Dermal fillers can be placed in more areas of your face than you might expect. The FDA has approved them for cheeks, lips, chin, nasolabial folds (the lines from your nose to your mouth), and perioral lines (the small wrinkles around your mouth). Beyond those approved uses, injectors also commonly treat temples, jawlines, under-eye hollows, and the nose. Each area has different goals, different risks, and different timelines for how long results last.
Cheeks and Midface
Cheek filler is one of the most popular treatments because it addresses a change almost everyone notices with age: the gradual flattening of the midface. Your cheeks have multiple fat pads stacked in layers, and as the deeper ones shrink over time, the surface deflates and sags. Filler placed deep against the bone can restore that structural support, lifting the midface and softening the hollowed look that develops under the eyes and along the cheekbones.
Injectors typically target three deep fat compartments in the cheek area, placing small deposits of filler in each one. Volumes can be quite small, sometimes as little as 0.2 mL per compartment for a subtle improvement, though more significant volume loss may need 0.3 mL or more per site. By adjusting how much goes into each compartment, your injector can customize the result: more filler toward the inner cheek enhances forward projection, while more along the cheekbone creates a fuller, wider contour. Cheek filler generally lasts 12 to 18 months because the area doesn’t move much compared to your lips or mouth.
Lips
Lip filler targets several distinct zones, not just overall volume. The vermilion border is the defined edge where lip color meets skin, and filler here sharpens that line and accentuates what’s sometimes called the “white roll.” The Cupid’s bow, the double-curved shape of the upper lip, can be made more pronounced. The philtrum columns, those two ridges running from your nose to your upper lip, can also be enhanced for more definition. And filler placed directly into the body of the lip adds fullness.
One thing worth knowing: most of the filler injected into the vermilion border ends up within the muscle of the lip itself, deeper than many people assume. Because lips are constantly moving (talking, eating, drinking), filler here breaks down faster than anywhere else on the face. Most people see noticeable fading by four to six months, with the majority of volume gone by six to nine months. If you want to maintain consistent lip fullness, expect touch-ups roughly twice a year.
Under-Eye Hollows
The tear trough is the groove that runs from the inner corner of your eye toward your cheekbone. It deepens with age as the fat and tissue around the eye socket thin out, creating a tired, sunken look. Filler placed along or just below the orbital rim can smooth this hollow and reduce the shadow that makes dark circles look worse.
This is one of the trickiest areas to treat. The skin under your eyes is the thinnest on your face, so even small amounts of filler placed too superficially can look lumpy or bluish. More seriously, a nerve and blood vessel bundle exits through a small opening in the bone just below the eye socket, and injecting near it risks nerve injury. In extremely rare cases, filler injected in this region can travel backward through small blood vessels and block blood flow to the retina, potentially causing vision loss. It’s worth noting that the FDA does not include the area around the eyes in its list of approved filler sites, though many experienced injectors treat it as an off-label use.
Nasolabial Folds and Marionette Lines
Nasolabial folds are the lines that run from the sides of your nose to the corners of your mouth. Marionette lines continue downward from the mouth corners toward the jawline. Both deepen over time as facial fat shifts and skin loses elasticity. These were among the first areas ever treated with modern fillers and remain some of the most common.
Fillers of different thicknesses are used depending on how deep the lines are. A shallow crease might need only a thin, smooth filler placed just under the skin, while a deep fold may require a thicker product injected closer to the bone for structural support. For more advanced lines, some providers combine filler with a neurotoxin (like Botox) to relax the muscles pulling down the corners of the mouth while simultaneously filling the crease. Filler alone can’t fully correct very deep, established folds, but it can significantly soften them.
Jawline and Chin
Jawline and chin filler have surged in popularity because they reshape the lower face in ways that used to require implants or surgery. Along the jawline, filler is placed in a band running from the chin back to the angle of the jaw, creating a sharper, more defined contour. This can also soften the appearance of jowls by restoring the straight line from ear to chin.
