep the area clean and leave it alone. No pressing or massaging for two weeks. No strenuous exercise, alcohol or very hot environments for 24 to 48 hours. Sunscreen goes on daily. Swelling and any bruising settle over three to five days. The final result reads at one to two weeks, which is when I review you.
Contact the clinic straight away, not at your review, if you develop increasing pain rather than settling discomfort, blanching or dusky discolouration of the skin anywhere between the fold, the nose and the eye, or any change in vision. These are uncommon, and they are treatable when treated early, which is why the call should not wait.
When it is not suitable
Filler is postponed or declined with an active skin infection or inflamed acne over the area, in pregnancy or breastfeeding, with a known allergy to a component of the product, and where an autoimmune or connective tissue condition is active. Blood-thinning medication is not an absolute barrier but raises the bruising risk and needs discussing beforehand.
A fold that is deep mainly because of loose, sun-damaged skin rather than lost volume responds poorly. Adding gel under skin that has lost its stretch gives a fuller fold, not a softer one, because the skin no longer tightens around what is placed beneath it and drapes over it instead. That is a skin-quality problem and it is treated as one.
Why more is not better
This is where over-filling shows first. The upper lip sits directly below the fold, and gel that spreads or migrates downwards produces the heavy shelf above the lip that reads immediately as filler. Because the muscles of the upper lip attach right at the fold and move constantly, material placed there does not stay still over months.
If you have had nasolabial filler before and the area now looks fuller at rest but no younger, adding more will not correct it. The first step is establishing how much of the previous filler is still in place, and in this area dissolving is often the treatment rather than a setback.
Safety
The lines beside the mouth are one of the riskier parts of the face to inject, and it is fair that you know why before you agree to it. Filler here can, very rarely, get into a blood vessel that leads back towards the eye, and when that happens it can affect sight. The risk follows the anatomy of the area rather than the product used, which is why technique matters here more than the choice of filler.
The artery responsible runs alongside the fold and joins the blood supply of the eye, so filler pushed into it under pressure can travel backwards. Before injecting I draw back on the syringe to check the needle is not sitting in a blood vessel, then use low pressure and small amounts and choose the layer and the entry point to go around that vessel rather than through it. Hyaluronidase is kept in the room, and because it reverses an HA filler and does nothing for PCL, HA is the default in this area specifically.
Common questions
How much do nasolabial fillers cost in Singapore?
HA filler is $800 per syringe. PCL filler, the collagen stimulator, is $1,400 per syringe. Both figures are before GST and both include the review appointment. These are fixed prices, not starting prices. The consultation is charged separately and waived if you proceed on the day.
Are nasolabial fillers worth it?
They are worth it when the fold is caused by volume that can be put back and the tissue can hold it, whether that volume goes into the fold or into the cheek above it. They are not worth it when the skin itself has lost its elasticity, because filling it then adds weight without adding youth. Which of the two you have is the whole point of the consultation.
Should I fill the fold or the cheek?
It depends on your skin laxity. If the skin still has tone and the structures underneath can hold the volume, the fold can be treated directly. If there is real sag and descent, filling the fold only adds weight to tissue that has already fallen, and the cheek above it is the better place to treat. See cheek fillers.
How long do nasolabial fillers last?
Nasolabial filler lasts nine to fifteen months here with an HA filler. It is an area that moves a lot, and filler in a mobile area breaks down faster than filler resting on bone. PCL lasts longer, with the trade-off that it cannot be reversed.
Does the filler completely dissolve away?
An HA filler does, gradually, and what is left can also be dissolved on purpose with hyaluronidase. That matters more here than in most areas, because filler that has migrated towards the upper lip is corrected by dissolving it rather than by adding more. A PCL filler cannot be removed on demand.
Will filler get rid of my nasolabial folds completely?
No, and it should not be expected to. The nasolabial fold is a normal boundary that exists in young faces as well. The realistic result is a fold that is shallower when your face is at rest. A face with no fold at all does not look younger, only filled.
Is the nasolabial fold a dangerous place to inject?
It is one of the riskier areas of the face, because an artery runs alongside it and joins the blood supply of the eye. Filler getting into that artery can, very rarely, affect sight. That is a reason to be careful about who injects it, not a reason to avoid it.
Which filler do you use?
An HA filler by default at $800 per syringe, specifically because it can be dissolved, which matters more here than in most areas. A PCL filler is available at $1,400 where you want something longer lasting, placed deep rather than into the fold.
What are the side effects?
Swelling, bruising and tenderness for a few days are usual, and small lumps can occur and settle. Filler drifting downwards towards the upper lip is the common longer-term problem, and it happens over months rather than days, because the muscles that lift the lip attach at the fold and work against the gel every time you speak or smile. The serious one is filler getting into the artery beside the fold, which is rare and can damage the skin or affect sight.
Do nasolabial fillers hurt?
Numbing cream is applied first and left on until the skin is numb. Most patients describe pressure rather than pain. The area closest to the nose is the most sensitive, which is why it is injected slowly and in small amounts.
Who performs the treatment
Dr Gerard Ee, MBBS (UK), MRCS (Edinburgh), PGDip Practical Dermatology (Cardiff). He trained and practised in orthopaedic surgery at Singapore General Hospital and the National University Hospital before moving into aesthetic medicine, and is the author of sixteen peer-reviewed papers, thirteen of them indexed in PubMed.
More about the training is on the about page, and the published work is listed on the publications page.
Where to find us
50 Raffles Place, #01-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623. Telephone 6532 2048. Raffles Place MRT is a two-minute walk.
Monday to Friday, 10am to 8pm. Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
