Aesthetic medicine moves billions of dollars a year, which means the loudest takes on injectable cosmetics — pro or con — usually come from someone with something to sell.

Dr. Lawrence Bass walks through six widely-circulated claims about fillers — that they look puffy and unnatural, that they can be repeated as often as you want, that they only suit younger faces, that they lift sagging tissue, that they stretch the skin and accelerate aging, and that they qualify as "forever chemicals" — and lays out what the evidence actually says.

Two ideas anchor the conversation. Results depend on the amount of product used and the skill of the injector — give a five-year-old and Rembrandt the same paints and you'll get two very different paintings. And there's a real upper limit on retreatment: stacking too many sessions too close together traumatizes tissue and can make the original concerns reemerge in reverse as older product breaks down.

Separate hype from evidence — including the fact that hyaluronic acid is nothing like the PFAS compounds in nonstick cookware — and you can decide whether injectables belong in your beauty plan based on what they actually do.

Questions answered by this episode

1. Do all fillers create a puffy or unnatural look?

2. What actually determines how natural fillers look — the product or the injector?

3. How often can fillers be repeated without overdoing it?

4. What happens when fillers are stacked too quickly or too often?

5. Are fillers only useful for younger faces and early-stage aging?

6. Can fillers actually lift sagging tissue, or do they only add volume?

7. Do fillers stretch out the skin and speed up aging?

8. How are hyaluronic acid fillers different from PFAS "forever chemicals"?

9. Can fillers be reversed if something goes wrong?

10. How do you decide if fillers belong in your beauty plan?

Innovator. Industry veteran. In-demand Park Avenue board certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Bass is a true master of his craft, not only in the OR but as an industry pioneer in the development and evaluation of new aesthetic technologies. With locations in both Manhattan (on Park Avenue between 62nd and 63rd Streets) and in Great Neck, Long Island, Dr. Bass has earned his reputation as the plastic surgeon for the most discerning patients in NYC and beyond.

To learn more, visit the Bass Plastic Surgery website at or follow the team on Instagram @drbassnyc

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