Chin filler works in three dimensions. Filler placed at the front of the chin bone increases forward projection, making a recessed chin more balanced with the rest of the profile. Filler placed lower on the chin adds vertical length. The ideal proportions differ between men and women: in men, the chin ideally projects about as far forward as the lower lip, while in women, the lower lip typically sits 1 to 2 mm in front of the chin. Injectors use the width between your inner eye corners as a guide for how wide a woman’s chin should be, while for men, the mouth width is the reference point.
Temples
Temple hollowing is a subtle but aging change that many people don’t recognize until it’s pointed out. As the fat pad behind your temple shrinks, the area between your eyebrow and hairline becomes concave, making the skull’s bone structure more visible. Filler here restores a smooth, gently convex contour.
The temple is a complex area with important blood vessels and nerve branches running through it. A vein called the sentinel vein and branches of the superficial temporal artery sit close to common injection sites, so precise placement matters. Injectors choose from several depth options depending on how much volume is needed, ranging from just beneath the connective tissue layer covering the temple to deeper within the fat pad itself. Because the temples barely move during facial expressions, filler here lasts 12 to 18 months, similar to the cheeks.
Non-Surgical Nose Reshaping
Sometimes called a “liquid rhinoplasty,” filler injected into the nose can smooth bumps on the bridge, improve symmetry, refine the tip, and even create the illusion of a straighter nose. It works by adding volume strategically: placing filler above and below a bump on the bridge makes the profile look smoother, while small deposits at the tip can increase projection or adjust the angle.
Specific areas that can be addressed include the radix (the bridge between your eyes), the dorsum (the bridge itself), the nasal tip, the base of the nostrils, and even the columella (the strip of tissue between your nostrils). In some cases, filler along the nasal sidewall or internal valve area has been used to improve breathing in people with nasal valve collapse.
The nose is considered one of the highest-risk areas for filler. Its blood supply connects directly to vessels that feed the eyes, and accidental injection into or compression of these arteries can cause skin tissue death or, in rare cases, blindness. The FDA specifically recommends against injecting filler into the nose. Providers who do offer this treatment emphasize injecting into the deepest tissue plane, right against the cartilage or bone, to stay as far from dangerous blood vessels as possible.
How Long Results Last by Area
Where you get filler on your face directly affects how often you’ll need maintenance. Areas with a lot of movement break down filler faster because the constant mechanical stress accelerates your body’s absorption of the material. Here’s the general range for the most common treatment sites:
- Lips: 6 to 9 months
- Nasolabial folds: 9 to 12 months
- Cheeks: 12 to 18 months
- Temples: 12 to 18 months
- Jawline and chin: 12 to 18 months
These timelines assume temporary fillers made from hyaluronic acid, which is what the vast majority of facial fillers contain. Your metabolism, the specific product used, and how much is injected all influence the actual duration. Some people metabolize filler noticeably faster than average, especially in the lips, and need touch-ups sooner.
High-Risk Zones to Know About
Every facial area carries some degree of risk, but certain zones have a higher chance of serious complications because of the blood vessels running through them. The glabella (the area between your eyebrows), the nose, and the skin around the eyes are the three areas the FDA specifically warns against injecting. All three sit near arteries that connect to the blood supply of the eye, creating a pathway for filler to potentially block vision if it enters a vessel.
The temple, nasolabial fold region, and lips also contain significant blood vessels that require careful technique. Vascular compromise, where filler blocks a blood vessel, is the most feared complication. Early signs include unusual blanching or a grayish discoloration of the skin during or shortly after injection, followed by pain. With hyaluronic acid fillers, an enzyme can be injected to dissolve the filler quickly if this occurs, which is one reason hyaluronic acid products are preferred over permanent alternatives.
The single most important factor in reducing risk is choosing an injector who understands facial anatomy in detail. Filler placement is not just about where on the face but at what depth, near which structures, and with what technique. An experienced provider will choose between needles and cannulas, adjust injection depth based on the specific zone, and use small volumes per injection point to minimize the chance of vascular complications.